ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: Fishyiscool on December 02, 2011, 07:27:52 pm
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I doubt I'm gonna be killing myself these holidays anyway, but I'd like to know. :) Maybe year 12 is too fast to burn out anyway? I always find myself tired after pushing myself crazy first semester.
Oh and this doesn't have much to do with this, but is it a bad idea to have a part-time job in year 12? I got fired today anyway so it won't be a problem ;) but I don't want to be completely broke when it comes to 18ths.
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I'm already buring out from doing nothing these holidays.
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Yeh it' all about getting it in balance. I worked quite hard in the summer holidays and I didn't burn out in the holidays, but broke once or twice throughout the year. You should be studying this holidays at a pace that you can sustain and understand throughly. Don't over-do it though.
PACE YOURSELF, DRINK STUDY RESPONSIBLY
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I always have these intentions of working extremely hard during the holidays, but it never gets done :( I'm hoping these holidays I can actually get something done.
Just remember: don't work for more than 3 hours at a time without a break. I've tried it and I ended up just dazing off and doing nothing.
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It's not a myth. You don't notice the effects at all because this is what 'burn out' is like.
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It's not a myth. You don't notice the effects at all because this is what 'burn out' is like.
+1, saw some MHS kids massively burn out before exams :(
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"burning out" is a myth if you treat study as something you like, if you treat it as a compulsory task then you're gonna get bored of it real soon, eg, would you ever burn out if played dota 24/7? u'd probs feel tired, but u'd never "burn out" ;)
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"burning out" is a myth if you treat study as something you like, if you treat it as a compulsory task then you're gonna get bored of it real soon, eg, would you ever burn out if played dota 24/7? u'd probs feel tired, but u'd never "burn out" ;)
True I can do Dr He problems all day long. But you'd get pretty burnt out if you played dota 24/7 SINGLE PLAYER!
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"burning out" is a myth if you treat study as something you like, if you treat it as a compulsory task then you're gonna get bored of it real soon, eg, would you ever burn out if played dota 24/7? u'd probs feel tired, but u'd never "burn out" ;)
+1
"burning out is psychological not physical. i mean geez there are people out there that are much less fortunate who would kill to even have an education...so just think of
studying (your worst problem) as a privilege. if you dont want to study then dont.
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It's not a myth. You don't notice the effects at all because this is what 'burn out' is like.
+1, saw some MHS kids massively burn out before exams :(
A girl at my school studied for 12-13 hours each day over the holidays at the end of term 3, she broke down and cried first day of term 4.
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from personal experience, i didn't burn out from working during the summer break although i did work relatively hard seeing as i committed countless truancies in year 11 and didn't treat vce seriously. the stuff i did during the break really help set the ball rolling for the start of year 12.
my most productive period was the start of term 4 before exams started. would go to the library everyday after school until 10 or 11pm and would run essay-related ideas through my head whenever i can, incorporate quotes from text in everyday conversations with friends who did the same book (this is so sad) and run the definitions of different terms through my mind. i believe this was the hardest i've ever worked this year.
ironically, my biggest 'burning out' period was in between exams. right after my first exam (esl), BAM i lost all motivation even though i haven't completely prepared for all my subjects. i had a full one week gap in between and spent it just watching how i met your mother reruns online, wanting to give up and had random bursts of panic attacks scattered within the span of time. it wasn't healthy at all and i believe this was correlated with my craziness at the start of term 4. stuffed up my last exam even though i've gotten full marks for that particular subject throughout the year.
so, to answer your question, i think the best way would be to keep everything balanced and consistent throughout the year. it may seem like a good idea to add in extra hours prior to exams, but you want to make sure that you are not so saturated with vce-related stuff to make you want to give up. i loved all my subjects and i ended up burning out because i didn't really 'ease in' to the whole studying thing. so make sure you have that habit since school starts and keep it up until exams. study smart and don't do any more studying than you really need to!
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hmm. i don't completely remember my year 12 experience, but i did have my fair share of burning outs during the year - yes i was quite often low on fuel :P
it's a matter of simply not overworking yourself - study as much as necessary, but remember that your ATAR does not define you, so you do not have to go killing yourself either - a social life is very very important because it kinda reminds you that you belong in a community and that you're not alone and that you have friends and family who support you
however, it is important to study constitently as well. i remember a quote: 'it's not what you do, but what you don't do, that makes you tired.' If you're productive consistently, you're up to date with work, you get it, you build confidence and therefore produce 'fuel.' So don't leave it until cramming, because it will kill you :/
my mistake was that i didn't study properly throughout the year. maybe i may have put in the hours, but i certainly wasn't productive as i could be. why? because I was lazy. because when i went to study german, what did i do? i read stuff. not actively even, but passive. think english language was the only subject i put work into to be honest :/
so in summary, burning out is very real and happens if you overwork yourself or if you cram in the last minute. so study consistently and don't kill yourself studying :D
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Just remember: don't work for more than 3 hours at a time without a break. I've tried it and I ended up just dazing off and doing nothing.
3 hours solid study rarely works. Its the holidays, take a break every hour, not every 3 hours. Furthermore, I would highly recommend a cap of 5 or 6 hours a day (with minimal of these hours at night) and maybe even have a day every week where you do no work whatsoever, it's critical that you keep fresh for the new schooling year (that means maybe have a cap of about 3-4 hours a day in the week leading up to school).
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Woah 6 hours a day? I'm doing 2. :/
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Woah 6 hours a day? I'm doing 2. :/
6 hours MAX. I only did ~4 hours each day (and I took a study-free day every week). I put 6 as the 'cap' as the only people I know who did more than 6hr/day were coincidentally the people who were underachieving in their SACs and exam grades.
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For some normalcy here, I did 0 hours a day for most of the Christmas holidays and I encourage people to damn well enjoy their time before the year starts
You people scare me, six hours in January :O
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Exactly. I thought 2 was reasonable. But then again I can't really focus 'till I get my Psych SS so I will end up ~4hr/day in Jan.
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Woah 6 hours a day? I'm doing 2. :/
6 hours MAX. I only did ~4 hours each day (and I took a study-free day every week). I put 6 as the 'cap' as the only people I know who did more than 6hr/day were coincidentally the people who were underachieving in their SACs and exam grades.
Been doing exactly that for a week now.
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I did no work in December and just enjoyed my time (I did however read my English texts over this time), in January I revisited things I had learnt in yr 11 but which I would use again (eg. Stoich in Chem, galvanic equations in Chem, calculus in methods). Getting ahead doesn't make that much sense as I know a lot of people who did that (ie. completed the entire methods course early March) and they found themselves just sitting in idly class doing nothing, and found it was impossible for them to do prac exams for 8 months! What I did was stay about 1-3 weeks ahead of the class in my subjects and it worke pretty well (I think!).
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im my opinion i believe it is a myth. Many students at my school completed unit 3 chemistry and all of the methods and spesh course over the holidays and got 50. (crazy, but true) ! Which goes to show the idea of 'burning out' is purely psychological. The student's aim was not to complete the content and then relax, instead they completed the course thus, built a solid platform for the start of the year. And during class they were just as intentive as the others around them, instead in their minds they were learning the teacher's methodologies and explanations and using them to build on their own. And started during practice exams earlier than others, hence when they encountered any problems they just asked the teacher for help. Through this im not saying go crazy and finsh of the unit 3 course of everything, instead complete the amount of work that keeps you feeling comfortable and prepared this in essence would vary for all students. In the end it all comes down to constiency and organisation, don't do sooooo much work in excess that it makes you will overconfident and lazy at school, rather keeps the excahnge from holidays to school as fluid as possible :DDDD
hope this helps :D
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2 hours + is absolute ridiculousness. Seriously, these are your holidays. I did no work till about 3 weeks before I needed to go back to school (besides reading my English texts) and then comfortably finished the first 4 weeks of each course with roughly 90 minute work each day. It's always nice to be ahead in your class (it helps consolidate the information as you relearn it), but learning the entire course before you even begin school will just leave you bored during class and unmotivated to complete set work.
