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

[jamonwindeyer]

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?

Hey! Welcome to the forums!

Huge questions there, luckily I've prepared some huge answers! if you click here you can read the guide I wrote to getting a Band 6 in Legal - It covers a heap of stuff; study, essays and more Music I suppose depends a bit on your electives, I did all three options actually! Did you want tips for any in particular? For the Aural Exam, again, I prepared a long answer to guide you

So I'm a guitarist, but I only did one performance (Ocean by John Butler, a shortened version). I also did two compositions; one composition for an orchestra for film, and one for a guitar quartet in a sort of Flamenco/Classical blend. Finally, my Viva, which was on how musical interest is created in Progressive Rock Music

Memorising cases is a bit of a tough one, different things will work for different people! I personally used summary sheets like these, writing them helped me remember by itself, but then when I was writing practice essays it would form a handy reference. So I guess practice essays would be my recommendation!!

[Macca Muscles]

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!

[inescelic]

Hi Jamon! Could you please give me any tips regarding legal MC? They can be pretty curly and they often pull things out that aren't found in textbooks How can I approach or prepare for these?

[sarahhamilton]

Hi Jamon, so for my legal trial, I've just found out that because we havent reached our second elective topic, we have to write TWO essays on world order. I know that in world order essays, you talk about the legal and non-legal international instruments and mechanisms, but how do I differentiate the two essays? I've looked at past papers and the questions are usually pretty similar. Any help is much appreciated!

[jamonwindeyer]

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

Hey Britney! Welcome to the forums!

1. Extremely well, like, 20/20 good and a strong 20/20 at that. Even then, you might only get a nomination - Actually getting to perform at the Encore showcase is a little bit of luck on top of that, because (to my understanding) they like to get a variety of instruments, types of schools, styles - They don't want 15 violin performances from the inner city schools, basically. Note you get nominated on a per-performance basis, not for the performances as a whole

2. External HSC marks, but I think they consider internal for tiebreaks!

3. Complicated answer to this one, let me link you to this guide on how it all works!

4. I can't offer any specific advice for those subjects, but in general, writing a good essay is about answering the question and backing up your argument. So:
- Use terms from the question to prove you are answering it, and link back to the question/your main idea frequently
- Know what the marker is expecting in that particular essay (know the criteria!)
- Try to do one piece of analysis per sentence (one quote/technique, one source and explanation for Ancient, etc) - Striving for this will force you to be succinct and eliminate unnecessary elements
- Read this guide on structure!

5. Definitely not! Doing well in the HSC Exam at the end can really bring back even the worst of years - The guide on how marks are calculated above should reveal more, but trust me when I say that it is definitely not too late

[jamonwindeyer]

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!

Hey! Try and use words that link to the criteria of effectiveness you learn in Year 11! So, responsive/unresponsive, accessible/inaccessible, just/unjust, etc etc!

[inescelic]

How many words should I be aiming for crime and option essays for legal?

[jamonwindeyer]

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

Hey! I actually wrote a guide on the sorts of things you should be doing, you can read it here! Basically, you need to first memorise all your techniques and quotes, and then practice, practice, practice!! Practicing lots of essays (even dot pointing how you would structure the essay, if time is restricted) will help you prepare for the variety of questions they could ask. The more questions you see and attempt a response for in some form, the better

In terms of arranging notes, no gold standard! I just had a table with the techniques and quotes I wanted to remember for each module, organised into themes!

[jamonwindeyer]

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!

Yep! World Order is here, and I didn't do the same thing for HR but the notes I used you can download here

[diesxel]

Realistically, is it possible to get a 99+ atar with some low scaling subjects?

[inescelic]

Do you have any tips on balancing study for content heavy subjects (i.e. biology and legal) with ext1 maths? I find maths requires a lot of time because its just so bloody hard, but I do need a lot of time to memorise the concepts in my other subjects. . . finding it quite tricky to balance during my trials atm thanks for your help

[AngieDapie]

Hi Jamon! I have a LS essay assignment coming up, and its on the Global Environmental Protection option, I was wondering if I should include a definition of global environmental protection in my essay, and if I should include it, where would be the best place to put it.

Thank you!

[jamonwindeyer]

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?)

Hey, welcome to the forums!!

I'm guessing you are in Year 11? Don't stress too much about prep for Year 12 at this stage - Establish good study habits. Learn how you learn (do you write out your notes, do you teach others, figure out what gets stuff in your head). Year 11 is all about understanding how you like to work, that should be your focus, so you can go into Year 12 with a clear idea of what works and what you need to be doing

Different ways of study work for different people (here is a big list of methods), but what I did a lot of was practice. Practice essays, sample exams, timed problems, etc - Lots of rehearsal so I was ready for the real thing my notes were just organised by syllabus dot point, they were succinct but not too succinct, but again it is up to you to decide what works for you!

I went mostly well in exams, but I certainly screwed up a few times. My Extension 1 Half Yearly, for example, I got like 52% or similar, coming 2nd last in the cohort. I suppose the best way to improve from there is to work hard - Know exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. Mine was purely about doing more practice under exam conditions, yours might be some little niggling thing you'd not noticed or thought of before. But at its core, just work hard - That's the only way to improve in anything

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon.
What are your tips on creating an effective study timetable?
Thanks

Hey! I think being realistic is the key - So many people make timetables that they could never actually stick to. Being aware of your own capabilities and making one that is right for you is the key to it actually benefitting you

I wrote a guide on making a study timetable, you can read it here

[beatroot]

Hi Jamon!
I've got my Paper 1 and 2 this Monday and Tuesday. Just wondering how you prepared for it and how do you prevent your hand from hurting/straining during the two hour limit? I've been writing one practice essay for each day this week for 40 minutes. But haven't actually timed myself for the two hour limit. Is it too late to start now? How did you prepare for the unseen texts for paper 1? Also I currently have an internal mark of 73% for one of my subjects, is it still possible to get in the Band 5/6 range by the end of the year?