ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: 100 on January 05, 2012, 04:45:36 pm
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What worked for you and what did not when you were preparing for VCE? eg did you work consistently throughout the year
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DON'T SLACK OFF ON METHODS
you don't want to learn that the hard way
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Or don't slack off with anything really...
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DON'T SLACK OFF ON METHODS
you don't want to learn that the hard way
At the end of the year , my methods book still had its cover on. I hadnt used my calculator once and Sat at the back of every class and studied psych. Got 30-40% on every sac and still managed to get a 29.
:PPPPPPPPPPPPPP slack off in methods ! its worth it.
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What worked: putting consistent effort into all subjects (don't neglect English), this will get you a high rank for SACs and have you set for Exams and you won't need to cram at the end of the year.
What didn't: cramming study the night before a SAC - yes, you may be able to pull off 95%, but most of the time there is always 1 question you won't know how to do without putting the effort in to learn everything.
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Just fyi, you can slack off an some subjects and still get a decent ATAR (ie. 99+). Obviously it would be ideal if you kept up-to-date (if not ahead) on all subjects, but unfortunately life isn't ideal for everyone and we tend to procrastinate and slack of in areas.
For example, I did jack-all for physics throughout the year, cramming for all SACs and exams, and still managed a decent SS, same for bio (although less crammed for bio). I also slacked off on methods a lot too (I did spesh though, so I suppose this is kinda justified), having done about 2/3 of the book (essentials) in the holidays, I only did around 3.5 chapters throughout the year...
My biggest piece of advice would be to put in the hard yards in English. It makes an enormous difference to your ATAR and you can't really cram for it too well if you want 40+ :)
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My biggest piece of advice would be to put in the hard yards in English. It makes an enormous difference to your ATAR and you can't really cram for it too well if you want 40+ :)
+1, seriously don't slack off in English. You need to put the hard yards in even if you hate it with passion. English is basically the subject that dragged me down since it has to be in the top 4 (it was my worst subject). It pays off soo much more to get that little bit higher in english than a subject that will end up in the bottom 2 and only count 10%.
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+1, seriously don't slack off in English. You need to put the hard yards in even if you hate it with passion.
You might even end up liking English! :O i did :D
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+1, seriously don't slack off in English. You need to put the hard yards in even if you hate it with passion.
You might even end up liking English! :O i did :D
your crazy!
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study consistently but spurt all of your studying-chi towards any upcoming SAC until the wave is over...
then resume to consistent-studying-cruise-control ;)
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dont eat macdonalds, that shit makes you tired..
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dont eat macdonalds, that shit makes you tired..
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+1, seriously don't slack off in English. You need to put the hard yards in even if you hate it with passion.
You might even end up liking English! :O i did :D
your crazy!
Nah, I liked English at the end of it :)
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Don't underestimate the Language Analysis on the Exam, I got 5/10 for the Exam LA whilst I'd been doing well on my LA's the whole year, very very costly
Also, SACs matter, I think SACs saved my skull in English, managed to pull a 42 with a mid-A Exam mark ;D
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Don't underestimate the Language Analysis on the Exam, I got 5/10 for the Exam LA whilst I'd been doing well on my LA's the whole year, very very costly
Also, SACs matter, I think SACs saved my skull in English, managed to pull a 42 with a mid-A Exam mark ;D
Perfect answer.
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Do. Not. Neglect. English.
Seriously, if it weren't for English I'd be incredibly fucked and having not a glimmer of a hope at any engineering courses.
Don't make fun of the subject, and don't be fooled by its apparent ease, just because you spend a lot of time simply sitting around listening to the teacher. Chances are, he/she is pouring out important ideas that can prove invaluable. And don't ever, ever be fooled by the lack of homework you may get. It pays to keep up to date with the news in all forms - internet, newspaper, tv etc.
Master your persuasive writing skills - it really complements the ability to write high-scoring text responses.
