I'd have to agree with this by just being given study guides and notes from teachers and friends. Some of the notes are decent and have given me some good ideas for essays and creative writing, but are certainly not necessary (more, time saving).Some people like buying the Top Notes guides. But to be honest, I thought they were crap. If you -really- wanted to buy something, I suppose the Barbara Stanners Advanced English book is really good, but it's like $70. The notes are quite comprehensive, though.
So yeah, you don't really -need- any study guides. Just your mind and the texts themselves are more than enough.
They usually are, even though teachers will tell you everyone buys them and so when it comes to the HSC, markers will have read 100s of essays like yours.Are they worth it?