2019s Prelim HSC Chit Chat Thread (2 Viewers)

[h_jesssssss]

Anyone doing any subjects by distance?

 

[kpopiskillingmyatar]

Anyone doing any subjects by distance?

YUP! I'm doing Persian Continuers by distance. Wbu?

 

[TeheeCat]

Hey guys! Wow, this forum seems to be a little quiet but that's because we're all busy right? haha

So the first term of year 11 is almost ending. How is everyone finding year 11 so far?

My thoughts: Well... that was quite a big jump from year 10. A lot of new changes, especially the workload. I found it very challenging to adapt :/ But surprisingly, I handled it better than I thought: I still managed to hand in all my assignments in time~ ^^ But as for exams... I failed the first Mathematics Extension 1 exam. What makes it even worst is that it weighed 30% I felt I could have done much better if I studied more and calmed down but I had other assignments due before so yeah... I don't feel like to give up yet though, I'm just going to try to study much harder for the next exams and see how that goes. Our school had a practical assessment for physics and I think I failed that too haha. Majority of my cohort believes they did terrible as well :/ When I look back on it, it actually wasn't very hard at all! I think I let the stress get to me and I couldn't think straight at all >.< Doesn't help that the my time managing skills in an exam aren't the best either~

To all those who did any science subjects, do you have any tips for practical assessments? Like how can you even prepare for them? How do you guys manage your stress under such conditions?

On the positive side, I've learnt many lessons, especially how much you truly need to prepare for Mathematics Extension 1 haha. I plan to study math everyday for at least 30 mins - 1 hour. During the holidays, I will spend some time reviewing the content and possibly study ahead so I can give myself more time to practice when exams are approaching.

How about you guys? How did we all find year 11? ^^

 

[kpopiskillingmyatar]

But as for exams... I failed the first Mathematics Extension 1 exam.

It's okay, according to my friend in year 12, EVERYONE fails the first ext 1 exam, since it's such a big jump. But it's good that you're looking at improving yourself as well

 

[h_jesssssss]

yeah. I'm doing Ancient History. I always fall behind and it stresses me out aha

 

[dontbeasavage]

I feel like hsc year 11 is not that bad accept some subjects i sturggle and some not but its the start for year 12

 

[dontbeasavage]

True i failed the first 3uniut exam but i studied using the maths in focus rather than cambridge or fizpatrick but yesh next time ill study using the right textbook.

 

[BLIT2014]

True i failed the first 3uniut exam but i studied using the maths in focus rather than cambridge or fizpatrick but yesh next time ill study using the right textbook.

+ Maybe also try finding similar practice papers.

 

[strawberrye]

Hey guys! Wow, this forum seems to be a little quiet but that's because we're all busy right? haha

So the first term of year 11 is almost ending. How is everyone finding year 11 so far?

My thoughts: Well... that was quite a big jump from year 10. A lot of new changes, especially the workload. I found it very challenging to adapt :/ But surprisingly, I handled it better than I thought: I still managed to hand in all my assignments in time~ ^^ But as for exams... I failed the first Mathematics Extension 1 exam. What makes it even worst is that it weighed 30% I felt I could have done much better if I studied more and calmed down but I had other assignments due before so yeah... I don't feel like to give up yet though, I'm just going to try to study much harder for the next exams and see how that goes. Our school had a practical assessment for physics and I think I failed that too haha. Majority of my cohort believes they did terrible as well :/ When I look back on it, it actually wasn't very hard at all! I think I let the stress get to me and I couldn't think straight at all >.< Doesn't help that the my time managing skills in an exam aren't the best either~

To all those who did any science subjects, do you have any tips for practical assessments? Like how can you even prepare for them? How do you guys manage your stress under such conditions?

On the positive side, I've learnt many lessons, especially how much you truly need to prepare for Mathematics Extension 1 haha. I plan to study math everyday for at least 30 mins - 1 hour. During the holidays, I will spend some time reviewing the content and possibly study ahead so I can give myself more time to practice when exams are approaching.

How about you guys? How did we all find year 11? ^^

For practical assessments, these are my tips
My top 3 tips for preparing for excelling in science subjects (e.g. Chemistry, Biology, Physics etc)which includes the main types of assessments you will encounter in your senior school science courses.