I don't think burning out is a myth, but I do think it can be easily avoided. Don't overload yourself with extra work - especially in the holidays - and you should be fine.
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if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.
Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny. And seriously doing 4-5 hours in a day is NOTHING. Wake up at 10 and do 2 hours from 11-1. then do another two from 2-4. People saying shit about enjoying your holidays, whilst true, can be done whilst also studying. think about it. You can go out most nights and watever, chillin the evening and still quite easily pull 4-5 hours of study a day.
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How the hell can you guys even find enough content to study that much? I don't know if its just my dodgy schools lack of yr 12 prep but unless I just start pulling random stuff out of my text books I don't have that much to do in the holidays. I was planning on doing tons of holiday homework but when I sat down I don't even know what we're doing this year. Sure, I have a brief outline but not thorough enough for 6 hours a day without accidently learning unneeded information.
I also think that doing the entire course might not be the best idea. Its nice to be ahead so you're comfortable with all your work and never feel swamped, confused or left behind but if you finish an entire course in March you'll be twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the year. I guess I can't really talk as I haven't done year 12 so I don't know but it still surprises me.
I'm eager to hear what other people think about this! :)
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I am in complete agreement with you.
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For heavy subjects it's helpful (eg - Chem u3)
To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.
I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p
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Enjoy your holidays, you're doing year 12 not the bloody NASA entry examination, there is no need to stress yourself out learning the entire course, and there is ESPECIALLY no need for this "4-5 hours per day if you're serious" rubbish
if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.
Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny
no it really doesn't
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In order to maximize productivity, you need to find the point that you stop retaining information, and then stop! If you push yourself beyond that point you'll likely find yourself burnt out.
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I will plan to write two essays a week (TR/LA) email it to my English mentor ;), 3 hours of specialist and 2 hour of physics a day.
Don't waste that much of your life on physics, seriously.
To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.
I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p
I don't see how that is pathetic at all. If you want to finish the course, go for it! For further kids out there, I would take ssNake's advice (in this case) very lightly, further is harder than it seems and getting a head-start is never bad nor is it "pathetic".
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Enjoy your holidays, you're doing year 12 not the bloody NASA entry examination, there is no need to stress yourself out learning the entire course, and there is ESPECIALLY no need for this "4-5 hours per day if you're serious" rubbish
if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.
Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny
no it really doesn't
How hard is it to fit 4-5 hours of study in a day?
I think all these people telling people to relax are misguided. Some people want to do better than average, and although for some this doesn't mean working in the holidays to get a head start for other it can be. I understand for different people, things work differently. But not acknowledging the advantage of getting a headstart suprisingly ignorant.
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For heavy subjects it's helpful (eg - Chem u3)
To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.
I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p
why is it pathetic?
just because you dno't have the motivation, patience or dedication to do it, doesn't mean its pathetic. As Rohitpi metnioned, don't waste too much time listening to this piece of advice.
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To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.
I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p
I don't see how that is pathetic at all. If you want to finish the course, go for it! For further kids out there, I would take ssNake's advice (in this case) very lightly, further is harder than it seems and getting a head-start is never bad nor is it "pathetic".
Sigh.
1. I said FINISH, not head start.
2. The context of the comment is that you'd rather relax and have hols than finish an easy subject like Further.
3. Implied statement that if you do want to work 5hrs a day work on a 'heavy' subject like Chem u3 (scales +4) to indicate difficulty rather than a comparatively easy subject (-3 for Further) which does become boring (generalisation).
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I certainly wouldn't advise doing 6 hours a day during the summer holidays. You're not really going to get that far ahead and if it was me I would surely 'hit the wall' during the year. But I guess different things work for different people.
Try and ease into your studying, make sure you give yourself breaks and that you maintain both physical and mental fitness. Retaining or acquiring (if you didn't already have one) a social life will also assist in preventing a lack of motivation.
Best of luck to you :)
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
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VCE - demonstrates who can spend the most time infront of a book
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
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For some normalcy here, I did 0 hours a day for most of the Christmas holidays and I encourage people to damn well enjoy their time before the year starts
You people scare me, six hours in January :O
+∞
This is your last real break, people! Take it easy, slow down, relax. I'd recommend that you acquaint yourself with your English texts, keep up with the news, maybe do a bit of maths or chem or whatever once or twice a week to keep it all fresh in your mind - but I see no tangible benefit in cramming an entire course into the summer holidays. Pace yourself - work regularly, but keep the workload light for now.
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
lol learning is an endless process, you can never learn enough, i've been on uni holidays for a while now and been doing 9-10 hours of 'study' per day ;)
with some posts above, just coz further is easy doesn't mean u shudn't study it lol, if you like something even if it's easy, so what? go for your life, study every hr of the day on it if you want, as long as you enjoy it you can learn anything
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LOL bazza are u studying just out of your own interest?
and I don't actually know where this is gone but... I think to a certain extent, ppl who say "do nothing" on the holidays might just be being lazy/ don't need a craaazy atar for their course. :D or any atar at all perhaps.
my spesh teacher's advice was "rest well, i'm giving you no homework". Of course, on the contrary, I'm doing the opposite of that ;) but i don't want to knock myself out with study overdose so I'm about to collapse by term 3. Which tends to happen... coz I'm always motivated, sometimes I just don't act on the motivation ahahaa XD
I think most people are right with 5 hours a day. :)
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you cant really burn out in the holidays, but even if you do, it doesnt matter, all the work you've done is a bonus, since holidays are meant to be for relaxing anyway
so if you feel like studyfing crazy for one day, go for it ! and if you feel like doing nothing the next, don't feel bad either :)
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
When I know people like you exist, it makes me fear my ATAR score. I thought I studied a lot :/
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How odd. It appears to me as though the entire world has lost all sensibility. This strange notion of studying during the holidays is as nonsensical and indecipherable to me as the gurgling of a newborn baby or the ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs. YOU'RE ALL CRAZY.
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
When I know people like you exist, it makes me fear my ATAR score. I thought I studied a lot :/
^^^
MY EXACT THOUGHTS!
and LOL funkydunky :D
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
i'm going to quote the trite TSFX promotional quote: 'STUDY SMARTER, NOT HARDER'.
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
When I know people like you exist, it makes me fear my ATAR score. I thought I studied a lot :/
Dude, don't fear, that's way to much effort for holidays in my opinion. In the holidays before I did year 12 I went overseas for a month(no school work done at all), then for the remainder I did whatever was set for holiday homework and then browsed my textbooks every now and then so I had a brief idea of what I'd be learning in the year.
And for the record, my holiday homework wasn't much, it was probably a chapter or two of the methods and spec textbooks, a year 11 physics exam(motion and electricity sections), selected questions from chem textbook, first few chapters, basically revision of year 11, and summarise a few chapters from english language textbook(again, revision stuff from year 11).
Then during terms, as long as you study consistently, stay organised and up to date/a bit ahead you should be fine, that was my strategy and I ended up with a 99+ ENTER and scholarship into my first preference(I also had a part time job and a decent social life), so I must've done something right...
But by all means, like TT said, if you're enjoying studying a particular subject, it definitely doesn't hurt to learn more, or even the whole course if you're really enjoying it. But definitely don't feel you need to do that amount of work over summer to achieve a good score.