My point is, you can sort of let off the accelerator for other subjects when shit gets intense but for the love of god keep up to date with English.
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Do. Not. Neglect. English.
Seriously, if it weren't for English I'd be incredibly fucked and having not a glimmer of a hope at any engineering courses.
Don't make fun of the subject, and don't be fooled by its apparent ease, just because you spend a lot of time simply sitting around listening to the teacher. Chances are, he/she is pouring out important ideas that can prove invaluable. And don't ever, ever be fooled by the lack of homework you may get. It pays to keep up to date with the news in all forms - internet, newspaper, tv etc.
Master your persuasive writing skills - it really complements the ability to write high-scoring text responses.
My point is, you can sort of let off the accelerator for other subjects when shit gets intense but for the love of god keep up to date with English.
this ^
DO NOT COMPROMISE ENGLISH OVER OTHER SUBJECTS.
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i got a 19 study score in english but my english is actually pretty "good" stupid vce system all about righting f0king essays.
i bet if we had a grammar or punctuation or spelling or even creative writing test i would whoop every1 to japan and then to tokyo.
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The English thing just can't be stressed enough...look at my scores (in my sig) - English was the one thing in 2011 that made my ATAR. Everything else I did was simply lolworthy (as my signature would indicate)
Protip though: Don't place so much emphasis on it that it bogs you down. I know that a lot of my friends and I felt that English was placing too much pressure on us simply because we kept thinking about its significance and effect on our ATAR (and there's enough pressure in vce as it is). Just remember that you can't afford to neglect it but be confident that you can nail it with sufficient work. Best of luck!
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i got a 19 study score in english but my english is actually pretty "good" stupid vce system all about righting f0king essays.
i bet if we had a grammar or punctuation or spelling or even creative writing test i would whoop every1 to japan and then to tokyo.
hmmm.
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The English thing just can't be stressed enough...look at my scores (in my sig) - English was the one thing in 2011 that made my ATAR. Everything else I did was simply lolworthy (as my signature would indicate)
Protip though: Don't place so much emphasis on it that it bogs you down. I know that a lot of my friends and I felt that English was placing too much pressure on us simply because we kept thinking about its significance and effect on our ATAR (and there's enough pressure in vce as it is). Just remember that you can't afford to neglect it but be confident that you can nail it with sufficient work. Best of luck!
Likewise. But this raises a most interesting point. English isn't hard, not by a long stretch if you know the structures (Which have most likely been taught since year 8-9 to varying levels of class reception) and it never gets overwhelmingly demanding either. It seriously isn't hard, but its perception to some as the subject where they can do next to nothing, catch up on homework from other subjects or ask the teacher irrelevant questions to pass time and deviate, that makes a huge difference.
Which should theoretically make the weight and emphasis of ATAR reliance on the subject rather minor.
Then, there are those who are just plain amazing at English. ;)
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Don't underestimate the Language Analysis on the Exam, I got 5/10 for the Exam LA whilst I'd been doing well on my LA's the whole year, very very costly
Also, SACs matter, I think SACs saved my skull in English, managed to pull a 42 with a mid-A Exam mark ;D
Perfect answer.
This is exactly what happened to me...
I was getting perfect scores for all my LA essays in the lead up to the exam... but i stuffed up that exam article.
Did anyone do any practice articles like that one, out of curiosity??
So yeah, english is REALLY important...
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I wish I did two Englishes! D: it would have eased the pressure a little I guess
aabattery - hahah, that happenned to me too, I scored 18/20 for my LA SAC and thought LA was a strong point, so much so that I started blaming Context for my 42 (with an A on the exam) - turns out I got a 17/20 for Context and 10/20 for LA on the Exam - stupid LA article in my opinion! (I got 18/20 for Text Response on the Exam)
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yeah... vcaa really separated everyone with that la article... i guess it was pretty impossible to prepare for that seeing that vcaa has never thrown anything like that at us before...
pretty identical exam marks actually - 11/20 LA, 18/20 Text, 19/20 Context... and that gave me a low A+...!
