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

[chelseam]

Hey Jamon,

Do you have any tips on creating a thesis during an english exam? And any tips on how to approach a legal essay question if it asks you to consider a statement, or even a fictitious scenario?

Thank you

[jamonwindeyer]

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

Hey! Welcome to the forums!!

Indeed I do - I wrote a huge guide on it and you can read it here. Basically though, beyond just being able to talk about the concepts of music confidently, it really comes down to being able to answer their questions properly. Be prepared for any question about your excerpts or demonstrations - I played a chord progression on my guitar to demonstrate power chords and they asked me what key the progression was in. They can ask anything. Be ready! Beyond that, do lots of practical demos - I strummed chord progressions, played melodies/riffs on the guitar, sang lines (poor markers ), drummed rhythms on the desk, probably more too. Show them you understand it yourself, and aren't just regurgitating, by showing them what you mean

[eyw00400]

Hi! Do you have any tips to study very effectively for maths?
 (I have a maths trial exam coming up and I'm not feeling too good about it)
Thanks!

[jamonwindeyer]

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!

Hey hey! Great question - I strongly believe what sets a Legal response apart (mainly in essays) is the Thesis. The old "these responses proved effective" thing is significantly overdone, and by doing it, you sort of immediately become part of the pack. Try and make your Thesis/main argument more clever than that - Give a shades of grey argument by saying some things worked and others didn't, or perhaps say the responses are effective only in certain scenarios. Something to make it stand out. I wrote a guide on exactly this, you can read it here

To memorise cases and stuff, everyone is different! I personally made summary sheets like these to help me remember, but there are loads of things you can do. The one thing you should definitely do is use them, actually write practice responses! They'll sink in wayyyy faster that way than any amount of reading or absent minded copying

[Dante1091]

Hi Jamon, the day before every exam, what time did you go to bed? and how did you study the day before the exam?
Also, how did you manage your time for paper 2 of English?

[tlindeback]

Hey! With Musicology, how did you make your viva voces go from decent to sophisticated band 6 presentations? Also, any major tips for compositions? Lastly, what is the best way to study for maths when you keep making little mistakes? Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

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

Hey Lachlan! Elyse and I both think the Crime question this year is likely to be on law reform, it's a theme/challenge that hasn't been pressed in a while (maybe ever?) so it is a sensible prediction to me World Order questions are always some spin on the effectiveness of responses, they don't differ much - And I don't do consumers!! Sorry - We'll probably do some discussion about exam question prediction a little closer to October actually

Expanding judgements could mean a lot of things - It probably means more detail!! Are you giving enough evidence? Are you evaluating as you go or do you do it mainly at the end? Lots of different things it could be and lots of ways to fix - Feel free to jump over to our Legal Question Thread and we can help you figure things out

[Primallis]

Hello Jamon, for your legal studies essays, did you let the LCM drive your debate/thesis rather than let the concepts drive the specific argument you were trying to present? For example, if you had cases that specifically showed Law Reform as highly ineffective, you would structure your essays around the LCM rather than just talk about blanket concepts? I found this has worked for me quite well and want your thoughts.

Thanks!
Primallis.

[charlottecamer45]

How important are the trials? Ive been told, by some teachers as well who have been teaching for a long time, that theyre meant for us to practice for a reason so they are not too big a deal. Ive read some threads online that are similar. But another side says theyre extremely important. Its concerning to have conflicted sides. Im wondering like, do trials impact your atar by a lot?

Thank you x

[jamonwindeyer]

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!

Hey kiiaaa! I suppose my biggest piece of advice for you would be to make sure you know exactly what is missing from your essays when you get these Band 5's. Is it that you need more analysis? Is it that your concepts are unclear? Really get it clear in your mind EXACTLY what you need to do to improve - Because once you know that it is just practicing enough to do what is expected of you. But you need to know what that is first you get feedback from us in our essay marking threads (link provided for the curious reader), so keep doing that, and if we give you feedback that you aren't sure about, press us more. We're here to help

In general:

- Use terms from the question to make it clear you are answering it, constantly link back to the question and/or your main idea
- Understand what the marker will be looking for in that particular essay
- Try and complete one thought per sentence - One quote/analysis, one piece of evidence in a humanity, etc etc!
- Read this guide on structure!

[claudiarosaliaa]

Hey Jamon, what's the best way to study for he HSC without burning out? I want to do as much as I can over the next 12 weeks so I feel very prepared, but I'm worried that I'm going to use all my energy now and not have any left when I get closer to my exams. Also, how did you plan you study, like how much did you do per week for each subjet? Thank you

[pianodish]

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

[rhiannon.b2729]

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 

[oliviamarie]

Hey Jamon!
I was wondering 2 things regarding Advanced English
- 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)
- 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!

[ruponti.atiq]

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?