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Suppose you were to study 5-6 hours a day. What content would you be doing? I legitimately can't think of anything that would take that long other than making summaries for my entire text books or learning the whole course. I'm kinda just interested in what these people are even doing! haha
I'm not saying I intend to do this, but an example would be:
Finish specialist maths textbook
Finish methods textbook
Finish NEAP practice guides for both subjects
Do at least 20 practice exams for both (tech-free and tech assist) which can be found on the internet
Do checkpoints books for both
Go on memrise and learn 1000 words in a language
Translate entire LOTE textbook
Finish LOTE workbook and grammar book
Read English novels and write a chapter summary on every chapter
Write at least 5 essays on each novel, whether it be a context or thematic essay
Read newspaper articles and analyse persuasive techniques
Read top scoring essays to get an idea what to aim for
Then translate every english essay to a different language!
When I know people like you exist, it makes me fear my ATAR score. I thought I studied a lot :/
^^^
MY EXACT THOUGHTS!
and LOL funkydunky :D
@Special At Specialist
One word. Workaholic .
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and I don't actually know where this is gone but... I think to a certain extent, ppl who say "do nothing" on the holidays might just be being lazy/ don't need a craaazy atar for their course. :D or any atar at all perhaps.
I'm lazy but this is otherwise not true at all. I spent my summer holiday in Europe and it was the best thing I ever did before year 12.
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I believe TT's comment regarding going ahead in a subject because you enjoy it is an appropiate way to sum up this discussion. In all honesty if individuals wish to go ahead and complete all their course content and achieve a really really BIG headstart, by all means go ahead. But, consequentially, this decision all comes down to one's dedication and interest in a subject. For example if John Smith, chose, physics, maths methods, chemistry, english and studio arts as his subjects, and during the summer holidays he went ahead covering what ever content he wanted too, this decision would only be influenced by his desire to achieve personal success in VCE, this is believe is the reason why people consider working ahead in the first place. It's obivious, why people want to study ahead- because we all have our personal goals which we want to achieve and by studying ahead in a manner that is effective and healthy can help consilidate a good foundation of knowledge, and then when we return to school this knowledge is further cemented.
Moreso, this idea of people burning out and twiggling their thumbs in classes, due to their perception of 'knowing everything' is purely egotistical and is dependent how well one wants score and secondly whats the point of going to school if your not going to pay attention to whats being taught, you may as well stay at home :P Lastly, i do believe good students who want to succeed do not do this, rather would utilise class time engraining what they know
and practicing so they can do their best in exams and SACS :D
This was in response to all comments calling people who study ahead as crazy. :DDDD
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Guy's don't forget that school is about learning. When studying remember that you are doing it for the sake of learning. So if you do plan to go ahead do it with the intent that you want to learn something new that day. That should be your goal, not that you should do it or if you dont you wont get 99.95 or 50. Dont set targets like you want to study x amount of hours. Set targets like you want to learn this topic well by today.
Look some people are saying do 0 hours in the holidays. This works for them because they are probably extremely smart people, it may not work for you. If you are not doing anything one day of the holidays then yes i say go ahead an pick up a book and learn something new. Why not? Don't not make plans for the sake of studying though, It's summer :P.
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I think it needs to be made clear that those who do not study tons during the holidays do not necessarily not care about their ATAR. I think everyone does to a certain extent, otherwise you wouldn't be doing year 12 and especially wouldn't be on this site. This view comes across as arogant and offensive. And it is just simply false. :)
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I believe TT's comment regarding going ahead in a subject because you enjoy it is an appropiate way to sum up this discussion. In all honesty if individuals wish to go ahead and complete all their course content and achieve a really really BIG headstart, by all means go ahead. But, consequentially, this decision all comes down to one's dedication and interest in a subject. For example if John Smith, chose, physics, maths methods, chemistry, english and studio arts as his subjects, and during the summer holidays he went ahead covering what ever content he wanted too, this decision would only be influenced by his desire to achieve personal success in VCE, this is believe is the reason why people consider working ahead in the first place. It's obivious, why people want to study ahead- because we all have our personal goals which we want to achieve and by studying ahead in a manner that is effective and healthy can help consilidate a good foundation of knowledge, and then when we return to school this knowledge is further cemented.
Moreso, this idea of people burning out and twiggling their thumbs in classes, due to their perception of 'knowing everything' is purely egotistical and is dependent how well one wants score and secondly whats the point of going to school if your not going to pay attention to whats being taught, you may as well stay at home :P Lastly, i do believe good students who want to succeed do not do this, rather would utilise class time engraining what they know
and practicing so they can do their best in exams and SACS :D
This was in response to all comments calling people who study ahead as crazy. :DDDD
My comment was not calling people who study ahead crazy, my comment was directed at people who study THE ENTIRE COURSE before any class time, crazy. I'm sorry, but I can tell you from experience, if you're significantly ahead in a subject, it can get crazy boring to essentially get taught something you already know. I have no problem with getting a few weeks ahead (I remained 3 weeks ahead in all my subjects throughout the entire year) but it is ridiculous to sacrifice your holidays to achieve this. Honestly, anything above 2 hours a day during the Summer break is overkill. It is important to maintain a balance.
If you consistently do 4-5 hours every day, come term 3 when it really is crucial that you study, you will find yourself slipping up. You won't recognise it as burning out, but you'll find yourself wanting to sleep in the afternoons /play more video games / go out instead of studying. You'll concede of course because you can justify that you've worked hard all year and that a small break won't kill you, even one night. However, that one night can quickly evolve into an apathetic week, and then an overall loss of motivation. I have seen this happen to some of friends - many who are incredibly and extremely self motivated and did upwards of 4 hours a night throughout the entire year. Don't let this happen to you.
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If you consistently do 4-5 hours every day, come term 3 when it really is crucial that you study, you will find yourself slipping up. You won't recognise it as burning out, but you'll find yourself wanting to sleep in the afternoons /play more video games / go out instead of studying. You'll concede of course because you can justify that you've worked hard all year and that a small break won't kill you, even one night. However, that one night can quickly evolve into an apathetic week, and then an overall loss of motivation. I have seen this happen to some of friends - many who are incredibly and extremely self motivated and did upwards of 4 hours a night throughout the entire year. Don't let this happen to you.
I agree a lot of what you say, but I think this para I've quoted is a bit of a generalisation. Of course it is a possibility, but it didn't happen to me (I hope!) and definitely not to many others I know (both mhs and non-mhs).
As I said earlier, the only people I know who burned out were 6+ hrs/day kids, That's way too much for summer break imo.
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Well, this is why I always encourage people to do subjects they enjoy, they will feel less pressure and enjoy working more, so burnout won't happen
Those who do subjects for scaling or for other reasons rather than enjoyment will probably feel some sort of burnout after much hard work
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If you consistently do 4-5 hours every day, come term 3 when it really is crucial that you study, you will find yourself slipping up. You won't recognise it as burning out, but you'll find yourself wanting to sleep in the afternoons /play more video games / go out instead of studying. You'll concede of course because you can justify that you've worked hard all year and that a small break won't kill you, even one night. However, that one night can quickly evolve into an apathetic week, and then an overall loss of motivation. I have seen this happen to some of friends - many who are incredibly and extremely self motivated and did upwards of 4 hours a night throughout the entire year. Don't let this happen to you.
I agree a lot of what you say, but I think this para I've quoted is a bit of a generalisation. Of course it is a possibility, but it didn't happen to me (I hope!) and definitely not to many others I know (both mhs and non-mhs).
As I said earlier, the only people I know who burned out were 6+ hrs/day kids, That's way too much for summer break imo.