I was actually stressing about my context before the exam, and somehow it was my highest... :-\ (and i wrote it last...!)
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yeah... vcaa really separated everyone with that la article... i guess it was pretty impossible to prepare for that seeing that vcaa has never thrown anything like that at us before...
You know, there's one thing they've never done that will truly make waves in any future cohort that they test it on.
And that is, for section B, no prompt for you to answer to, but rather a single picture. It'll have some kind of meaning but you'll have to interpret a statement out of it, and respond to that.
That will really separate the students.
What we got with that piece of shit LA article was totally unexpected though. At least some teachers anticipated a picture, not a bloody adapted news article.
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+1, seriously don't slack off in English. You need to put the hard yards in even if you hate it with passion.
You might even end up liking English! :O i did :D
agreed. try to find as many ways as possible to like, or even love english. since you have no way out of it, might as well make it your friend. view the text from different angles, research the authors/directors and even expose yourself to some of their other works. dig deep.
it worked for me, and 'a farewell to arms' is basically one of my favourite books now! it's all worth it in the end.
if not, just suck it up. year 12 will pass in the blink of an eye.
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This is a pre-requisite and imperative for any success in VCE whatsoever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSMxY6asoE
Wise Words From The Book Of Water.
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Set your goals at the start of the year and find your passion or your dream course/career. That will give the extra drive and motivation throughout the year. I tried doing that but i never did find that dream course - luckily im a pretty self-motivated person!
Study with a purpose that will give you consistency. Be confident in your knowledge even if it is lacking. Determination to succeed will motivate you. Here is something i posted a while back: Re: My advice for year 12 :)
I might update it sometime soon...
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i bet if we had a grammar or punctuation or spelling or even creative writing test i would whoop every1 to japan and then to tokyo.
Hm... Section 2?
OP: Unfortunately, I can only give advice on subjects I did...
1. Science/Maths studies require practice to achieve absolute accuracy and speed. It doesn't matter if you understand things before your teacher has fully explained it. There is no way to be great at precision subjects (subjects where your answer is either right or wrong) except excessive over-practice. Don't slack off like I did. My greatest regret this year is not doing much if any work for Specialist until exams came around when it was too late to cram absolutely everything.
2. English requires you to be excellent at bullshit. Bullshit arguments, bullshit analysis, bullshit passion for things issues and debates you would not care about otherwise. (However, if you really are passionate about anything English-related, like reading or writing or twisting people's words to suit yourself, pursue it like a madman.)
Drop all preconceived ideas about needing to be 'right'. You don't need to fit a predetermined standard of 'right' (assuming you have excellent syntax and spelling already - if not, treat that like maths and rote learn it), you just have to be very adamant about the thing you have chosen to argue about, pursue your points with the persistence and persuasion of a presidential candidate covering up a scandal (that is, the scandals that you have yet to hear about). Always remember to give a point and then expand on why you are obviously, definitely right about it (some forget to give their point and ferociously but messily dig into their expansions, others have essays resembling shopping lists. Don't be either.).
You will also need to spend a lot of time making up crap by over-thinking your texts/context. This should be easy if you are a (nerdy) girl. I spent many a lunchtime viciously gossiping about the characters in the book. ('Omg can you believe he did that' - really effective, trust me.) If your writing is at least about 9th grade level, all you need beyond that is a lovely set of made up notions backed by 'evidence' - and then you're set. Really, English can often be like a game of shouting random crap with great confidence and feigned evidence until someone seriously calls bullshit (but no one will if you intimidate them with your veeeeery persuasive arguments).
The conclusion of this rant is - have a different attitude to maths than you have to English. Maths is about precision and practice, English is about cultivating as many theories and ideas out of nowhere as you can (and then expressing it all neatly).
