ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: Stick on December 18, 2011, 03:58:22 pm
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I'm doing Further Maths 3&4 next year as a Year 11 student. And in short, I am freaking out...
I am, by nature, a very anxious person. Whenever tests are around the corner, I always get stressed. I did Methods 1&2 this year and a couple of times, the nerves got the better of me and I bombed out on two SACs. I don't want this to happen next year for Further.
When we did headstart a few weeks ago, my Maths teacher decided the headstart work was too easy to give genuine time to (it was just area and volume) and he started going on with the rest of course. Throughout the week, though, he sprung us with all these unofficial quizzes and gave us ranks to keep us on our toes and revealed that we would have a SAC on the headstart work on the first day of school. It was a really stressful experience but then on the last day, the teacher said he did this to show us that we need to treat the subject with genuine respect and give it the time it deserves (some people in our class were a bit cocky about doing Further at first). So I'm not sure how he will manage our class next year. He wants our class to be our school's first class with a median study score in the 40s and he said he wants to move through the course more quickly than the other Further classes so that we get more time to prepare for exams.
When I joined AN two weeks ago and checked out the Further section, I was made more anxious when I saw a lot of people were finishing the course during the summer. We don't have our textbooks yet and the teacher only gave us the homework for headstart, which I have already completed. When I get my textbook in mid-January, I want to concentrate on revising for my SAC, rather than learning new content and potentially confusing myself.
I guess I feel very uncertain about things... I would really like to get a study score in the 40s (preferably 46+). I know that if I am to do my best, I need to keep calm. What do you suggest I do so I can feel more confident in my ability?
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Let's say you are good enough to get 46+, which is what you're aiming for. If you're anxious, you may underperform, and as a result not achieve the score you want.
So try not to be anxious, as it really isn't worth underperforming and not achieving your goals, not because you weren't good enough, but because you were simply anxious and worried about how you'd go.
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If you're definitely the anxious type (like me, stressing over whether i get over 25 methods this year), investing your holidays clawing away at further is VERY BENEFICIAL. AN has some further maths notes, check that up. If you feel confident, have a look at past further maths papers.
Besides from starting early, try to have a positive mindset, leaning towards "I can do this" instead of "OMG further RAGE". Whatever happens, however, remember that your life IS more than just marks.
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Let's say you are good enough to get 46+, which is what you're aiming for. If you're anxious, you may underperform, and as a result not achieve the score you want.
So try not to be anxious, as it really isn't worth underperforming and not achieving your goals, not because you weren't good enough, but because you were simply anxious and worried about how you'd go.
That's a whole lot like saying "if you don't want to be sad, why not just stop being depressed?"
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If you're definitely the anxious type (like me, stressing over whether i get over 25 methods this year), investing your holidays clawing away at further is VERY BENEFICIAL. AN has some further maths notes, check that up. If you feel confident, have a look at past further maths papers.
Besides from starting early, try to have a positive mindset, leaning towards "I can do this" instead of "OMG further RAGE". Whatever happens, however, remember that your life IS more than just marks.
That's the problem - I can't really start early. I have to wait for my textbook to come in mid-January and by then, I'll just want to prepare for my first SAC. :/
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Borrow someone's further book (if possible), preferrably someone you know. I'd really stress that you might want to slam the further over the holidays, because by the time school comes, you would've feel much better knowing most (if not all) of the stuff involved in further.
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I don't know anyone who's done Further...
I'm doomed. D:
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If your school is still open, try the library? Or maybe even local library. If not, maybe you can find a pdf version somewhere.
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Just tell ur self that being anxious will only have adverse effects on ur scores, nothing beneficial. Walk into any exam lik u dont care and ull be suprised how well u end up doing. I did this for my yr 11 methods exam and got 99% for it. I was so nervous before my exam 1 for further, and screwed it up. It was after this exam that i realised being anxious will jus stuff u up, so i walked into exam 2 full of confidence and not really caring bout how ill go and I did better on this exam. Being nervous on exam 1 was what ultimately what brought my mark down and may well have been the difference between my SS of 41 and a potential 45+. I really regret being anxious on that day, so take my advice and just DONT BE NERVOUS!