Yeah, and if you're forced to do that kinda work, this site is applicable for you -
http://www.mylifeisdesi.com/
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Yeah, and if you're forced to do that kinda work, this site is applicable for you -
http://www.mylifeisdesi.com/
lol, some of the stuff on that site is actually really screwed up
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If you consistently do 4-5 hours every day, come term 3 when it really is crucial that you study, you will find yourself slipping up. You won't recognise it as burning out, but you'll find yourself wanting to sleep in the afternoons /play more video games / go out instead of studying. You'll concede of course because you can justify that you've worked hard all year and that a small break won't kill you, even one night. However, that one night can quickly evolve into an apathetic week, and then an overall loss of motivation. I have seen this happen to some of friends - many who are incredibly and extremely self motivated and did upwards of 4 hours a night throughout the entire year. Don't let this happen to you.
I agree a lot of what you say, but I think this para I've quoted is a bit of a generalisation. Of course it is a possibility, but it didn't happen to me (I hope!) and definitely not to many others I know (both mhs and non-mhs).
As I said earlier, the only people I know who burned out were 6+ hrs/day kids, That's way too much for summer break imo.
Yeah, and if you're forced to do that kinda work, this site is applicable for you -
http://www.mylifeisdesi.com/
This made me laugh so hard.
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Yeah, and if you're forced to do that kinda work, this site is applicable for you -
http://www.mylifeisdesi.com/
... what does desi mean hahaha?
hmm hmm thing is, I take aaages to finish 1 thing, so I guess 4 hours a days isn't enough for me to get a substantial amount of work done.
Well, this is why I always encourage people to do subjects they enjoy, they will feel less pressure and enjoy working more, so burnout won't happen
Those who do subjects for scaling or for other reasons rather than enjoyment will probably feel some sort of burnout after much hard work
that's actually quite true! well... my subjects are .. pressure-abundant... ish. But I love them all so it doesn't really feel like I have to force myself to work :D or I'm just so used to forcing myself to do work that my brain thinks I'm having fun. i think... :D
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Desi = Indian
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Desi = Indian
oh lol :)
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So many people brag about getting 99+ atars and never studying on the holidays, but let's face it: most of them are asians (AKA geniuses).
As one of the few non-asians on this site, I can safely say that I'm not as "naturally talented" as all of you. I don't go to Melbourne High School or Haileybury or any of those top schools. Instead, I go to a country school which you probably frown upon. Dux last year at my school got a 97 atar score, but the median score on atarnotes is even higher than that.
My only chance of competing against all of the geniuses is to out-study them. I can't grasp concepts as fast as other people, so it takes me longer to learn them. Where do I get the extra time to learn this stuff? On the holidays. The holidays are my only chance of catching up to you all. Whilst it may not be necessary for you to study on the holidays, they are my only chance of scoring well.
EDIT: I'm sorry if I sound racist. I really have nothing against asians.
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So many people brag about getting 99+ atars and never studying on the holidays, but let's face it: most of them are asians (AKA geniuses).
As one of the few non-asians on this site, I can safely say that I'm not as "naturally talented" as all of you. I don't go to Melbourne High School or Haileybury or any of those top schools. Instead, I go to a country school which you probably frown upon. Dux last year at my school got a 97 atar score, but the median score on atarnotes is even higher than that.
My only chance of competing against all of the geniuses is to out-study them. I can't grasp concepts as fast as other people, so it takes me longer to learn them. Where do I get the extra time to learn this stuff? On the holidays. The holidays are my only chance of catching up to you all. Whilst it may not be necessary for you to study on the holidays, they are my only chance of scoring well.
that's really good, s@s, i wish i had that resilience. :) and I'm sure you'll nail dux at your school hahhaaa! I don't think it matters whether you go to a freaky school or not (I certainly don't), it's all about the effort you put in.
and LOL about being asian. It's true. -.- why couldn't I come from a country a little further up? nahh im not really hoping for 99.95 so its all good XD
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So many people brag about getting 99+ atars and never studying on the holidays, but let's face it: most of them are asians (AKA geniuses).
As one of the few non-asians on this site, I can safely say that I'm not as "naturally talented" as all of you. I don't go to Melbourne High School or Haileybury or any of those top schools. Instead, I go to a country school which you probably frown upon. Dux last year at my school got a 97 atar score, but the median score on atarnotes is even higher than that.
My only chance of competing against all of the geniuses is to out-study them. I can't grasp concepts as fast as other people, so it takes me longer to learn them. Where do I get the extra time to learn this stuff? On the holidays. The holidays are my only chance of catching up to you all. Whilst it may not be necessary for you to study on the holidays, they are my only chance of scoring well.
Mate, i go to a local public school near/close to you and our results arent very flashy either but we do manage to have high scoring students. (our dux was 97.xx as well last year)
I havent read much of this thread, but i kind of take offence to this:
'So many people brag about getting 99+ atars and never studying on the holidays, but let's face it: most of them are asians (AKA geniuses).'
1) So many ppl - how many ppl get 99+ ATARs? not that many, so how can you of heard these students bragging about their study habits or whatever?
2) No not all 99+ students are asians....
3) Asians generally have a stronger work ethic than say Aussies, so you can't assume that all asians are 'genuises.'
I feel as though this is very ignorant of yourself and very stereotypical.
Do you seriously believe that 'out studying' these geniuses will help you 'beat' them? There is no point in spending 10 hours a day studying on the summer holidays then burning out, losing confidence or whatnot then getting smashed by these guys in the exams. I've said this multiple times 10 MONTHS IS A LONG TIME. You will change in that time and there are lots of things that can occur which may affect your ability to study etc. Dont overwork yourself
You say you arent the strongest student, but taht doesnt mean you cant beat them. Change your mindset, there are heaps of things you can do during the school year to boost yuor marks or whatever.
You may think that you have everything planned out: i.e. learn all the coursework during summer, then do practice exams during class all of next year or watever...
But i can guarentee you that your motivation, mindset and commitment will change throughout the year. You will have your ups and your downs. When yuo run into a down patch you wont be able to do much and if yuo've spent a majority of your holidays studying i reckon it wiill be a major struggle for yuo to get back on your feet.
Again like you said, you arent the strongest student but yuo do want to achieve good results. I think you're just trying to copy what some of the high achieving students from VN did. Dont do that. This is your own individual journey, do it yourself, do it your way. You may not be able to cope wiht what some of these high achieving students are able to. I reckon you should just spend these holidays working out what kind of study habits etc will work for you.
P.s. be more mindful of what you post.
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There's one white kid out of all the 40 kids in the 2 spesh classes at my school. Both sides of her family have a rural/farming background (grandparents). Nevertheless, she's one of the top students in my year level and her older sister scored 99.95 a few years ago. It's not always the asians.
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So many people brag about getting 99+ atars and never studying on the holidays, but let's face it: most of them are asians (AKA geniuses).
As one of the few non-asians on this site, I can safely say that I'm not as "naturally talented" as all of you. I don't go to Melbourne High School or Haileybury or any of those top schools. Instead, I go to a country school which you probably frown upon. Dux last year at my school got a 97 atar score, but the median score on atarnotes is even higher than that.
My only chance of competing against all of the geniuses is to out-study them. I can't grasp concepts as fast as other people, so it takes me longer to learn them. Where do I get the extra time to learn this stuff? On the holidays. The holidays are my only chance of catching up to you all. Whilst it may not be necessary for you to study on the holidays, they are my only chance of scoring well.
EDIT: I'm sorry if I sound racist. I really have nothing against asians.
...Think of it this way, what race(s) occupy the most highly developed countries? (lol jks)
I'm pretty sure that Asians are not intrinsically smarter than Caucasians however, they do value their education a lot more... I'd imagine the majority of people on here to be workaholics...
Some people are able to pick up concepts quickly while others take a long while to solidify their knowledge, others having learnt the concept don't forget it while others do... Do whatever... But don't stress yourself out because it'll be counter-productive.