1)PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTS:
Make sure you know reliability, validity, accuracy, sources of error, possible areas for improvement, independent/dependent/controlled variables, risk assessment for all the experiments you have done in class, make sure you can master basic science skills such as drawing line of best fit, drawing experimental set up accurately, using numbered points in writing a logical procedure, understand the requirements of the exam(I.e. how much time, how many parts) and allocate your time accordingly, make sure you understand the chemical principle/theory behind why you did each experiment

2)THEORY ASSESSMENT AND EXAMS:
Make sure you PERSONALLY write a set of summarised notes according to each dot point of the syllabus in a concise but detailed manner-make sure you include appropriate diagrams as well, after you wrote the notes, make sure to start practising questions and CHECKING YOUR ANSWERS in textbooks-i.e. Roland Smith's Conquering Chemistry has an exam question section which is quite good, ask your teacher for practice questions and make links between dotpoints and across modules to reinforce your understanding. Throughout the year, you should be progressively cutting down your notes as you store more things into your long term memory-revise regularly. Before your final trial exam-you should try to get your hands on as many preliminary exams as possible to practice-and look at the marking guidelines, remember to practice under EXAM CONDITIONS. Make sure when you make notes you are at least referring to 3 different sources to synthesise your information. (colour-code and use mind-maps to make your notes engaging and easy to remember). In your notes, don't neglect to include all your experiments and second-hand investigations.

3)OTHER:
For other types of assessments such as group presentations, individual research assignments, second-hand investigations-you should strive to always include a comprehensive bibliography that indicates you have sourced your information not only from websites, but from journals/books as well, you should understand how to evaluate accuracy/reliability/validity in relation to the sources of information you are using, like other types of assessment, pay close attention to the marking criteria and make sure you fulfil it as much as possible, make sure your information is comprehensive, non-repetitive and answers the verb of the question: i.e. discuss, evaluate, compare, contrast, assess, examine (so for that matter, memorise what the main verbs used in your exam questions means).

Essentially, to succeed in the science subjects(Biology, Chemistry, Physics etc), you need to understand, constantly apply your understanding through practising questions and adopting feedback from your assessments to do better in year 12-with repetition and consistent application you will achieve your desired marks

MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO EXCEL IN HSC SCIENCE PRACTICALS (BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS/SENIOR SCIENCE etc..)

1)You must understand and differentiate the terms accuracy, validity and reliability and for each prac you have done so far-you should know these three terms in relation to the experimental method and apparatus, as well as independent, dependent and controlled variables, areas for improvement and possible sources of error in experiments, you must understand ways in which accuracy/validity/reliability can be improved for each experiment, as well as being able to do risk assessments

2)Think about what experiments in the syllabus will give you a result in the set time frame of your task-if you did an experiment that involves observation over several days, then it is logical that experiment is unlikely to be in your practical, ask a former student what they did last year for bio-it will give you some ideas of the kind of prac they are going to ask-although there may be variations, you can study those possible experiments in more detail than others

3)If you are required to draw graphs or diagrams-make sure you use a pencil and bring a rubber, it is much easier to rub out mistakes-make sure you have a watch-and adhere strictly to the time frame, say for example, if you have two parts, don't spent too much time on part 1-because you will not have enough time to finish part 2-if any question or part is too hard, come back to it-just circle it and come back if you have time

4)Don't panic, make sure your handwriting is legible, you have adopted the most appropriate form of recording your results-i.e. whether it be labelled diagrams or tables, make sure to have headings and sub-headings where appropriate to make it easier to read-allocate your time according to the marks of the question-read each question carefully-don't miss out any parts-and answer nothing but what the question asks-highly recommend you to read it several times and highlight key words to make sure you don't miss out any marks

5) might be a good idea to make sure you know verbs like evaluate, explain, assess, critically analyse, justify, contrast, compare, means-I don't think you will get a glossary of words and definition in your exam-not impossible, but unlikely

Lastly, make sure you rest well, bring all the required equipment and follow my above advice-and you will have maximised your potential of achieving the highest mark

If you want more tips-please feel free to check out the rest of my study guide-http://community.boredofstudies.org/128/preliminary-hsc/317056/how-excel-senior-year-studies-yr-11-12-99-atar-graduate.html

And don't be too hard on yourself. Learn from your mistakes, avoid making excuses, and try to improve in every assessment, and don't compare yourself with others but compare to your own self-because that's the most meaningful kind of improvement, and make sure to take time out for yourself-because no one is a super human Best of luck

 

[fires]

gave up on wiriting notes just gonna type 'em
except chem probs gonna continue writing them

 

[Nozeltov]

In response to strawberrye study advice, specifically tip 5.

