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

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon,
I was wondering for legal how did you study and how were you able to memorise all your cases/media/legislation? (I think this may already have been asked though). Also, do you have any tips for the 25 mark option essays (I'm doing consumer and family law)?

Hey Katie! Basically what I did to memorise all my stuff was to make summary sheets like these that had everything I needed to know in one spot. This way, when I wrote practice essays, I had a handy reference I could use if I got stuck. So I suppose my advice is to get the cases and stuff into a succinct resource (be it a sheet or a poster or whatever), then use this to aid you in lots of practice. Practice papers, sample essays and paragraphs, even just brainstorms based around essay questions - Practice using the knowledge

The 25 markers are the same as the 15 marker, they just need a little more depth. I'd just say the usual stuff - Know your evidence, make sure you are answering the question with a killer Thesis (see this guide), and plan your time properly. Aim to give yourself over half of your exam time for the two Option Essays, I managed 50 minutes each (you can steal some time from the multiple choice section usually)

For music, how did study for the aural exam? I feel like I can hear a lot of the stuff but find it really hard to put it onto the paper. Have you got any tips for when you are in the exam room and to score a high response? How did you structure your responses for music?

I actually wrote a guide on the aural exam you can read here. Make sure you are using dot points, use headings to group into sections. Try not to go for 100% detail if you can't do it straight away - Meaning, don't sit there trying to notate the drum rhythm when you can always just write "Drum rhythm uses short note values," then leave space for if the rhythm comes to you. It's very much an art of filling in gaps from multiple directions as you go

For the performances, what are the things that the marker really look out for, and how would I be able to get into the A range for them (I'm doing 4 pieces on clarinet with piano accompaniment).

Markers are looking for:

- Technical Fluency, are you playing the piece correctly and does the piece demonstrate your ability (how hard is it?)
- Dynamics and expressive techniques, additional things you do to add interest, tension and drama to the piece. This also includes your stylistic interpretation (not trying to perform a heavy metal piece with an acoustic guitar, for example)
- Performance ability, how engaging you are as a performer and how interesting you are to WATCH not just listen to
- Ensemble skills, how well you communicate with your other ensemble members (if applicable), or your ability to perform as a soloist otherwise

If you can do these things, you'll be in the A-range

Also, do you have any general tips on how to improve in English. English is my worst subject and also the one I dislike the most. Planning to ask Emily some more specific English stuff, but any tips will help

Lots of practice - That's really my only tip! I hated English too and was rotten at it in Year 11, but I worked hard, practiced lots and got feedback on it all - You'll see the improvement! And Emily will have lots more advice

How did it feel being the first person from NSW on ATARnotes?

Ahaha, I guess I'm proud to have seen the community grow from what was once just a few Math guides I wrote back in 2015!! I don't consider myself the person who started it all though, you have to trace that back to all sorts of people - Brenden, Jake, Elyse, myself, then all the NSW lecturers, then the moderators, then the people who used the forums last year and who are now on the team (both Susie and Emily), and then others behind the scenes. It's a continual growth process, a team effort for sure but I'm definitely really proud to have played the role I've played, and proud to have been able to play that role since the very beginning

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon!

For your music performances, how did you cope with nerves before performing?
Also, what would be the best way to study for an aural exam for music?

Thank you!

Hey! You are asking the wrong person, my nerves before my performance were awful! I figured out that what worked for me was moving around a lot, pacing I suppose you'd call it, while strumming the guitar or something similar. I needed a way to use the energy I was building up - A lot of people say to sit and relax but the opposite ended up working better for me and of course being prepared is important for that too!

The best way to study for an aural exam is to practice - Even if it isn't a practice exam, it might just be jotting down what you hear from a song on one of your playlists. Just consistently practice the skill of being able to identify and describe sounds in a song - Beyond that, it's all about knowing your concepts of music (which I personally made a mind map for, but there are loads of other ways too)

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon,
What was it that stood out in your musicology that earnt you an encore mention?
I'm about to do my viva in less than 2 weeks and I'm still trying to further research/analyse pieces
My elective is An Instrument and it's Repertoire and focus: a comparison of the harpsichord and pianoforte as exemplified by Jacques Loussier's Jazz piano renditions of Bach's album: Goldberg Variations
Sorry for all the qs but would this focus name also be too long? I never really had my teacher check it haha
What are your best tips for the research /presenting process?