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I think it's because most Asians who have been able to move to developed countries like Australia were amongst the well-educated middle-upper classes in their home countries + they've got a really strong work ethic and have strived to give their children opportunities and perhaps some are a bit too strict/pushy. In a lot of Asian countries, education is the key to prosperity, and it's quite cutthroat, and they bring that thinking with them. There, the only guarantee of job security and prosperity is going into professions like Medicine and Engineering, or working in the public sector. It can take immigrants a fair while to discover that in Australia, their children can be successful and live comfortable lives in just about any career path, if they're good at it; that university/good grades is not a prerequisite for a good life.
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I LOVE MYLIFEISDESI! IT'S SO FUNNAAAYY! :D
and hmm, regarding the asian debate, i don't think it's fair to say that asians are just naturally smarter than every other race
if you said that to Eddie Cliff, he wouldn't be too happy about it :P
it's a cumulating of many factors, one of which is the value which parents place on education
even though i'm a lazy bum and would never consider myself hardworking, ever since i was young, i've always valued education and was taught well when i was younger
that foundation led me to grasp new concepts relatively easily, especially in maths (for example), even though i'm not outright intelligent *looks at thushan*
"Special at Specalist" you shouldn't base it on out-studying people, but rather out-smarting them. mind-less studying will not improve results, you need to gain a deep understanding
i learnt this myself and believe me, i was once adamant that doing practice exams was all i needed to do =.="
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perhaps we're being a little hard on spesh@spesh? :) after all, i'm sure she/he means the whole asian thing as a compliment :D after all, I'm guilty of saying "I was wish I was more asian" LOL :)
"Special at Specalist" you shouldn't base it on out-studying people, but rather out-smarting them. mind-less studying will not improve results, you need to gain a deep understanding
i learnt this myself and believe me, i was once adamant that doing practice exams was all i needed to do =.="
true true about mind-less studying. :)
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the dux at my school last year who got 99.95 received a 50 raw in French although she's completely white/has no French background whatsoever - plus I did uni Japanese this year and im not even Japanese! (does being half Chinese count?)
so you dont have to be "Asian" or a certain race to outdo them in their own subject - anything is possible~♫
*edit*
and just to annoy Thushan - he's probably going to get a 50 in German and he has no background in German (OR DOES HE? HMM.)
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Bahahah I have another friend who's bangladeshi and got 50 raw in french last year! :D
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I think with VCE, if you're smart and you work hard, it's possible to get a 50 in almost any subject, as the questions don't really require you to have a profound understanding of the subject - you just have to be able to answer them perfectly to the VCE standard. That requires being careful.
Also, just a few other things. Can people stop making a distinction between "aussies" and "asians"? Seriously, not only do comments like that perpetuate the myth that white australians are lazy and dumb, but it also alienates australians of asian descent who've grown up here. Place most asian australians overseas, and they'll identify strongly as australian (well, that's definitely what I've seen with a lot of the yale/harvard australians I've met).
Don't do the whole course over summer. You'll be ridiculously bored. Another thing to be wary of is the intensity with which you study. It's very different to be working at a slow pace on a computer or churning out exercises or essays (or reading a text) to sitting in a library for 11 hours, with no facebook/procrastination breaks whilst working furiously the whole time at understanding new concepts.
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I did humanities subjects only so I guess this might be coming from a different perspective, but all I did on the holidays was get to know the study designs back to front for each subject, and read all the texts. When I got to school I felt ready, and had a comfortable understanding of where each course was heading. I don't think I was disadvantaged in any way in not doing hours of work on the holidays, but perhaps it's different for maths and sciences?
I always get a bit iffy when people say things like asians are just naturally smart or are 'geniuses', generally I think they are just more likely to work hard GENERALLY - hence they aren't really given credit for their efforts.
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Also, just a few other things. Can people stop making a distinction between "aussies" and "asians"? Seriously, not only do comments like that perpetuate the myth that white australians are lazy and dumb, but it also alienates australians of asian descent who've grown up here. Place most asian australians overseas, and they'll identify strongly as australian (well, that's definitely what I've seen with a lot of the yale/harvard australians I've met).
Instead of Asian should they be referred to as "people that work fervently too hard"? Asian is pretty much synonymous with that phrase.
Also, for the Australians of asian descent, is that to say that carrying the persona of being a hard worker is a bad thing? To call them "Australians of Asian descent" is worse and also completely contradictory, I propose a change to: "lesser working Asian, almost white and dumb" (LWAWD for short)
Seriously, not only do comments like that perpetuate the myth that white australians are lazy and dumb
I was not aware of the existence of such a myth, perhaps it circulates between Asian groups?
Australians that are "white" don't value their education, I can foresee the same being true for almost all Asians in twenty or so years.
To put that "myth" to an end... the smartest guy I know is leaving school to join the army, simply because he doesn't care for going to school for an indefinite number of years to work a job he will hate.
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if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.
Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny. And seriously doing 4-5 hours in a day is NOTHING. Wake up at 10 and do 2 hours from 11-1. then do another two from 2-4. People saying shit about enjoying your holidays, whilst true, can be done whilst also studying. think about it.
Notsureifserious.gif
Stooge of the highest order. The holidays should be a good mental booster. Refresh the mind and body, get outside (wow!) and experience plenty of stuff you may not be able to do/see throughout the year.
Enjoying your holidays can be done whilst studying? Total rubbish. Take a chill pill and get your head out of the clouds son.
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to all the people who are stating thats its 'ridiculous' that some people are doing a lot of work over the holidays: why exactly do you care so much? do you feel thteatened or something? if someone wants to study 3 or 6 hours day, let them be. its there choice and were all different with different attitudes. what seems as 'ridiculous' to you is completely normal or even enjoyable to some. what if working out 3 hours a day seems too much for someone? does that mean thats its wrong? no. that is just one persons opinion that reflects their own personal needs and attitude.
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Everything in moderation, I'm not sure why you can't enjoy your holidays whilst studying. Are you planning to refresh yourself for 24 hours of the day? I completely agree that holidays should be a "mental booster," I just had my priorities straight before the start of the year.
What makes you such a credible and proven source of information on this?
just because you don't have the dedication or ability to do both at once doesn't mean other people can't
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Also @JDog, 4-5 hours per day in the holidays is really not necessary.
Before year 12, I spent 5 weeks in France. I then had something like three days at home before I went to olympiad camp, and then had a few days to catch up on sleep before school started. Did I spend 4-5 hours a day on VCE work before school started? Definitely not. I probably spent <10 hours in total across the break preparing for VCE. Nevertheless, because I was so busy during that period, I definitely burned out during the year.
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Ok. First of all, in relation to on-topic stuff:
1. Speaking as both a tutor and as a recent graduate who had lots of ridiculously nerdy friends, I've seen lots of students who did ridiculous amounts of work in the holidays, who managed fine with it across the whole year. I would say that this helped them (significantly, in certain cases).
2. By the same token, I have seen lots of students (myself included) who did nothing or next-to-nothing in the holidays, who still did well. Actually, the irony is that the only subject I tried to do any in-advance work in (Specialist Mathematics) ended up being my worst subject; the working ahead did help me, I think, but I just wasn't interested enough in what was being taught to keep up after the holiday period.
3. What TrueTears and a lot of other people have said rings true: it's much more viable for most people to 'study' during holidays if it's something of genuine interest. I'm currently doing some language study of my own at the moment, and I've often found myself staying up until 3am (eg. tonight) just because I enjoy it for its own sake. I have a sinking suspicion I would have done a lot of 'study' for literature at this point in time (mostly by reading up on the texts I was doing in year 12), but it would have been out of interest more than anything else; the fact that I can't even remember if I did this or not is probably testament to the extent which I didn't think of it as studying (and yet it would have helped me down the track).
tl;dr - basically, do what suits you, and know that many approaches can work for many different sorts of people. Studying is also much more effective (and much more fun!) if it's something you're genuinely interested in.