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Managed to get a book off my friend's older brother. :P
Looks like a massive amount of work I need to get through, though. Should I just do some questions until I understand and then move on? I don't want to compromise revising for my SAC on the first day of school.
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You would have to revise for the first SAC anyway. The way I see it, understand as much further as possible throughout the holidays. If you feel like ur stuck, ask friends for help. If ur desperate, invest on a tutor.
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You don't have to do the whole course on the summer holidays, though I strongly suggest that you do at least the first 4 chapters (which is probably about 30% of the textbook) before term 1 starts if you want to get a 46+ in further.
There are plenty of SAC revision sheets posted on atarnotes. Utilise them. You would be surprised how helpful they can be. They helped me out this year and I'm going to be using them next year as well.
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Alright, I think I've got a game plan. :D
I'm going to complete the core and module 2 in these holidays, and modules 3 and 4 in the winter holidays. That way, I'm ahead of the class and I'm more likely to retain the information.
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Hey
Ok, this year I completed 3/4 Music Performance in which the Performance aspect, counts as 50% of your SS. So theres alot of pressure on you at one instance of time, and its different from the maths and science subjects since, if you slip up- your score does as well. Theres no such thing as consequential marks.
So what I did to overcome the natural stress I felt?
--Practise like a shark is chasing you. Same thing goes for you. If you really want to get there, make it your sole priority in life and do not the whole course, but the unit 3 course, atleast before you start school
--Meditating. Sounds horrible, I know. Boring even. But I tried it and just focused on my breathing. It makes sure your heart beats normally, which obviously makes you calmer
--I realise that because your putting in so much effort, you will be devastated if you make 1 mistake. I get that. But just think. "I am going to freaking rape this exam. I am going to ace this". And you will. Beforee my Music, I cried because of the pressure (especially in my instrument, honestly you should see the skill some people have in Piano), but then I realised, I can only do the best that I can. I was sick of worrying, sick of every emotion I felt to the subject. So I went into the exam, trying to ENJOY my music, and thats what you have to do.
Not sure if you understand my rant. Good luck:)
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Did you bomb out on your methods SACs cause you hadn't studied for it? or did you know 100% of the content?
ie if it wasn't a SAC, and you weren't nervous, could you have owned it?
My advice: use your anxiety to help you, and take advantage of it. Prepare to the best of your ability so you are less anxious when tests come around.
Try meditating too, eg, sit in a quiet room and close your eyes and focus on your breathing (clears your mind) for 5-10 mins once a day (right before studying - really helps with memory a tonne load) (sounds little but it's a lot, most people are too impatient for even the first 2 minutes haha)
Goodluck
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Hey
Ok, this year I completed 3/4 Music Performance in which the Performance aspect, counts as 50% of your SS. So theres alot of pressure on you at one instance of time, and its different from the maths and science subjects since, if you slip up- your score does as well. Theres no such thing as consequential marks.
So what I did to overcome the natural stress I felt?
--Practise like a shark is chasing you. Same thing goes for you. If you really want to get there, make it your sole priority in life and do not the whole course, but the unit 3 course, atleast before you start school
--Meditating. Sounds horrible, I know. Boring even. But I tried it and just focused on my breathing. It makes sure your heart beats normally, which obviously makes you calmer
--I realise that because your putting in so much effort, you will be devastated if you make 1 mistake. I get that. But just think. "I am going to freaking rape this exam. I am going to ace this". And you will. Beforee my Music, I cried because of the pressure (especially in my instrument, honestly you should see the skill some people have in Piano), but then I realised, I can only do the best that I can. I was sick of worrying, sick of every emotion I felt to the subject. So I went into the exam, trying to ENJOY my music, and thats what you have to do.
Not sure if you understand my rant. Good luck:)
Thanks for your advice. I'm so happy I've started the Further course. I didn't believe it when people said that the entire course could be completed in two weeks but now I honestly think this is the case. I've nearly finished the core unit already! I'm feeling much better about coping with the stresses of next year.
Also, nacho, I bombed out on those two SACs because I was nervous. I always study pretty hard and if someone had told me it was just a worksheet, I probably could've gotten 20% higher. :P