Thank you so much!!! You are saving the hsc community

Hey!! Welcome to the forums! Thanks for your kind words, aha

It's hard to say exactly what stood out to the markers - I think I answered questions really well, and I gave a lot of practical demonstrations. Strummed progressions, played riffs, sang melodies, drummed rhythms on the desk - All that good stuff! I think those two things in conjunction were probably the two things I did best

I think that focus question is okay! Mine was even longer something to the effect of:

Exploring how musical interest is created in progressive rock music through polystylism, as exemplified by Muse.

I'll be honest and say I didn't need to do a lot of research - I picked a topic I loved. I loved Muse, I loved progressive rock, I knew the pieces I needed before I started purely from my listening. So I'm vastly unqualified to advise on the research process - On the presentation itself, try this guide!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon,
If I've completely messed up all my exams throughout the year, do relatively okay for trials but completely smash my hsc exams, how much impact would that make on my atar? I see no hope for me at this point

Hey! Welcome to the forums!!

You definitely have hope, a heap of it! A strong performance in the HSC can turn everything around, and building up to that with a good Trial result is even better. You'll never get anywhere giving up early - Push hard to the end! Trust me, the system will reward you for it!

Here is a guide on how it all works!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon,

For a really good essay on legal studies (ie, crime, shelter and family) how would you lay the essay out? Do you have any scaffolds?

Hey! Welcome to the forums!

I don't think there is a golden standard for structure, there are loads of ways to do it! A few options:

- Case by case, where you take situations/cases and analyse the effectiveness of the law in each. 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.

I strongly believe going with your gut is the best call here! The only thing you need to make sure you do is write a good intro - I wrote a guide on this here

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey, i was just wondering if you had any tips on revising large quantities of information. Like biology and business content are my weak points because the amount of info is overwhelming.

Hey! Welcome to the forums!!

I had a similar struggle for Legal, definitely a heap of content! I suppose the first step is making sure you've got a set of great notes (if you don't have a decent set of your own by now, just download em I reckon), you need something with everything you need in a succinct little package from there, there are so many ways to memorise that content (here are a heap of ways) but at its core you need to use the knowledge. Do practice papers, teach people, do brainstorms - Activities that require actively recalling and applying the knowledge you have! That is the best way to make it sink in

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon,
For the Crime question, I want to have a few broad topics up my sleeve to be able to answer a majority of questions with the same content. What topics do you think are the most versatile to use?

Hey! Welcome to the forums!

What I'd recommend is just having evidence ready to discuss each section of the Crime syllabus - Investigation, trial, sentencing, as well as international crime and young offenders. You can then mix and blend these as you need to answer any question - Or you might be forced to just use one section! Be prepared for anything

This is how I memorised my Crime stuff!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi, Jamon
How would you answer this question "Assess how state sovereignty can assist or impede the resolution of world order issues"
Thanks

Hey! I'd probably approach it by looking at a few key responses to World Order, and analysing how state sovereignty restricts their effectiveness (UNSC, UN General Assembly, IGO's, bilateral cooperation, etc). Or, you could analyse the way state sovereignty has affected the response to certain world order issues (EG - how has state sovereignty affected our response to North Korea?) both would work well! For this particular question I'd personally go with the former, just on instinct, but really it is personal preference

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon, how did you study, prepare, improve, and overcome English?

Hey RoJoHo!! Ahaha, you make it sound like climbing a mountain - Pretty accurate

My study for English was in two parts - Memorise my quotes, and then practice, practice, practice! I know it is cliche but practice really is so important to success in HSC English I did all sorts of practice though - What I loved to do was dot point my essays. I'd write my intro and topic sentences, then dot point the quotes and techniques I'd use in each paragraph. This helped me memorise and helped me practice responding to a question, without having to spend a heap of time actually writing the essay. Of course you should do that too, but this is a time saver

That's really all I did, practice. I was pretty rotten at English in Year 11, but I worked hard, got lots of feedback, and it ended up being one of my best subjects in my HSC. Hard work gets places, ultimately

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon
How did you secure a Co-op position in electrical engineering?
Cheers,
C.Harré