Regarding all the stuff about 'Asians' or whatever, just drop it, guys. It's a discussion for a completely different topic. Cool? Cool.
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I agree with Zeta but I would also like to add to that:
It's more important to catch up than it is to get ahead. If you struggled with year 11 work, then it would be beneficial to learn the year 11 work before you start year 12.
If you're writing essays at a year 10 standard, then the holidays would be a good chance to catch up.
It's not that important to get ahead in your subjects, but it definitely is important to catch up. The last thing you want to do is enter year 12 and already be struggling with the work in the first 2 weeks. If you're up to date in every subject, then getting ahead will help you, though it isn't necessary to do well. Keeping up to date is necessary to do well, though.
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It's more important to catch up than it is to get ahead. If you struggled with year 11 work, then it would be beneficial to learn the year 11 work before you start year 12.
Whilst I agree with this, be smart about it. Don't bother catching-up on stuff that isn't going to be one the course next year (eg. permutations in methods, sequences and series in GMA, history in chem, flight in physics, etc.).
Just be smart about it :)
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i didnt do any revision at all during the holidays
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I can't help but get a bit annoyed when people say things like doing X amount of studying is mandatory to getting good marks, or that you HAVE to get ___ textbook/study guide/uni textbook if you want to get above X study score, or if you do above X amount of practice exams you will get a worse mark. If those things were correct than someone would have worked out a magic formula for getting a perfect ATAR and would have sold it to thousands of desperate VCE students and made copious amounts of money by now. Every person is different and not one specific type/length of studying is going to work for everyone. And those extra study guides and uni textbooks are far from essential. They may help but I've noticed that often people begin to imply that it's impossible to 'succeed' without them, which I don't feel is right.
That mini rant aside,
I haven't actually seen anyone "burn out" as such in the holidays. And for some people, 6 hours a day may be what works for them and for others 6 hours that holidays may be all they need. But I can't help but think that the bigger risk isn't burning out during the holidays, but not being rested enough when you start the term. There are a few people I know that (at the moment at least) seem to have forgotten that these holidays are for relaxing too. Getting ahead is all good and well but if that prevents you from relaxing and 'recharging' I can't help but think that the benefits are outweighed by the negatives in that situation. I do admit that there would be some people out there who can still study those long hours and also relax during the holidays, but I can't help but feel that the more studying one does in the summer holidays, the higher the risk is of them not being rested enough to be able to tackle year 12 when it truly arrives.
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well said louise_2012
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This will not win me the AN popularity contest, but here goes ..
1. "Burning out" if you work too hard on the holidays IS a myth
2. If you have not started working hard already, you are a month too late
3. VCE is a COMPETITION, much like the AFL is a competition, and thats why they have pre-season training.
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1. Definitely do not agree with you there, I've burnt out so often it was crazy, I was constantly on 'low fuel'
2. Yes, you're right in essentials, but it's not the right attitude to take because although you are a month too late yes, you have 12 months ahead of you
3. Yes VCE is a competition. Pre-season training is good :D but so long as you dont sabotage anyone else :D
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It is up to the individual to prepare as much as they want during summer. Everyone is different, so you have to find what works for you. Also note that at the higher end of scores, hard work does not necessarily correlate to better marks. I spent most of my summer before VCE doing Methods. I completed over half of the textbook, and yet it was my worst score for the year. I think I read somewhere in the thread that if you've worked during the summer, then you may slack off a little during the year. There may be some amount of truth to this. Although then again, I hardly ever remember doing any work in class for all of my subjects...
To contrast studying over summer, for Biology and EngLang I did absolutely nothing before starting, and they worked out quite well. At the end of the day, you can know the course inside out, but come exam day it is not going to help you if your exam technique is not well planned and efficient.
With regard to burning out, I think it can and does happen to all of us to an extent...but, I don't really think it should affect anyone too much. Even if it does, I think the importance and high stakes of it all should be enough to get you through. Sorry for the boring old cliche, but I guess to an extent when the going gets tough, the tough get going. :p
All you have to do is keep thinking of that final date when freedom will be yours, and go like hell until then. After that, you can rest all you want. To ease off beforehand would just be a waste.
That having been said, I think you really need to be fresh for exams, so definitely no intense study or late nights during an exam period. Try and knock off all of the hard stuff at least a week before your exam. :)
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I understand where you're coming from, thushan, and I could say all the right things about balance etc ... but, lets give them a reality check first and we can negotiate later :)
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Try and knock off all of the hard stuff at least a week before your exam. :)
... because you will need the last week for English immersion
Sorry mate, I cant help myself sometimes :)
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Haha okay fine your second and third points are reality, but it's really the first point that I dont agree with. I can see what you're implying, and I'm not saying what I say in the name of political correctness or whatever. I'm going on personal experience actually. Anyhow, maybe some people (like yourself! :D) are resistant to burning out, but the rest of us aren't. So it is not really a good idea to say that it definitively is a myth - because then some people will interpret it as didactic and proceed to unknowingly burn themselves out. It's good to tell it like it is, but tell it like it is so that it actually is as is and cannot be overinterpreted :D
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This will not win me the AN popularity contest, but here goes ..
1. "Burning out" if you work too hard on the holidays IS a myth
2. If you have not started working hard already, you are a month too late
3. VCE is a COMPETITION, much like the AFL is a competition, and thats why they have pre-season training.
1. To a certain extent I agree with you, personally, I have never experienced "burn out" and I don't even know what it really feels like, but I've seen it happen to others, so it's not a myth, but rather it's dependent on whether people can handle it and persevere through it. I used to think the same thing as you, but after seeing it happen to people I know, I now know that it's not a myth
2. A month doesn't account for much to be honest and to be frank, you're going to "win back" so much more than a month if you work efficiently throughout the whole year
3. Again, I used to hold that viewpoint and I worked ahead during the holidays too, but I've seen others who went on holidays...etc. and still do better than me, it's not an issue of the AMOUNT of work you put in, but the QUALITY. I know people who studied many more hours than I did in the lead up to exams, but they didn't work efficiently. It's not always about the AMOUNT.
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This will not win me the AN popularity contest, but here goes ..
1. "Burning out" if you work too hard on the holidays IS a myth
2. If you have not started working hard already, you are a month too late
3. VCE is a COMPETITION, much like the AFL is a competition, and thats why they have pre-season training.
.
I don't agree with you much, but damn it you're so right on that one.
To all the people bragging about their 99 atar scores without working at all on the summer holidays:
Sure you can do well without working through the summer holidays. But you would do even BETTER if you did work throughout the summer holidays.
It's like trying to compare a professional athlete who trained for 8 months vs a professional athlete who trained for 10. Who is going to score the fastest time?
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It's not a matter of how LONG you trained for, but how efficiently and effectively
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This will not win me the AN popularity contest, but here goes ..
1. "Burning out" if you work too hard on the holidays IS a myth
2. If you have not started working hard already, you are a month too late
3. VCE is a COMPETITION, much like the AFL is a competition, and thats why they have pre-season training.
.
I don't agree with you much, but damn it you're so right on that one.
To all the people bragging about their 99 atar scores without working at all on the summer holidays:
Sure you can do well without working through the summer holidays. But you would do even BETTER if you did work throughout the summer holidays.
It's like trying to compare a professional athlete who trained for 8 months vs a professional athlete who trained for 10. Who is going to score the fastest time?
Whoever trianed more efficiently to offsect and overcome the time difference, without over-training and doing serious damage and "burning out". Seriously burning out happens, you should be doing something on the holidays but not the bloody entire course! As I've said before, pace yourself, it's a long year, VCE is a marathon not a sprint.
