Jamon - Ask a State Ranker (Q+A Closed!)

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon! What are your best strategies/pieces of advice for NEXT year and post-HSC? I know the HSC is the important focus but I'm so worried that I'll still be unsure of what I want to do, or where to go, or how to handle everything.

Also, I heard you did Music 1. I do Music 2, but are you pursuing anything musical now, after school, as well?

And what's your fave life motto/advice to give/anything nice or motivational? Trials start on Monday....

Cool questions!! I suppose for next year, my big piece of advice is to not be afraid to change your mind. Like, don't be afraid to say, "Nah, wrong choice, getting out of that one." This could be a degree, or a part time job, or a relationship, or whatever. I made a lot of small changes out of my HSC rather than big ones, but if big changes come knocking, don't be afraid of change. And similarly, don't be afraid of opportunity! Hell, perfect example, I got my job at ATAR Notes based on the random decision to respond to a FB ad and send an email - That one tiny decision completely changed my life. So essentially, don't overthink things. A lot will change in the next 2 years or so - Embrace that!

Music and I are a bit of an odd couple now. I love it, and I still play when I can, but doing Music 1 really exhausted me in terms of a lot of stuff I used to do. I did two composition electives, which was really draining, and so where I used to compose and songwrite a lot I now don't do that as much. Ditto for just sitting down to play the guitar - I suppose the rigorous academics of the HSC Music course (it is hard work, no matter what people say) might have just 'music-ed' me out a bit? Not doing much musical right now, though I still play when I can - Next year I'll be working full time instead of uni, so I'll have a much more obvious "work-life" distinction because I won't be studying. I'm hoping that will give me the excuse to get back into writing music more - Releasing an album/collection of music of some description is on my bucket list

As motivation, put Trials into perspective. It's really not the biggest deal. Mathematically, in terms of marks, doesn't mean a lot. Long term in your life, means literally nothing. Also keep in mind that it is supposed to be brutal - And it will be more brutal than your HSC. Work hard, walk in knowing you couldn't have done any better, and let the rest happen. I was fortunate enough that my Trial Exams all went quite well, but I saw a lot of people get marks they weren't happy with and use that as motivation to come back and push harder. A less than ideal result in Trials doesn't exclude you from success in the HSC - So keep it in perspective in that sense

Hard work is its own reward - Give it your best shot and that is literally the best thing you can do!

[Prince005]

Hi Jamon,

Any advice on how to remember everything for paper 2? Just so much to get down in little time.
Also whats the best way to attack paper 1? What order should the test be done in kind of thing.
Thanks!

[wyeyern]

Hey Jamon! Just wondering, due to your success in Music 1 under musicology. I was wondering if you had any tips on excelling that section of music 1? Thanks

[paiges17]

Hi Jamon,
With regards to Legal:
How do you stand out from the crowd in your essays and short answer responses for Human rights in the upcoming trials.  It is always very close between my cohort and I want to make my response clear and strong.  Also, do you have any tips in remembering cases/legislation/media etc.?
Thanks so much!

[Lachlan Morley]

Hi Jamon, Do you have any predictions for the crime , world order and consumer questions for this years HSC

Also , My legal teacher keeps saying i need to continue to expand my judgments, any ways i can do this

[kiiaaa]

hey jamon, i really struggle in moving above a low band 5 in my essay writing and it really bugs. Do you have any tips on what to make sure you incorporate in essays or extra advice beyond what the teacher usually says?

Thanks soo much!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi, any tips on how to smash the extended responses in the legal trial? Are you aware of any good strategies or structures which can be easily applied?

Hey! Welcome to the forums!!

Two key points to writing a 25/25 (or 15/15) Legal essay:

- Lots of evidence, cases, laws, treaties, media, statistics, reports and others. You must be able to prove your...
- Strong argument, and not just a basic one like "This was good," or "This was bad," but something that's been considered carefully and shows that you've really delved into the issues you are discussing. I wrote a bit of a guide on this you can read here

In terms of structures, pretty much any question can be answered with one of two basic structures (of course others exist but these work for pretty much anything)

- Case by case, where you take situations/cases and analyse the effectiveness of the law in each. I used this a lot for World Order, but it works well if you have a few really powerful cases, with links to laws and other evidence, that you want to discuss. This could also be "issue based," for example, a paragraph on domestic violence for Family option, then one on surrogacy, etc!
- Response by response, where you take some response to some issue and analyse it in a paragraph, then just do that for a few responses. In Crime this might take the form of analysing the criminal trial process, separately to the sentencing process, separately to the way international crime is handled, etc.