3. On LOTE subjects. Languages are best learned through immersion. Now is a great time to watch all shows and listen to all music in that language (without subtitles or anything) for the entire year/holidays. Trust me, it's awesome. Also grab hapless speakers of your language and make them talk to you (this does not apply to dead languages. Necromancy is illegal and unethical. Just saying.) If you are keen on doing very well (and you should be, try to aim very high while you still have the time to work towards it), then write at least one essay per week (again, not applicable to dead languages.)
4. Regarding exams - Read all questions carefully. Including in the English exam. Several people were screwed over in English for not reading the instructions carefully. (They were told to analyse all the opinions present - or something to that effect, some didn't.) Also, don't forget to bring your glasses like I did.
5. On having a life~ Have one. You need it. You will be so bored otherwise.
That's all for me. I am now going to change my signature to 'replies with rants'.
TL;DR - What everyone else probably already said regurgitated in Sickle's words.
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i bet if we had a grammar or punctuation or spelling or even creative writing test i would whoop every1 to japan and then to tokyo.
Hm... Section 2?
OP: Unfortunately, I can only give advice on subjects I did...
1. Science/Maths studies require practice to achieve absolute accuracy and speed. It doesn't matter if you understand things before your teacher has fully explained it. There is no way to be great at precision subjects (subjects where your answer is either right or wrong) except excessive over-practice. Don't slack off like I did. My greatest regret this year is not doing much if any work for Specialist until exams came around when it was too late to cram absolutely everything.
2. English requires you to be excellent at bullshit. Bullshit arguments, bullshit analysis, bullshit passion for things issues and debates you would not care about otherwise. (However, if you really are passionate about anything English-related, like reading or writing or twisting people's words to suit yourself, pursue it like a madman.)
Drop all preconceived ideas about needing to be 'right'. You don't need to fit a predetermined standard of 'right' (assuming you have excellent syntax and spelling already - if not, treat that like maths and rote learn it), you just have to be very adamant about the thing you have chosen to argue about, pursue your points with the persistence and persuasion of a presidential candidate covering up a scandal (that is, the scandals that you have yet to hear about). Always remember to give a point and then expand on why you are obviously, definitely right about it (some forget to give their point and ferociously but messily dig into their expansions, others have essays resembling shopping lists. Don't be either.).
You will also need to spend a lot of time making up crap by over-thinking your texts/context. This should be easy if you are a (nerdy) girl. I spent many a lunchtime viciously gossiping about the characters in the book. ('Omg can you believe he did that' - really effective, trust me.) If your writing is at least about 9th grade level, all you need beyond that is a lovely set of made up notions backed by 'evidence' - and then you're set. Really, English can often be like a game of shouting random crap with great confidence and feigned evidence until someone seriously calls bullshit (but no one will if you intimidate them with your veeeeery persuasive arguments).
The conclusion of this rant is - have a different attitude to maths than you have to English. Maths is about precision and practice, English is about cultivating as many theories and ideas out of nowhere as you can (and then expressing it all neatly).
3. On LOTE subjects. Languages are best learned through immersion. Now is a great time to watch all shows and listen to all music in that language (without subtitles or anything) for the entire year/holidays. Trust me, it's awesome. Also grab hapless speakers of your language and make them talk to you (this does not apply to dead languages. Necromancy is illegal and unethical. Just saying.) If you are keen on doing very well (and you should be, try to aim very high while you still have the time to work towards it), then write at least one essay per week (again, not applicable to dead languages.)
4. Regarding exams - Read all questions carefully. Including in the English exam. Several people were screwed over in English for not reading the instructions carefully. (They were told to analyse all the opinions present - or something to that effect, some didn't.) Also, don't forget to bring your glasses like I did.
5. On having a life~ Have one. You need it. You will be so bored otherwise.
That's all for me. I am now going to change my signature to 'replies with rants'.
TL;DR - What everyone else probably already said regurgitated in Sickle's words.
You are my hero, Sickle.