Hi! My name is Elle, I’m part of the graduating class of 2021, and currently, I’m studying a Bachelors of Arts/ Law at UNSW. Here is some advice I’ve curated to hopefully help you all in year 12.
Resources/ Advice for subjects
Here’s a link to my google drive. Hopefully my notes will be helpful to you all ♡
English:
JSTOR and Academia: amazing places to find critical readings and elevate your essays. It might be a little tough and intimidating to use at first but it’ll make your essays stand out!
Write out as many practice narratives/ discursive for Craft of Writing. You’re going to need a variety responses that you can adapt onto any stimulus come trials and the hsc
For textual conversations, especially if you’re studying Plath and Hughes, make sure you study/ revise ALL the poems, usually you pick out 4 poems you know the best for the exams, but on the chance NESA mandates a poem to write about (*ahem* 2021 paper), you’re going to need to know all poems quite well
Redo any essays you get back (either from practice or assessment tasks) trust me, you’ll be doing yourself a favour
A Doll’s House Resource: https://dc.edu.au/dolls-house-part-1/
https://www.cleareducation.com.au/page/english-papers/ - practice papers including trial papers
For English Extension, make sure you start looking for related texts asap, don’t leave it to the last minute because it’s so important you find a text that links well to your chosen prescribed. If you choose metropolis, avoid choosing a film for a related. Same goes with Godot and choosing a play.
Also for Ext, make sure to write out a couple of essay/ discursive responses for Literary Worlds. Usually discursives/ essay responses for this section is easier than writing out imaginative responses so make sure to also have a couple of adaptable narratives ready
Legal Studies:
The easiest section of the legal hsc exam is by far multiple choice, however it’s also where most people lose marks. Here’s a website that I used religiously to practice multiple choice questions: https://quiz.nesa.nsw.edu.au/home/create/Legal%20Studies%20HSC
(Also don’t be anxious to ask for help clarifying or explaining certain multiple choice answers, at this point, Ms Haramis and Mr Martin are omniscient)
Crime is the hardest to study for so make sure you have cases for the themes and challenges as well as for all the topics (sentencing and punishment, trial process, young offenders etc).
Whenever you receive your assessment and feedback, redo your essays. Trust me, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of time once trials and hsc comes around
Modern History:
Write!! Essay!! Plans!! For!! Everything!! Especially for the National Studies topic and Conflict in Europe!! They can ask just about anything and it’s so important that you’re prepared.
For Power and Authority, it is SO important you know every little detail like the back of your hand. In the 2021 paper, one of the questions was about the geographical impact of the Versailles Treaty (which is literally part of the survey - easily forgettable) - it’s so important to know the little things because the marks lost will make the difference between a band 5 and 6
Check out the HTA’s textbooks on each topic (esp for historiography)!! You can access them from the NSW State Library
When it comes to writing essays, use historiography!! It will elevate your responses. But also remember, it’s quality over quantity! Having 2-3 precise and relevant quotes from historians will be more rewarding than attempting to squeeze in a bunch of quotes that are irrelevant and don’t add value to your responses. I would recommend finding historiography from JSTOR/ Academia and ofc, the State Library
Always study the marking guidelines and feedback from past HSC exams to ensure you know what type of information to include in responses - this is especially important for Sections 2 - 4
History Extension:
Do as many practice papers as you can!! It’s not enough to know the information because knowing how to use that and then adapting it to write a good response to the stimulus is incredibly important!!
For your major work, don’t fall behind on your log book!! Trust me, it’s going to be A PAIN to catch up on - especially since you essentially get 3 ish? Months to complete. On that note, get started on your major work ASAP (try writing a paragraph a week. You need at least 3 weeks to finalise it - editing is a strenuous process)
The NSW State Library has AMAZING resources for your major work and they have prize winning sample essays that you should check out. Make sure to sign up for a library card too! It’ll make things easier when you need to borrow books or order them (some books can only be viewed in specific areas of the library and you need a card to access them - just ask the staff, it’s really easy to navigate!!)
Again, to find historiography, look to JSTOR and Academia.
Exemplar Response for ‘What is History’: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JEzkNZPMX0aIz9-27Q1XXguPY5ixhE_v
Exemplar Response for ‘Elizabeth’: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TLuF5Thfe96tqFHNyfzO7Bodj0zdo2_g
Biology:
You need to be constantly revising and going over content from classes especially since the learning is pretty fast-paced! Once you fall behind it’s really hard to get back on track (trust me, I learned the hard way).
