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

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi!
I have my trials on Monday and I have prepared quite well for english, but I've hardly studied for my other subjects since I prioritised english, and all my exams are consecutive. Do you have any tips on how to manage studying effectively for multiple subjects at the same time?

Hey Olivia! Welcome to the forums!

Basically I'd suggest making a timetable and allocating your time according to how much you are struggling with them. So, spend more time on the ones you find tougher. But I think laying out all the time you have and deciding ahead of time how you will spend it, is the best possible way to make sure you handle studying for multiple subjects simultaneously

I wrote a guide on doing just this, you can read it right here!

Oh, and don't do a whole day of one subject if you can avoid it! Bad for the brain - Mix it up to keep yourself alert (math in the morning, history in the afternoon, science at night, etc)

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon, how many piece of evidence should we have in each body paragraph thank you.

Hey! Quality over quantity, but I'd suggest an absolute minimum of three - Three bits of evidence analysed very well would do nicely. Ideally though, a bit more if you want to do really well

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon,

I was just wondering whether you felt as prepared for Trials as you did for HSC? My Trials start next week and although I feel like I've spent so much time studying I really feel like it's impossible to know everything yet in this short space of time we've had to study between our previous assessments and Trials.

So do you think it's fine to not feel as prepared for Trials? Do you have any tips for not feeling overwhelmed by/how to handle being tested on the whole year's worth of information for the first time?

Hey! Oh, pfft, definitely not - Trials are the same amount of exams in the HSC, without the month off to study, and in a much shorter space of time... No one sane feels 100% prepared

Basically, definitely impossible to know everything so quickly, at least to the level of depth you will know it by the HSC. Go in with that understanding, everyone is the same, pretty much everyone will do way better in their HSC than they do in their Trial so it is absolutely okay to not feel completely prepared, I'd say it is a good thing, in fact. I think just understanding that everyone is in the same boat will probably take the pressure off a bit - Just do the best you can! It is all you can do, it is all anyone will do, and by the time HSC rolls around (when it counts) you'll have had way more time to prepare

[imda.beast]

hey jamon,
my question is not directly hsc related.
i am interested in doing engineering in uni, but i'm not sure which one to go for (eg. mechanical, biomedical, electrical, chemical etc)
can you give a bit of insights and overview into these faculties, and your advise?
thank you in advance

[marioedd]

Hi Jamon.
What technique do you recommend in terms of tackling the physics papers. What order do you recommend and why?
Also I am having trouble with long responses, I know the content well, but am not able to put it clearly into words for 4 and 5 markers and even beyond them.
Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon, just wondering if you can give me some advice on how to study for advanced english? Did you memorise all of your essays and then adapt them? Thanks, Amy

Hey! I definitely did not memorise my essays for English, and I advise everyone to steer clear of that for these reasons what I did was:

1 - Memorise my quotes, I made big tables with all the quotes and techniques I needed grouped by themes/ideas, and just memorised them. I read them, I wrote them, I used them in practice paragraphs. Anything I could do to sink them in.
2 - I practiced, loads. Doesn't have to be full essays either - Even just odd paragraphs here or there. I would even dot point my essays, write the main points I'd argue and how I'd support them without actually writing the full thing. But practice is really essential

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon,
I was wondering if you have any good tips for what to eat the morning of an exam? I'm one of those people that's always snacking rather than having proper meals so I'm struggling to find something filling that will last for a 3 hour exam, and all my exams are in the morning.
Also, how would you go about answering a 7 mark question on discussing compliance and non compliance in regard to human rights, with a contemporary issue? The one I'd chosen is human trafficking and slavery and I'm not sure exactly what to include and how to set it out.
Thanks!

Hey Andrea! Welcome to the forums!

