alrighty, as a 50 raw, I thought i might add my tips to this thread as well. As we all know, everyone learns differently and the tricks that might work for some people won't be a useful for others.
so, here's how I got my 50 in psych in 2015, hope it's helpful:
1. make. your. own. notes. I can't stress how important this was for me. yea, you can use other people's notes to compare and read over, but, for me, it was essential that I had everything down in my own words, in my own handwriting. yep - that's hard copy!!! you won't be typing your answers to the exam. so, here's what you do, you take down all your crappy in-class notes and textbook questions during the year - make sure it covers EVERYTHING. check with your teacher, other students, and any notes you might have nabbed. Then, about a couple weeks before the term 3 holidays, buy a notebook. A big one. maybe with a pretty cover. Then copy down your whole year's work into this notebook. Reword it, colour code it, add arrows and examples and diagrams and flow charts. The whole kit and kaboodle. This is now your bible for the weeks coming up to the final exam. worship it
2. do practice questions!!!!!!! a LOT of them. make sure you're intimately familiar with what each question wants from you. Like, if it's a 2 mark question, what are those 2 marks for? Being a natural writer/verbal learner helps, but it isn't essential. You will pick it up. personally, I did around 15 practice exams in the lead up to the final exam, and that was enough for me. at that point, I actually felt like if I did any more I'd probably explode, and I didn't do any practice questions at all for the 4 or so days immediately before the exam :O probably not a great move, but hey, it worked and I felt confident.
3. don't stress too much about SACs!!!! I got a B+ on my first psych sac and was devastated. still got a 50 though, lmao. so if you bludge a couple of your sacs (not all of them!!!!), but ace your exam, you're still in with a fighting chance, my friend.
4. lectures aren't worth it. I'm telling you this now. Instead, have some one-on-one sessions with your teacher or some other students. Draw mind maps, reread your textbook, watch youtube videos on the topics - much more worth the time (also not nearly as expensive - i used the hundred or so bucks i saved on some quality stationery and a weekly 7-11 run in the lead-up to the exam, much more worthwhile imo)
5. the ABSOLUTE BEST thing that I did (and I'm certain this is what got me that 50) was recording every single question that I got wrong or was unsure about (whether in the textbook, for homework, in a SAC or prac SAC, past exams, whatever). I'd write every single one down on a palm card, find the correct answer from my teacher or the examiner's report, and write that on the back as well. I structured it so that I'd have a dot point for each mark in the answer. This way, the next time I came across the question (or one similar to it) I'd know EXACTLY what I had to write to get those marks. I made about 150 of these by the end of the year. They really were invaluable - no way could I have got that kind of raw score without them.
6. study in your own time!!!!!!!! to be honest, I didn't even pay attention much in psych class....was on my phone for 40% of the lessons (lmao yes......im one of those people). It's the homework and study sessions that really count. If you think you can afford to chill out a bit during classes, do it. we all need a bit of r&r sometimes. but definitely knuckle down on your psych work at home.
7. do NOT neglect section C. I'm serious. write so many discussions you think your brain might short circuit if it sees the phrase "control for extraneous variables" ever again. know your research methods back to front and back again. In the exams and SACs, write as much as you can, for as long as you can. you can NEVER make too many points, mention too many extraneous variables, or waffle on too long about limitations. just do it. shia labeouf compels you
8. don't cram. I know, you've been told this 4928402 times before. but like, legit, do not. study consistently. the 3 or so weeks pre-exam, I studied around 2-6 hours per day. some days I didn't study at all - because i'd worked all throughout the year, and i just didn't need to be staying up late and losing sleep over it.
So, TLDR,
- make your own EXTENSIVE AMAZING BEAUTIFUL notes, the kind you'd want hung in MOMA, that's what you're aiming for
- practice exams. do them. do them again. one more time
- dont worry if u bludge a sac or two. you'll find your feet
- lectures just aren't worth the time or money. study in your own ways instead
- record EVERY single question you come across (over the course of the whole year!!! that's right, every one, my boy) that you are unsure about. plus the answer, too, otherwise it's a little pointless.
- study outside of school. kind of obv, but your home study time is much more valuable than your class time, partcularly when it gets down to the pointy end of the year.
- section C rulez
- cramming sux
so that's it. happy psych-ing
yall get that 50
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