Unit 2 Exam Revision

[Stick]

So I've spent these holidays studying pretty hard for my Further exam and managed to fit in all the Year 11 homework that was given to me as well. I'm just not sure when I should start revising for the Unit 2 exams. They start on the 14th November for me (two weeks after the Year 12 exams start) and my Further exam is on the second and third exam day. If I leave my revision until after the Further exams, I will only be giving myself one week to prepare for five subjects, but I don't want to overload myself prior to the Further exams either. I usually allow myself three weeks to study for exams so I'm not sure how I'm going to find the perfect balance. What do you think I should do? :S

[rebeccab26]

So I've spent these holidays studying pretty hard for my Further exam and managed to fit in all the Year 11 homework that was given to me as well. I'm just not sure when I should start revising for the Unit 2 exams. They start on the 14th November for me (two weeks after the Year 12 exams start) and my Further exam is on the second and third exam day. If I leave my revision until after the Further exams, I will only be giving myself one week to prepare for five subjects, but I don't want to overload myself prior to the Further exams either. I usually allow myself three weeks to study for exams so I'm not sure how I'm going to find the perfect balance. What do you think I should do? :S

focus the majority of time on further, however, do a bit of consistant study for your other subjects. they are no where near  as important as your 3/4.

[nisha]

^^Seconded. Lol, when in Year 11 I hardly at all studied for my 1/2's. I focused on my 3/4right uptil the end, and gave myself like the day before each unit 2 exam to do a cram session. They don't count after all.

[Lasercookie]

I have a feeling Stick won't be able to fully resolve to cramming or winging them.

You could set aside an hour or two every other day to do Year 11 revision stuff starting from now (start with the early bits of Unit 2 and what's been covered so far).

Outside of class time, I honestly wouldn't do much more than that. Further's going to be taking up a lot of your time and you probably don't want to spend all your time studying Further and then all the rest of your time studying year 11 stuff.

[Stick]

I'm lucky that I've been really organised for most of my subjects throughout the year so my revision notes for everything except GMA are actually complete (I intend to do the GMA notes tomorrow if I have time). So with the notes all complete, I just need to set aside time each day to work through questions. What I was thinking is that if I don't receive homework for a particular subject one night that I complete 30 minutes of revision for that subject. The problem with that is I get homework almost every night for Chemistry and GMA so it might cause a huge imbalance in the time I set aside for each subject. I'm thinking I'm going to need to start now and work through it all in smaller chunks.

[rebeccab26]

I'm lucky that I've been really organised for most of my subjects throughout the year so my revision notes for everything except GMA are actually complete (I intend to do the GMA notes tomorrow if I have time). So with the notes all complete, I just need to set aside time each day to work through questions. What I was thinking is that if I don't receive homework for a particular subject one night that I complete 30 minutes of revision for that subject. The problem with that is I get homework almost every night for Chemistry and GMA so it might cause a huge imbalance in the time I set aside for each subject. I'm thinking I'm going to need to start now and work through it all in smaller chunks.

you seem fine don't stress. do stuff for other subjects during school hours. do half an hour of revision for maybe one or two subjects each night and change subjects each day so you get a bit done for each subject. then focus the rest of your time to further. further is a subject that you can do really well in so it will boost your atar. focus on that

[FlorianK]

Your Yr11 exams do not count.
Your Further Exam does count.
Hence don't study for your Yr11 subject prior to the further exam.

[rebeccab26]

Your Yr11 exams do not count.
Your Further Exam does count.
Hence don't study for your Yr11 subject prior to the further exam.

lol i completely agree with you but @Stick seems like the type of person who will not neglect their other subjects or cram for them at the last minute.

[Stick]

Your Yr11 exams do not count.
Your Further Exam does count.
Hence don't study for your Yr11 subject prior to the further exam.

This is not the sort of attitude I have about going to school. You're there to learn and try your best, and I would never completely abandon a subject or stop trying simply because it doesn't count. That is not the attitude I want to take on in life and I really despise others who do. I definitely prioritise my studies so that the more important tasks are always completed first (this is usually Further) but I always make an effort to get everything done.

[rebeccab26]

Your Yr11 exams do not count.
Your Further Exam does count.
Hence don't study for your Yr11 subject prior to the further exam.

This is not the sort of attitude I have about going to school. You're there to learn and try your best, and I would never completely abandon a subject or stop trying simply because it doesn't count. That is not the attitude I want to take on in life and I really despise others who do. I definitely prioritise my studies so that the more important tasks are always completed first (this is usually Further) but I always make an effort to get everything done.