EDIT: DAMIT PAUL! you beat me by 0 seconds! thats what it said 0 seconds!
and Also 1400th post.
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Why can't you work harder AND smarter?
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it's not an issue of the AMOUNT of work you put in, but the QUALITY.
Since when have QUALITY and QUANTITY become mutually exclusive ?
Lets get real people. There are people out there who have been grinding with Dr He since they were 6 months old.
Thats what your COMPETITION is doing.
And if your competition goes into battle with nuclear weapons and you want to do battle with a popgun ... feel free, I'm not stopping you.
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It's like trying to compare a professional athlete who trained for 8 months vs a professional athlete who trained for 10. Who is going to score the fastest time?
The one who is mentally stronger. Just because youve trained for longer than your opponent it doesnt mean you will win.
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The one who is mentally stronger. Just because youve trained for longer than your opponent it doesnt mean you will win.
Training longer doesn't guarantee success, though it certainly increases your chances.
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It's like trying to compare a professional athlete who trained for 8 months vs a professional athlete who trained for 10. Who is going to score the fastest time?
What a terrible analogy :S That's not clear cut at all, I wouldn't bet on that race.
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Work smarter not harder
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Work smarter not harder
Work smarter AND harder.
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Planning to do an entire course is not the best way to approach a subject, it needs to be split into parts that are regularly revised in order to consolidate information. If no consolidation has occurred then your not really learning are you?
Those that are smart won't just think to themselves, 'I can do specialist in a month,' concepts need to be regularly advised, practice in order for learning to occur. Work smarter not harder
Work smarter AND harder.
Doesn't necessarily mean that you will improve. Year 12 needs to be planned effectively, many will tell you that.
If your not working smarter your not working harder.
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The one who is mentally stronger. Just because youve trained for longer than your opponent it doesnt mean you will win.
Training longer doesn't guarantee success, though it certainly increases your chances.
Same goes for VCE, altho studying through summer may pay dividends it isnt guarenteed. Burn out is always a possiblity.
I agree that you should work smart and hard, but there is a limit on that you have to use common sense.
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Planning to do an entire course is not the best way to approach a subject, it needs to be split into parts that are regularly revised in order to consolidate information. If no consolidation has occurred then your not really learning are you?
Those that are smart won't just think to themselves, 'I can do specialist in a month,' concepts need to be regularly advised, practice in order for learning to occur.
That's what practice exams are for.
If you finish the whole course in the summer holidays, then you can regularly do practice exams to consolidate the information. If you aim to do 2 a week from the start of term 1 to the end of term 4, then you should be well prepared for the exam.
Plus, just attending class and paying attention should also help in the consolidation process.
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Sleep and food is for the weak. What I used to do is that I hooked myself up to two IV drips. One to feed me vitamins and caffeine, the other to keep me nourished with those liquid meals they feed to patients in coma.
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Planning to do an entire course is not the best way to approach a subject, it needs to be split into parts that are regularly revised in order to consolidate information. If no consolidation has occurred then your not really learning are you?
Those that are smart won't just think to themselves, 'I can do specialist in a month,' concepts need to be regularly advised, practice in order for learning to occur.
That's what practice exams are for.
If you finish the whole course in the summer holidays, then you can regularly do practice exams to consolidate the information. If you aim to do 2 a week from the start of term 1 to the end of term 4, then you should be well prepared for the exam.
Plus, just attending class and paying attention should also help in the consolidation process.
What I'm saying is that you have to plan how your going to do the course. Its all fine and dandy to say I want to do the course in the holidays but another think to actually do it.
Without planning, I don't see you going very far in Spesh.
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Good points by Camo, Special At Specialist, stop being so ignorant, the truth is, you can do what you want, but there are others here who have had experience with what you're planning to do, and we are honest when we say that what you're planning to do will not work, it's not about practice exams, you can do a million practice exams and still do worse than someone who did 5, believe me, I made that mistake myself, practice exams cover only 95% of the course, it's the remaining 5% that you will miss when doing practice exams and when you are rushing through the course during summer
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Good points by Camo, Special At Specialist, stop being so ignorant, the truth is, you can do what you want, but there are others here who have had experience with what you're planning to do, and we are honest when we say that what you're planning to do will not work, it's not about practice exams, you can do a million practice exams and still do worse than someone who did 5, believe me, I made that mistake myself, practice exams cover only 95% of the course, it's the remaining 5% that you will miss when doing practice exams and when you are rushing through the course during summer
Thanks Paul, without course content your practice exams will be useless, and aren't they most beneficial towards the exam and not throughout the year? If your really eager do the course in the holidays, then a few practice exams, then redo course, and so forth.
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Planning to do an entire course is not the best way to approach a subject, it needs to be split into parts that are regularly revised in order to consolidate information. If no consolidation has occurred then your not really learning are you?
Those that are smart won't just think to themselves, 'I can do specialist in a month,' concepts need to be regularly advised, practice in order for learning to occur.
That's what practice exams are for.
If you finish the whole course in the summer holidays, then you can regularly do practice exams to consolidate the information. If you aim to do 2 a week from the start of term 1 to the end of term 4, then you should be well prepared for the exam.
Plus, just attending class and paying attention should also help in the consolidation process.
That may be great and would really be 'ideal' but you haven't factored in many things, such as boredom arising from no new content during the year, losing motivation due to this, doing exams so much throughout the year that you don't take the real ones that seriously, physically running out of revision materials in certain subjects; just to mention a few. When these situations arise, the 'hard' work in the holidays doesn't end up being 'smart'. You can aim to avoid those things but the reality is that they are real risks that may not be able to be avoided when following that plan of study. Taking that into account, in a lot of instances the copious amount of work in the holidays may not end up smart at all. It may be smart for some people and they may be able to avoid all the aforementioned risks, but in any instance the risks should still be considered for their possibility all the same when deciding how to go about studying in the Summer. Just something to think about.
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Good points by Camo, Special At Specialist, stop being so ignorant, the truth is, you can do what you want, but there are others here who have had experience with what you're planning to do, and we are honest when we say that what you're planning to do will not work, it's not about practice exams, you can do a million practice exams and still do worse than someone who did 5, believe me, I made that mistake myself, practice exams cover only 95% of the course, it's the remaining 5% that you will miss when doing practice exams and when you are rushing through the course during summer
I've planned to do the following before the end of year exams:
1. Finish specialist textbook (Essentials)
2. Complete at least 50 practice exams for both tech-free and tech-assist.
3. Complete NEAP exam guides and checkpoints book.
4. Do extended response questions at the end of every chapter in textbook.
What else can I possibly do to help me score a 50 in specialist maths?
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Camo,
Yep :) even in maths and other such subjects, where it's about skills more so than raw knowledge, I think that practice exams still should be left until September, because time is much better spent learning the course content and in all seriousness, it's much better to know the course than to spam practice exams :)
Louise,
I disagree, what he's proposed is far from ideal because practice exams is not the be all and end all of doing well, it constitutes a part (a large part) in doing well, but not all of it, course knowledge is just as important and when you're doing practice exams there's parts of the course you'll miss
But you do raise valid points which he should think about before committing to that sort of study plan
Special at Specialist,
You've got to change your strategy to get a 50 in Specialist Maths, you have to
Also, all you're doing is practice, you're not learning any theory, trust me, theory is important, ask anyone who's done well in maths, it's not all about practice
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Louise,
I disagree, what he's proposed is far from ideal because practice exams is not the be all and end all of doing well, it constitutes a part (a large part) in doing well, but not all of it, course knowledge is just as important and when you're doing practice exams there's parts of the course you'll miss
But you do raise valid points which he should think about before committing to that sort of study plan
Yes, true that. Ideal was not the right word; I was struggling for the right word to use haha. What I meant was that in theory it may sound good, having an entire year to revise for exams (and for some people that may work, I can't really say). But just like you said, in reality that is most likely far from the case and could create a plethora of extra problems. Thanks for pointing that out :)
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Good points by Camo, Special At Specialist, stop being so ignorant, the truth is, you can do what you want, but there are others here who have had experience with what you're planning to do, and we are honest when we say that what you're planning to do will not work, it's not about practice exams, you can do a million practice exams and still do worse than someone who did 5, believe me, I made that mistake myself, practice exams cover only 95% of the course, it's the remaining 5% that you will miss when doing practice exams and when you are rushing through the course during summer
I've planned to do the following before the end of year exams:
1. Finish specialist textbook (Essentials)
2. Complete at least 50 practice exams for both tech-free and tech-assist.
3. Complete NEAP exam guides and checkpoints book.
4. Do extended response questions at the end of every chapter in textbook.
What else can I possibly do to help me score a 50 in specialist maths?
