HSC Stuff > New South Wales Education Discussion
Jamon - Ask a State Ranker (Q+A Closed!)
jamonwindeyer:
--- Quote from: pianodish on July 28, 2017, 05:52:43 pm ---Hi again Jamon,
I already asked a question but just wanted to ask another :)
Through out Year 12 did you know that you would most likely be getting an ATAR of 99+? Were there times when you thought it would be impossible? How did you know what ATAR to expect and what kind of marks you would need to get/work you would need to put in to get it (as ATAR calculators aren't really accurate)?
Most of all, how did you overcome the barrier to having the mindset that you could achieve an ATAR that high? :)
Thank you :)
--- End quote ---
Hey again! Love that you asked another - These are cool questions ;D
Did I know I was getting 99+? Not really. I knew I was getting 90+, I knew that was within my reach and as assessments went my way I got more confident. After I did well in Trials, I thought, "Wow, I might get 95 or above here!"
99+ may have crossed my mind, but I never actually considered it a possibility, mostly because only one other person at my school had ever gotten one while I was attending, I just didn't see it as viable. I remember going to careers expos and being told the same because I was from Western Sydney and "People out there don't get 99+." So I was lead to believe that it wasn't going to happen. I worked my butt off to stick it to those idiots at the careers expos who told me I couldn't, but even in doing so, I guess part of me just thought, "Nah." I think maybe I knew I could but I didn't want to get my hopes up?
Anyway, as I was doing my exams - I started feeling confident. By the time I was done I was really confident. Then I got my HSC marks, and I couldn't believe it, but at the time I didn't know a heap about how the ATAR was calculated. I was pretty blind as to what I was looking at. I put my marks into calculators and got 99+, but I thought "There is surely no way..." As you say, ATAR calculators are inaccurate, always been told to take them at face value :P
Then I got the ATAR the next morning, my girlfriend called me to wake me and ask what I'd gotten because I'd slept in, and I opened it and probably came close to crying. I saw a number that reflected the effort I'd put in, when for 12 months people had lead me to believe that wasn't going to happen because of the subjects I'd chosen or the area I lived in. The sense of relief was overwhelming!
Sorry, went on a tangent and didn't answer your questions directly, but I guess they aren't really applicable to me. I was always lead to believe 99+ was impossible (or at least highly unlikely) for me. I never knew what sort of ATAR to expect because, firstly I was grossly uneducated about the whole process and what a 99+ actually looked like in terms of marks, and secondly, because I didn't invest a lot of time thinking about it. My concern was only to do as well as I could, whatever that was. I was stumbling blind, and didn't really have a goal because I didn't know what my goal was supposed to be or what was realistic, aha ;D
In terms of overcoming the mindset that "I couldn't," most of that came from external sources. If anything, those critics made me work harder, just to stick it to them ;)
jamonwindeyer:
--- Quote from: rhiannon.b2729 on July 28, 2017, 05:53:20 pm ---Hi Jamon,
Just wanted to ask how you studied for legal, particularly with remembering legislation.
Also did you do advanced english?? If so what related texts did you use for discovery?? and also any tips on how to analyse them?? Thanks :)
--- End quote ---
Hey! Welcome to the forums! ;D
For Legal I made summary sheets like these for my legislation/cases and such, then had this as a reference while I wrote a heap of practice essays! I'm a big believer that the easiest way to memorise your content is to apply it, learn through using the knowledge. This could be practice essays, practice paragraphs, even teaching your peers - But using the knowledge will force it to sink in really quickly! ;D
Sorry I can't help with your second question, I did do Advanced but I did the old study design! We do have a list of good ORT's you can read though, check it out here ;D
jamonwindeyer:
--- Quote from: oliviamarie on July 28, 2017, 05:55:54 pm ---Hey Jamon!
I was wondering 2 things regarding Advanced English
--- End quote ---
Hey hey! Let's do it:
--- Quote ---- Do you think it is likely to be asked for a specific poem to refer to (Eg. Donne) in a response? How do you prepare for this (I focus on 3 main poems to tie into my repsonses in prep)
--- End quote ---
They did it to a bunch of people last year, so can't count it out this year!! I had a similar issue for speeches, all I did was plan what speeches I'd link to each other if one was prescribed. So, if Speech A was prescribed, I'd link it to Speech C and Speech E, as an example. You unfortunately just need to have enough quotes/techniques memorised for every poem to be able to handle any poem if it is prescribed, no shortcuts there!
--- Quote ---- In regards to a module B essay, I'm finding it harder to prep for as the questions can be super specific or broad. Thematicially? What if they ask to refer to a certain the characterisation of a certain character (seen in a past question), how would you plan to structure your paragraphs?
CSSA Trials!
Thanks so much!
--- End quote ---
Hey! That question was brutal, very glad I didn't have to deal with it. I'd still structure the essay thematically, but just explore the themes with respect to that character. Of course, that's the ideal response - You have to work with the evidence you have prepared on the day, definitely a brutal question indeed :P
This guide might also help: Guide to Module B Essays! :)
jamonwindeyer:
--- Quote from: ruponti.atiq on July 28, 2017, 05:59:50 pm ---Hello! For Legal Studies trials or even hsc, there's so much in the syllabuses and there is never enough time to write essays for completely every possible essay question, so how do you suggest being prepared enough for any question that could come besides memorizing?
--- End quote ---
Hey! Welcome to the forums!! ;D
I definitely don't recommend memorising, instead I'd suggest preparing a broad set of evidence that can respond to pretty much any question. Make a summary of this evidence similar to this so it is easy to reference, and then using this to help you practice for as many questions as possible! Practice makes perfect, as they say ;D
Beyond this, it is vital to know your syllabus! They'll never ask an essay question on the first part of Crime, for example, it is too narrow! Knowing your syllabus helps you narrow down your options and do less hard work as a result :)
jamonwindeyer:
--- Quote from: Macca Muscles on July 28, 2017, 06:05:13 pm ---Hey Jamon, do you have any tips on how to structure Crime essays? I find it hard to adapt to the question sometimes and still maintain a coherent structure. Thanks!
--- End quote ---
Hey! Welcome to the forums!! ;D I can't really recommend a one size fits all structure, because it definitely depends on the question! Something that will work for a lot of questions is a paragraph on rights of the offender, another on rights of the victim, another on rights of society - How the legal system protects and upholds rights for each of these three groups, filled with content to suit the question! This would work for pretty much any question except one on international crime (which was asked in 2015 anyway), or perhaps some other theme/challenge question (compliance/non compliance). But it is something to have in the back pocket!
Besides that, do as much practice as possible so you are used to adjusting your ideas to new questions, and get feedback on your structure as you go! Practice makes perfect after all ;D
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version