Have a study group to revise topic areas together. It really helps when you need to check areas of your understanding especially in topics that you aren’t that good in.
The most important thing to include in responses would be STATISTICS. Make sure to have a bunch of statistics compiled especially when it comes to genetic technologies, infectious/non infectious diseases and so on as they will help improve your response drastically for those “evaluate” questions (you also gotta memorise them!!). Always support points of argument with a relevant statistic to secure those top marks
Reading tons of paragraphs can be so draining and usually you will end up losing motivation. One way to avoid this can be by watching interactive videos instead (check out amoeba sisters and edrolo)
When it comes to note taking you should refer to the syllabus and have points for each learning outcome (they’ll test you based on these!). You should also aim to summarise key points rather than copying out pages and pages of info as it’ll help you when you’re revising for the exam.
PRACTICE PAST PAPERS!! And get your teachers to mark and give feedback. You never know what they’ll ask you in the exam so it's good to come prepared having seen a wide range of possible questions.
Don’t forget to practice your graphing and data analysis skills!!
Set Schedules and Boundaries
Unbeknownst and to the surprise of my teachers, I was an incredibly disorganised student. As such, I spent the weeks leading up to my exams, staunchly occupying a dimly lit room, hunched in front of my computer and being acutely aware of the sweet, dulcet sounds of hope fading. All in all, a lovely situation, 10/10 , would recommend (not). It was a complete and utter nightmare. Be sure to section off classwork and homework so you have, at least, some semblance of a social life.
Also create a study schedule!! This advice is mostly catered towards the time you have pre trials and hsc. It’s incredibly important for you to continuously revise content for each subject so by the time exams come, you’ll be far more confident in yourself. Also, try and associate studying with something positive! Find something that would make studying enjoyable for you, such as:
Getting your favourite drink for study sessions only
Finding a cute cafe for studying only
Tidying up your work space
Finding study buddies from other schools/ places with whom you meet up to study
When it comes to creating boundaries, my biggest advice is if you ever feel like you’re overextending yourself, just stop. The emotional turmoil I experienced in trying to do everything perfectly was really not worth it and whenever I felt as though I was at the precipice of a breakdown, courtesy of complete exhaustion, I would just crawl under my blankets and go to sleep. Your teachers will be more than understanding if you give them a sincere explanation. Also allowing yourself to establish and follow through with your boundaries are very important for you later on in your young adult years, make sure to practice implementing them now and it is very important that you always leave some space to look after yourself.
Take a Break!!
Studying, without a reprieve, began to dredge away pieces of my sanity. It felt like a neverending freefall into madness. I was the poster child of what NOT to do during year 12: I rarely went outside and I was basically two shades away from people spraying holy water in my face and calling me a vampire (not that I was able to find sanctuary in the outdoors seeing that we were plunged into another period of lockdown yet again). During exam periods or just generally, it’s so important to take breaks and have time for yourself whether it be listening to music, watching your favourite show, or joyriding through the desert on top of a kangaroo idk just have fun!
Get Some Sleep!!
Frankly, my year 12 was characterised by my various endeavours in testing the boundaries of whether or not sleep was really necessary. Spoiler alert: it was. I came to school each day exhausted. Tired in a “I-haven't slept in 76 hours and I’m trying to see if I can punch insomnia induced hallucinations away through sheer force of will” way. So my biggest advice, and I could not stress this enough, is to get PLENTY of sleep. Seven hours minimum to be a subpar functioning human being.
Final Words
And finally, don’t feel pressured to pursue a standard, traditional career route. University isn’t the only pathway available, and having a degree doesn’t guarantee success. Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed for not going down a conventional path (e.g. not finishing uni or starting uni later in life, not having a "career” by a certain age, or pursuing a non “practical” career pathway). All of this is arbitrary. Do not create a life that aims to satisfy everyone but yourself. You are not wasting time doing something you love just because it doesn’t have any materialistic returns. Pursuing the humanities and the arts (painting, sculpture, performing arts, literature, film, music) is so beautiful and personal. Don’t let anything deter you from pursuing this just because it’s seen as “useless” because they don’t fit into an ideal.
Good luck you guys!! You’ll do amazing, don’t forget to take care of yourself first and foremost. Best of luck
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