FlorianK is just saying leave your other subjects to after further.
That makes sense.
It is in no way a "bad attitude" or not learning and trying your best.
Further is the one that counts.
It requires the most attention.
It's as simple as that.
If you spend heaps of time studying for other subjects [which do not contribute towards your atar] and do worse in further than you expected you are going to regret not putting more time into it.
You have the time after your further exam to focus on other subjects but the fact that you took on a year 12 subject a year early means that you should have know you would sometimes have to make sacrifices in your other subjects to put 100% into further, especially in the lead up to exams.

[Felicity Wishes]

Your Yr11 exams do not count.
Your Further Exam does count.
Hence don't study for your Yr11 subject prior to the further exam.

This is not the sort of attitude I have about going to school. You're there to learn and try your best, and I would never completely abandon a subject or stop trying simply because it doesn't count. That is not the attitude I want to take on in life and I really despise others who do. I definitely prioritise my studies so that the more important tasks are always completed first (this is usually Further) but I always make an effort to get everything done.

It's not about completely neglecting a subject. The point is that VCAA only get the S or N and not the grade. I do understand where you are coming from though as I put effort into my 1/2 subjects because I also wanted the grades, despite the fact that they are not important. You should still devote a lot of time towards further but have small periods that last for 30 minutes to an hour where you revise for other subjects. Allows your brain to consolidate the further information and get other study done. 

[paulsterio]

focus the majority of time on further, however, do a bit of consistant study for your other subjects. they are no where near  as important as your 3/4.

They are as important as your 3/4, you'll kick yourself if you end up neglecting them in order to put time into your 3/4 and realise a few months into next year that you should have taken Y11 more seriously.

My honest advice is, it's much more important to get a good foundation on all your Y11 subjects, especially since Further Maths isn't a subject which really demands any great deal of time.

It's not about completely neglecting a subject. The point is that VCAA only get the S or N and not the grade. I do understand where you are coming from though as I put effort into my 1/2 subjects because I also wanted the grades, despite the fact that they are not important.

They are important

[rebeccab26]

focus the majority of time on further, however, do a bit of consistant study for your other subjects. they are no where near  as important as your 3/4.

They are as important as your 3/4, you'll kick yourself if you end up neglecting them in order to put time into your 3/4 and realise a few months into next year that you should have taken Y11 more seriously.

My honest advice is, it's much more important to get a good foundation on all your Y11 subjects, especially since Further Maths isn't a subject which really demands any great deal of time.

It's not about completely neglecting a subject. The point is that VCAA only get the S or N and not the grade. I do understand where you are coming from though as I put effort into my 1/2 subjects because I also wanted the grades, despite the fact that they are not important.

They are important

by this point you would already have a solid foundation as you have worked consistently throughout the year and done the work. You are not missing out on gaining knowledge or learning concepts that will be revisited in year 12.

[paulsterio]

I wasn't giving advice on just what to do RIGHT NOW, but moreso how you should approach Y11 with a mix of 1/2 and 3/4 subjects. I agree, 3/4 subjects will feel more important because they count. But let me draw out a situation.

Let's say I am doing these subjects (for simplicity sake, let's say I'm only doing 4 subjects):

English 1/2
Methods 1/2
Chemistry 1/2
Physics 3/4

I spend a lot of time on Physics 3/4 and hence, I end up getting a 50, whilst my foundations are pretty shabby on the other three subjects. I end up getting 36, 38 and 41 on my other three subjects the following year and as a result, am disappointed with how I went in Year 12.

I'm given a chance to go back and redo things. This time, I focus more evenly on all my subjects and hence, I only score 45 in Physics. However, I have identified that English is my weak point and have worked on that throughout Y11, thus, leading me to get 40 in English. I also go in with a better foundation in Methods, getting a 41 and having a better understanding of bonding, gases, redox reactions and stoich in chemistry, thus, getting a 43.

Well guess what, I manage to get a higher aggregate - so lesson/moral - Y11 subjects are important, don't neglect 5 subjects for the sake of 1.

by this point you would already have a solid foundation as you have worked consistently throughout the year and done the work. You are not missing out on gaining knowledge or learning concepts that will be revisited in year 12.

I disagree, pre-exam study - you learn a lot.

[Special At Specialist]

As my maths teacher says "make the main thing the main thing". Your year 12 subjects are obviously a lot more important than your year 11 subjects, so spend the majority of the time preparing for further maths.
I like the idea of doing other subjects at school and only doing further maths as homework.