Camo,
Yep :) even in maths and other such subjects, where it's about skills more so than raw knowledge, I think that practice exams still should be left until September, because time is much better spent learning the course content and in all seriousness, it's much better to know the course than to spam practice exams :)
Louise,
I disagree, what he's proposed is far from ideal because practice exams is not the be all and end all of doing well, it constitutes a part (a large part) in doing well, but not all of it, course knowledge is just as important and when you're doing practice exams there's parts of the course you'll miss
But you do raise valid points which he should think about before committing to that sort of study plan
Special at Specialist,
You've got to change your strategy to get a 50 in Specialist Maths, you have to
Also, all you're doing is practice, you're not learning any theory, trust me, theory is important, ask anyone who's done well in maths, it's not all about practice
Develop a weekly time table and please set some time aside so you can relax, or your going to get stressed and retain anything. Please take these guys advice, you haven't experienced year 12 yet.
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Special at Specialist,
You've got to change your strategy to get a 50 in Specialist Maths, you have to
Also, all you're doing is practice, you're not learning any theory, trust me, theory is important, ask anyone who's done well in maths, it's not all about practice
I've watched heaps of videos on Khan Academy and I read the textbook before answering questions. There's only so much theory you can learn until you've covered all of VCE specialist maths.
That may be great and would really be 'ideal' but you haven't factored in many things, such as boredom arising from no new content during the year, losing motivation due to this, doing exams so much throughout the year that you don't take the real ones that seriously, physically running out of revision materials in certain subjects; just to mention a few.
I don't care how bored I get. My determination to do well will override that. And the internet has so much free material to offer me that I don't think I have to worry about running out of content.
And I will be revising for SAC's, not just exams.
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Special at Specialist,
You've got to change your strategy to get a 50 in Specialist Maths, you have to
Also, all you're doing is practice, you're not learning any theory, trust me, theory is important, ask anyone who's done well in maths, it's not all about practice
I've watched heaps of videos on Khan Academy and I read the textbook before answering questions. There's only so much theory you can learn until you've covered all of VCE specialist maths.
That may be great and would really be 'ideal' but you haven't factored in many things, such as boredom arising from no new content during the year, losing motivation due to this, doing exams so much throughout the year that you don't take the real ones that seriously, physically running out of revision materials in certain subjects; just to mention a few.
I don't care how bored I get. My determination to do well will override that. And the internet has so much free material to offer me that I don't think I have to worry about running out of content.
And I will be revising for SAC's, not just exams.
Just plan well, otherwise your going to fall short of a 50.
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Develop a weekly time table and please set some time aside so you can relax, or your going to get stressed and retain anything. Please take these guys advice, you haven't experienced year 12 yet.
Thanks for your advice.
I'll use some of my procrastination time to do that.
But to be honest, I think my main problem isn't not taking enough breaks, but rather taking too many breaks. I procrastinate quite a lot and during my procrastination hours I achieve almost nothing. It's just wasted time that I could be spent studying.
As long as I can cut down the procrastination and work solidly at home, then I think I should be fine. Any other motivational tips will be appreciated.
EDIT: I take back what I said about me being a robot. I TRY to be a robot, but I waste too much time and don't study efficiently. I think if I can actually do work more and think about doing work less, then I should be fine.
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physically running out of revision materials in certain subjects;
Why is that a problem ?
You can always devote more time to English. You never run out of things to do in English
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Develop a weekly time table and please set some time aside so you can relax, or your going to get stressed and retain anything. Please take these guys advice, you haven't experienced year 12 yet.
Thanks for your advice.
I'll use some of my procrastination time to do that.
But to be honest, I think my main problem isn't not taking enough breaks, but rather taking too many breaks. I procrastinate quite a lot and during my procrastination hours I achieve almost nothing. It's just wasted time that I could be spent studying.
As long as I can cut down the procrastination and work solidly at home, then I think I should be fine. Any other motivational tips will be appreciated.
EDIT: I take back what I said about me being a robot. I TRY to be a robot, but I waste too much time and don't study efficiently. I think if I can actually do work more and think about doing work less, then I should be fine.
Procrastination is there to keep you sane throughout year 12.
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I am determined to prove a 50 in specialist maths.
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Why is that a problem ?
You can always devote more time to English. You never run of things to do in English
Ah sorry, I should have expanded on that one too haha (v. sleep deprived at the moment, apologies). I was more talking about the possible effect of a study plan like that on specific subjects. Pretend you did a subject like say, Psychology (I don't do this subject so it may turn out to be an incredibly bad example :S) where the study design is very new. To my knowledge, there are very limited amounts of exam papers out there and if you were to learn all the psychology course in the holidays and spend the rest of the year revising, you may reach a point where you have done all available practice papers, all extra revision material created by companies and a lot of your own. Then you reach a point where closer to the exam, you don't have adequet (sp?) revision material left to revise. You can devote more time to English, indeed, but your efforts in regards to Psychology may be rendered a bit futile.
I'm not sure of Special At Specialist's other subjects, so I just put that in as a possible consideration, were he to be doing a subject which may have limited resources.
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I'm not sure of Special At Specialist's other subjects, so I just put that in as a possible consideration.
My other subjects are:
Maths Methods
Literature
German
Philosophy
I am determined to prove a 50 in specialist maths.
... I don't get it.
Procrastination is there to keep you sane throughout year 12.
Sadly this is probably true :(
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A little off topic but yes i totally agree with Paul here know the theory - like literally back to front so that you know the definition of something or what the concept is as soon as you read a question. You may be underestimating how important it is, you will realise this when you start diong exams if yuo misinterpret an aspect of a question wave good bye to your 50.
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you certinly can. I too thought it was a myth but it happened on the 8th day of me trying to finish unit 3 accounting course in 11 days.
STudy as hard as you want, a burnout is better experienced before exams. Mine lasted about a day. I ate ice cream and watched movies lol
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I ate ice cream and watched movies lol
Sounds like me pretty much every day during swotvac.
Except I don't eat icecream...
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when you think about it, if you experience a burn out, doesnt that mean youve done enough work to take a couple days or even a week off?
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I ate ice cream and watched movies lol
Sounds like me pretty much every day during swotvac.
Except I don't eat icecream...
Or watch movies... ;)
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when you think about it, if you experience a burn out, doesnt that mean youve done enough work to take a couple days or even a week off?
Logical thinking
My SS predictor says : max payne : Specialist Mathematics : 48+
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Thushan, you're too cool for ice cream anyway :P
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don't get off topic, or else the evil nina will ban you :P
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ice cream is cold and therefore prevents burning. Consumption of icecream prevents burn out
/endthread
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ice cream is cold and therefore prevents burning. Consumption of icecream prevents burn out
/endthread
Signature worthy.