Hey! So I applied in September - The application is a big written thing about your co-curricular activities and personal qualities, you'll also need your school to submit an ATAR estimate for you (they won't consider you unless you are on track to meet the requirement of 96+). I got accepted at that stage and went to an interview - Not too bad, they just ask more about parts of your application and why you want to be part of the program, the usual stuff! A bit like a job interview got accepted from there, met the ATAR requirement, and here I am

I can't really offer many tips for this because most of it comes from stuff you've been doing all year - At this late stage, maybe look for a few extra activities to add to your application? And then the interview is all about confidence, knowing your strengths (without being arrogant of course), and knowing exactly why you want to be in the program (and what you can offer to the program) happy to chat more about Coop if you are interested! Send me a message anytime

[jamonwindeyer]

For Module B: I am doing T.S.Eliot and we have to learn a number of poems. I have studied two of them in depth and have all their quotes memorised, and the rest i have investigated their themes and stuff, but it will be very time consuming for me to remember ALL their quotes (time I'd rather divide up for other subjects too). My plan is that if they prescribe one of these poems I haven't memorised I will simply be able to read the one that's prescribed because it will be provided. However, someone today told me that the prescribed text will not be written out in full form and will only be a title - my teacher had not warned me of this. Is my plan thwarted or will the prescribed poem indeed be provided in full form?

Hey!! Welcome to the forums!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you might not be given the excerpt, and indeed, they didn't last year:

In your response, make detailed reference to The Hollow Men and at least ONE other poem set for study.

They specified a poem and didn't provide an excerpt - You'll need to be ready for that possibility

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon,
What are your top strategies for remembering content in general (not final cramming) and prep the night before an exam?

Hey! I'm a big believer that the best way to remember content is to apply it, do as much practice as you can! If you use the knowledge enough, it will sink in - So make applying the knowledge in practice exams, practice essays, brainstorms, teaching others (etc) a priority in your preparation

The night before an exam and the morning of an exam - Well I've actually written a big guide on what I think you should be doing there! You can read it here

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon, thanks for doing this 

I'm wondering if you burnt out at any point in year 12, and if not how you managed to avoid it. I feel like I'm running out of steam really close to the finish line, so any advice helps.

Thanks in advance!

You're welcome!! I don't think I burned out overall, but I definitely burned out for certain subjects - Music would be one. End of my first term of Year 12 (so Term 4 of 2013) I was so done with music, so drained and so over everything to do with it. What helped me there was taking a break! I took a full month off from music entirely (the luxury of a summer holiday) and came back refreshed and ready to work again.

I honestly think the way to avoid burnout is to stay rested. I view burnout as coming from pushing too hard for too long - The natural remedy for that is to recuperate. So you've got Trials to deal with now, get through those, then take a big break! You've got the time for it, and it will be essential to get through the last few months. I took like 3 weeks off everything but the most essential things after Trials, you should do the same! Recharge the batteries, and get primed for a big push to the finish

[jamonwindeyer]

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

Hey! So I think the best way to get good at doing an English Thesis is to practice - Now obviously practice essays are time consuming, but what I used to do was get a HEAP of questions for my texts/options, and just write the Thesis for each one (and maybe dot point the rest of the essay). By doing this I got really good at being able to respond to a question on the spot with a killer Thesis. There's no golden formula for a great Thesis, it is very much a question by question thing, so it really just comes down to having written enough of them that you can consistently come up with something that works

They'd never ask you to consider a fictitious scenario, but I got a quote in my HSC! The best way is to paraphrase the key pieces "into your writing," like I did just there, to keep your flow while still referencing the statement. Referencing the source of the quote in the introduction is a good idea, just to be direct in answering the question. Besides this, just handle the essay as normal - If you paraphrase the quote in your topic sentences and conclusions, or just whenever feels natural in your analysis, chances are that will be enough by itself

[jamonwindeyer]

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!

Hey!! I wish I could give a fancy bit of advice here, but it is really all just practice. Start with whole practice exams that cover everything and take not of the topics you struggle with in those exams. Then go and do the Chapter Reviews for those sections, ask questions on the forums, reteach any content you've forgotten, really relearn that whole part of the course. Once you've addressed the problem areas, go back to big Trial exams and repeat!

It's a constant cycle of practice and consolidation - But practice is the key

An additional guide with some extra tips!