For all, be sure you are evaluating. Pretty much every Legal question will ask you to evaluate/judge in some form, you should constantly be using words like "effectively" and "ineffectively," making sure you are critically judging how well the law has done in responding to whatever issue or case you are discussing

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jason I was wondering how u remembered all the cases and legislation for legal and how many would be needed to answer a 25 marker

Hey! Welcome to the forums!

I personally made summary sheets like these to do most of my memorising. I also used the evidence in practice essays to help it sink in, and tried a few other things too! I go through a few right here - Number 2 particularly is something I think everyone should try

It is very much quality over quantity for cases and legislation and such, but try and aim for three per paragraph at a minimum! I used to manage 6 or 7, but my style was very succinct. Three pieces of evidence per paragraph, analysed brilliantly, would be enough to score well

[cazza1]

Hi Jamon! I was wondering if you had any good tips for music and legal? Which instrument do you play, and what pieces? Also, how did you memorise all the cases etc needed for legal?

[Britney Lau]

Hi Jamon,
1. How well would I need to go in Music 1 to be nominated for Encore? (chosen all performance electives)
2. Are state ranks solely based on the external HSC marks or internal included?
3. Is it true that the external HSC marks will be allocated accordingly to the rank given in by the school? (e.g. if a student is ranked 2nd internally but got a higher mark in the external HSC exam than the rank 1 student, would the HSC mark of then internal rank 2 student be given to the internal rank 1 student?...If that makes sense)
4. Any advice for writing essays on the spot in the exam (specifically for Business Studies and Ancient History)?
5. Is it too late to do well in HSC if I haven't studied as much as I should have this year? (haven't studied consistently, only before exams)
Thanks

[kiiaaa]

Hey jamon!

i was wondering what are some evaluative terms/ or words that make a judgement when evaluating in legal essays? I cant think of anything strong to use to make an impact in my essay

thanks soo much!

[frog1944]

Hi Jamon,

How do I prepare for my upcoming English Advanced trials? How can I be ready for everything they could throw at me? How should I arrange my notes for each Module?

Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

Also, I just finished my first week of Trials, with my two English exams, Business Studies, and Maths. How can I maintain my motivation for my last two exams?

Wow, I hope all the exams went well!! How do you think you went?

Take a BIG BREAK tonight Sarah (after this Q+A finishes of course ) - Go watch a movie, hang with family, go out with friends, try and recharge your batteries for a night and perhaps even tomorrow morning. Come back refreshed - Keeping motivated in the Trial Exam period is so tough I know, so recharging over the weekend will be crucial. Besides that, keep looking forward! You have done 6 units worth of exams, you are halfway there - Think about how awesome you'll feel when you are done!

Oh, and put together a "motivational song" playlist for the morning before exams or before a big study session. Mine had like "Hall of Fame" and other very cheesy pump up songs

[kiiaaa]

Hey! Welcome to the forums!

I personally made summary sheets like these to do most of my memorising. I also used the evidence in practice essays to help it sink in, and tried a few other things too! I go through a few right here - Number 2 particularly is something I think everyone should try

It is very much quality over quantity for cases and legislation and such, but try and aim for three per paragraph at a minimum! I used to manage 6 or 7, but my style was very succinct. Three pieces of evidence per paragraph, analysed brilliantly, would be enough to score well

Hey jamon, do you by any chance have these types of summary sheets for Human rights and World order you would be able to share please? I use your fmaily law ones and they are my saviour and now ill use these crime ones as well!
 thank sooo much you're a legend!

[peiming13]

Hello Jamon,
Just wondering if you have any tips on preparing for Year 12? How did you study, ways to make notes and vice versa in- the way you studied in working on subjects you weren't good at? Also how did you go at school during exams? (If it didn't go that well how did you learn to improve?)