This post regards Modern History.
Does anyone know/have advice in regards to how I can elevate my essay writing to a band 6 level. It would be a shame if I didn't achieve this, since the topics look more interesting compared to prelim!
What are some things I can do between now and the HSC Exam and Internal assessments to really stand out and achieve well?
Additionally, should I research further than what information is supplied in class, or should I trust my teacher to really prepare for all the possible content that could be assessed.
Finally, has anyone who has used Atomi for Modern found it beneficial, or would you say that it does not go into enough depth?
Hey! I don't do Modern History, but I do Ancient as an accelerated course (fellow '25er here) and am sitting in a Band 6 range, so I thought I might weigh in as I've heard Modern and Ancient marked fairly similarly (at least in regards to the basics).
NB: This ended up being pretty long, so don't get overwhelmed by the amount of information! These are all things I have learnt throughout the past year and just dumped here, so it's okay if it doesn't all stick or make sense. Coming from getting 79% on my Year 11 prelims, to 96% on my HSC trials, I'll be the first to say that you learn a lot in a year, and so much growth in Modern is still super possible.
NB part 2: I ended up writing way too much, so this information is going to come in two parts due to the 10000 character limit haha.
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PART 1: General exam / note taking tips
Generally I've found researching outside of what my teacher gives me in class to be really good to do. My best tip for making notes (without them being too time consuming) is to literally copy other's past HSC notes. I've actually found a lot of stuff on this site that's been really good. My process was essentially to search up "
my topic HSC notes", download whatever free ones I could find, make a 'links list' (just on Google Docs) of all of those notes, and then go through them and copy whatever information is good onto my document. This really helped me to get good sources, and make sure I wasn't missing any crucial pieces of information or key events (in case my teacher was).
In regards for making said notes, history is one of the subjects I personally find it easiest to make notes for. Search up the syllabus, literally copy the syllabus dot points, and sort/create your notes under those. Depending on the topic you may only get short answer questions on a dot point, or you may be required to write a whole essay for a dot point, so spend your time and information wisely. (You can discover which topics have what styles of questions by looking through past HSC papers - you should get a feel for it pretty quickly).
I can't speak to using Atomi, but using random internet resources others have already spend hours and hours on (research papers, HSC notes, etc) has been an easy, cost-free way of making comprehensive notes for Ancient that has got me good results. Gathering so many notes fairly fast has meant that I can spend loads of time memorising and doing practise responses, which is a REALLY important step to achieving good marks (give any practise responses to your teacher to mark!! personalised feedback on your work makes it so much easier to improve).
I personally find it easiest to memorise using flashcards, but you should memorise however best works for you. With that being said, if you do want to use flashcards to memorise, I can highly recommend
Outlearn as the best free resource I have come across (unlimited cards, unlimited folders, long term and short term memorisation modes all on their free version). You can access it in the app or on the web. However you memorise best, just make sure you dedicate some time to it - the exam is all about proving your knowledge, and to do that you need lots and lots of evidence.
Relating to when you should make notes, it's never too early to start. You can start making course notes now, before the academic year starts - in fact, I'd encourage it. Both Modern and Ancient are extremely content heavy courses (I noticed a huge shift between years 11 and 12 in terms of content covered), and you'll find yourself flying through material (for example, in Year 12 my class generally covered one syllabus dot point per lesson - which is slightly scary when there's one potential essay per syllabus dot point in the final exam). Having these notes already somewhat done, or at least already being familiar with the content, will mean that you absorb lots of extra information in class, and you have less last minute note taking right before the exam (I've been there, and trust me - when you can do practise responses instead of note taking with that time, you get a much better result).
Moving on from notes, while I haven't sit the actual HSC exam yet, here are a few random exam tips I have from trials and other internals. In terms of completing the history paper specifically, it can feel really daunting (three hours, four sections, obscene amounts of writing with no multiple choice, etc). Something that made this a bit easier for me was going in with a plan. You don't have to do the sections in order - instead, my teacher advised us to (this worked well for me) start with the sections we felt strongest in, and complete our exam in order of strongest to weakest sections. This means you can maximise marks in the sections you're confident in, and might even have a bit of extra time to mull over those tricky questions in the sections you're less prepared for. I ended up starting with personality study (section 3), then going to time period (the essay) (section 4), then to the core study (section 1), and finally onto the society study (section 2). If there's two sections you're tossing up between, you can also use your reading time to figure out which section has harder questions, and then do the section with harder questions last.
Also, in preparation for the exam, I would recommend not only writing regularly, but taping batteries onto your pen and then writing with those attached. If you haven't heard of this before it probably sounds a bit stupid, but essentially with 3-4 batteries taped around the end of your pen as you write, your pen is a lot heavier, making your hand much stronger (like lifting weird weights for your fingers or whatever). This is really good for preparing for the exam, as realistically you're not going to be able to write for three hours straight regularly to ensure your hand is strong enough for the exam. This also makes your hand feel like the flash when you finally take the batteries off, making you write way faster too.
Another random thing; make sure you eat well before the exam, and bring a clear water bottle in with you. Sitting in the one spot for three hours is (almost strangely) exhausting, and the last thing you want is to be hungry/thirsty as well as braindead in the last hour or so (that time often seems to drag). Bringing in a tissue is also often a good idea (make sure you lay it out on your desk in clear view before the exam starts), and bringing several pens not only saves you if one runs out, but also allows you to switch them out if your hands get clammy/sweaty while writing.
My last general exam tip is not essential, but can help maximise your marks (and puts the HSC markers in a good mood, which is always positive). This tip seems kind of random, but it's to UNDERLINE YOUR EVIDENCE! Whenever you put evidence in a short response, essay, whatever, just underline it. Doing this allows the HSC markers to really easily see just how much you've jammed into your answer, making it both easier for them to mark (hence putting them in a good mood), and making sure they don't miss any evidence while they quickly read through your answer. It highlights how much you know, essentially putting all your good work into a spotlight to go "look at me!! I'm a band 6 student!!" This can also be useful if your writing is slightly illegible at points, if you're unsure how much more you need to write for a response, the list goes on.
See next post for part 2.
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