I think from memory I would have had a few pieces of toast - A little awkward, but I didn't want to have cereal or anything liquid heavy in case it made me need the bathroom in the exam, which you do not have time for! Trick for the afternoons was to down a big chunky muesli bar right before I walked in, that kept me filled. I don't like to eat a lot before stressful scenarios though, so take my advice for what it is worth

Hmm, for that one you'd probably look at the new laws and a case or two (R v Ho et al, for example) and go, "Hey, the law is encouraging compliance with human rights laws by punishing offenders. They did this here, here and here. This is how effective this is in acting as a deterrent!"

[inescelic]

My legal trials are on monday and my teacher has hinted at a compliance/non-compliance question for the crime essay. I have 4 points (police powers, bail, trial process and punishment)
This is what I've planned so far:
Thesis: CJS has role in encouraging compliance for reasons such as reflecting community standards/ society's expectations as well as responding to those who don't comply to reflect justice. However, issues arise because
a) legal personnel and law enforcement agencies themselves also fail to comply
b) law struggles to find a balance between a direct resolution and root level solution to compliance
1)Police powers:
LEPRA: police should use "reasonably necessary" force, not reflected in Roberto Curti case
Also causes problems as independent conduct commissions are limited by resource inefficiency and responsiveness i.e. LECC
Law also has responsibility to comply to community standards-> not reflected in LEPRA amendment that limits civil liberties
2) Bail:
Depends on compliance, and can allow non-compliance of charged individuals e.g. Man Monis
Remand increases compliance but is limited in effectiveness because of resource inefficiency (ALRC says number of people in remand have tripled since 2011, not enough room in prisons)
3) Trial Process:
Jury and judges need to comply to their standards in the trial process for natural justice
Jury Act says jurors can be discharged if they don't comply or "engage in misconduct" -> leads to retrial and longer time in court, resource inefficiency
Case of Judge Hampel-> failed to comply to common law precedent that juries are paraded in front of accused -> labelled as "a miscarriage of justice" by court-> has allowed rape criminals to appeal -> not reflecting community standards
4) Punishment:
Mandatory sentencing under Crimes Act-> extreme form of general deterrence and response to non-compliance -> yet removes judicial discretion and limits fairness
Reform to introduce ICO-> mandatory supervision to monitor compliance and drug use programs to prevent recidivism and address issues root level as well
Aims to encourage compliance amongst YO
E.g. Justice Reinvestment program-> diversionary program to help disadvantaged communities -> yet only being piloted in Bourke, no enforceability or access nation wide
What do you think?

[Youssk]

Hey Jamon,
Do you think the most effective study method is to do past papers with notes beside you, and once the content is learned, try and do papers without notes?

[cdhnx]

Hey Jamon!
What are some quick study tips for trials and how did you deal with the stress of Year 12?

[jamonwindeyer]

How did you find the motivation to continue to study?

Was it the possible careers, sense of achievement or whatever else?

Right now I'm struggling to find a motivation to study for. I don't have a particular course at uni I'm 100% set on and I'm lacking a drive to really succeed. I've got all the resources and capability but cannot find the drive.

Also, sometimes I feel that my hard work doesn't pay off. Ever since last year I've been at the library studying from 3-9 every single day but my results while aren't terrible are definitely not what I expected having put so much time in. I know there's the idea of effective study but I feel that I'm fairly productive most of the time but it makes me frustrated when classmates turn up and wing exams and score higher. People keep telling me HSC is a reflection of your work you put in but I can't help but feel I'm not cut out for it. Did you ever feel this at any point? At your 3U lecture you mentioned one should turn their disappointment into drive for their next assessment and I've been doing that but it doesn't seem to produce results ):

Trials are coming up next monday and I'm scared I'll choke, blank out and bomb it.

Hey! Really cool question - I think for me it was not knowing what I wanted specifically do to (until right at the end) that motivated me to do well. I was so scared I'd finally figure out what I wanted, but then my score would make that difficult for me. So, I worked hard to have the peace of mind that my doors would stay open. Then when I picked my door, that became my motivation

It sounds like you are working really hard, and I totally understand how frustrating it must be to not be getting the results you think your time is worth. You are working far harder than I did at this stage of the year, that's for sure!