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.a...2/hsc/exam-advice-resources/glossary-keywords

there ya go

 

[dontbeasavage]

Yeah now yr 11 is a bit weird especially that now we only have 3 assessment tasks not 4 that we dont have a half yearly exam. The marks i got for Bio and Chem for the depth study is s*it which wanders me that maybe they mark it that way and the expectation for marking increases.

English Multimodal task was hard as especially to talk for 20 seconds within 6 minutes so i just passed it.

just a quote 'marks dont define who you are, you define who you are'.

 

[bestcomeback]

Hello Prelims! im currently in year 11 undertaking 3U mathematics, English advanced, physics, chemistry and legal studies. just need some help from my fellow preliminary friends, long story short i missed out on 4 years worth of school (years 7-10) i seem to be catching up in maths which is great i love the subject im also doing good in chemistry and physics but im struggling for English, I know if i want a chance to get a 99.00 ATAR i would need to get a band 6 in English but i have literally never written an essay in my life. what should i do? i have 6 months untill im ofically in the HSC and i would like to have gotten all my ranks and skills ready to smash out 2019 and get that 99! please help me what do you think i should do i dont know much about english like even the basics, i dont even know how to study for it im just lost. I should mention that i'm reading a book everyday wether it would be 30 mins before i go to bed or maybe like a 1-2 hour read if i have time. thank you guys and i wish you all the best with the HSC i hope we could all smash it and get out desired ATAR!

 

[kpopiskillingmyatar]

Am I the only one who hasn't had a bio assessment yet? 0-0

 

[thestandardkid]

Hey guys, I'm super late to this wowie! Hope you guys are all doing well so far cause I have already lost all motivation and struggling to put effort into my studies >:/

 

[dontbeasavage]

Hey guys, I'm super late to this wowie! Hope you guys are all doing well so far cause I have already lost all motivation and struggling to put effort into my studies >:/

Yes true now im working my butts off trying to get A in all my subjects.

 

[pinkowl]

hi guys, im doing standard maths, advanced english, pdhpe, sor 2, business and biology. advanced english is so hard im contemplating switching to standard at the end of the year idk tho, im failing bad

 

[Abiya05]

Wow this threat is actually dead.

I'm new, so I'll introduce my self:
My subjects are Ancient History, Legal Studies, Economics, Society (gonna drop. Can't do another PIP), Ext. 1 English and 2u Math.

What are your thoughts on History ext? Anyone interested in doing it?

 

[wasteoverload]

Looks like i found this thread to late ahhahaha. oh well. Year 11 is coming close to an end and im pissing my self, we're beCoMiNG aDuLTs.

I personally do general maths and english, biology, society and culture, legal and religion 2.

Also does anyone have any actual useful tips for writing notes (namely the yearly exam i have coming up), my school never did half yearly's or anything like that so this is my first time actually writing notes. Currently im just looking at past study notes but its difficult because of the new syllabus! I also just started using Onenote which im in love with.

 

[Abiya05]

Looks like i found this thread to late ahhahaha. oh well. Year 11 is coming close to an end and im pissing my self, we're beCoMiNG aDuLTs.

I personally do general maths and english, biology, society and culture, legal and religion 2.

Also does anyone have any actual useful tips for writing notes (namely the yearly exam i have coming up), my school never did half yearly's or anything like that so this is my first time actually writing notes. Currently im just looking at past study notes but its difficult because of the new syllabus! I also just started using Onenote which im in love with.

Maybe try writing your notes up after every class, for every subject? It's a little late tho... but try now and it might save you some time for the rest of your notes? Also, try condense your notes into as little words as possible. They're called trigger words. e.g.

The heart is comprised of the left and right atrium and the left and right ventricle...

could be condensed into:

HEART: Left, right atrium, left, right ventricle

you can learn your stuff a lot better if you do your notes this way. Esp for legal, coz there is literally a crap load of theory to learn..

Hope you get something out of it and good luck for your yearly prep!