Two points I suppose:

1 - Do you know exactly WHAT your lingering issues in your subjects are? Like, if you want to improve, you need to be able to say, "To improve I need to do _______." Can you do this? If not, that if your first step!

2. Perhaps not what you expect, but have you considered studying less? Do you ever think that the sheer intensity of 6 hours study per day could be taking a toll, and that studying less might actually improve your results?

Ultimately, no one who prepares like you do will bomb. Sure, you might blank on a question. Everyone does at some point! But trust me, that much prep will definitely reward you, I have complete faith you will do objectively well in your Trials. Subjectively, in terms of meeting your standards, there's no guarantees because obviously you set high standards of yourself. But ultimately, if you walk into your Trials with a positive attitude, you'll do far better. Positivity is a performance enhancer!

[Anonymous_]

Hey Jamon, thanks for this Q&A! Got a few questions and I'd appreciate if you could answer 'em.

1) So I'm currently in Year 10 and people have told me the transition to Year 11 is massive for all contents (Science especially), is this true? I'm doing all three Sciences (Phys, Chem and Bio) next year and MX1, so how can I prepare now to make sure I don't fall behind next year? Does the Math content also have a drastic change in difficulty from Year 10 content or does it just build on past content? Do Math classes have some sort of revision on a topic when they start a new topic (i.e. go over Year 10 basic knowledge in the first lesson to start off the new topic)?

2) How different is Year 11 content compared to Year 12? This question is mainly applied to MX1 and the three sciences. Does the content change drastically or does it build on?

3) Does MX1 have content (questions) similar to the AMC (Westpac) competition or is it more based off classwork content?

4) They're changing the syllabus for 2019 HSC students, have you had a look at it? If so, do you think the Science and English courses will be harder? Some people told me it'd be much harder, but others have said it's easier. Don't really know who to believe. And also, will past HSC papers come in handy if the syllabus is all changed or are we going to have to rely on without doing past papers?

5) Are trials harder than the actual HSC exam itself? Do schools let you keep the trials paper for practice?

6) I heard there's a creative writing section in the English Advanced papers. Personally, I'm not a fan of creative writing. How do I make sure I do well in that section of the test? Is there a good structure I can follow? Also, how many essays do you have to write in the English Advanced papers, will there also be a comprehension section?

7) Last question (I promise). Do the HSC English exams only ask you to use quotes from books and such? If that's the case, does it mean you have to memorise several different quotes from each book or does it only rely on 1 book? If not, how many books do you need to quote from? Will we use the STEEL (or TEE) paragraphs for essays or do they expect a different style of structure for the essays? What do you think would get the highest marks (teacher told me markers get bored of seeing STEEL paragraphs).

That's all I have. Thank you once again!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon 
I REALLLLY need help on how to best tackle short answers for legal studies....
how long would I be expected to write for a 5 mark q?!?!
thanks

Hey BK, welcome to the forums!

The short answers are all about practice - I wish I had a fancier piece of advice, but that's it! Practice, get feedback, practice again - Keep doing it until you are smashing every question. Beyond that, make sure you respond to the verb so you are actually answering the question as intended! Don't put judgements in a Describe question, for example

In terms of length, use the lines as a guide! You shouldn't need to go too far beyond what they give you in the exam room

[oliviamarie]

Hi Jamon!
2 (more) things;
- In regards to legal, is it beneficial to structure notes around themes and challenges as well as content? Currently I just have content but the themes and challenges are so relevant to most questions! Do you have themes and challenges notes where the content has been applied?
- Any predictions on what the family question will be? I hear that CSSA tries to predict the HSC exam questions

Thank you!

[jamonwindeyer]

The Q+A is now closed to further questions!

Wow, I'm blown away, thanks so much to everyone for your questions!!

I'm going to go refuel with some pizza and take a break, and then I'll be going back to answer the (large number of) questions I haven't gotten to yet!!

Remember there will be more Q+A's over the weekend - So keep your eyes open for those!