Susie - Ask a State Ranker (Q+A Closed)

[Bellahenricks]

Hey Susie!
Are there any good resources you could recommend for Extension History?
How important are the Extension History exams, as the major work is worth so much?

[Janey123]

Hey, How did you try to remember your statistics for all your different topics in modern history,  and work out which are most necessary to remember !

[prickles]

Hello,
I don't have trials over the next few weeks, as i am still in year 11 so i understand if you dont want to give me priority...
But just trying to make up my mind if to do Extension History next year...anything you have to say that will dramatically convince me?
Thanks a ton

[jademessih]

Hey Susie,
I was wondering if you knew what the best way to reference textual integrity in my essay on speeches for critical study of texts?
Additionally, what's the best way to structure and answer comprehension questions for Paper 1: Discovery?

For Modern History,
is it better if I include quotes from historians in my essays? Moreover, what's the best way to structure the two short answer questions on WW1?
Thanks so much!!! 
Jade

[brokenboxes]

Hello
What were the central themes you looked at for the AOS? I'm doing the Tempest and I want to strengthen my links between it and Discovery, so any tips would be amazing!

Thank you

[rasha25]

Hey Susie, my questions to you are as follows:
1. How should I prepare for extension and modern history HSC, do you suggest memorising essays beforehand?
2. Where did you get your insperation from when it came to creative writing?
3. Do you have any advice/tips for improving clarity and having a clear expression in English Advanced essays
4. How did you manage to write quick in the trials and HSC??

Thanks so much, have a lovely day. 

[beatroot]

Hey Susie, got my ancient trial this Friday and have ALOT of questions to ask!! (sorry in advance)

1. How did you prepare for your ancient trials?
2. How many sources per paragraph should I include (would two sources be enough?)
3. I'm having trouble with finding archaeological sources for all the syllabus dot points for Sparta, do you know what are the best archaeological sources to use?
4. How do I keep finding motivation in Ancient, when my teacher doesn't teach the course properly, half the class hates the course and the other half are so competitive. I really want (at least) a band 5 in this subject.
5. How many pages should each section of the exam should be?
6. Whats the most effective way of studying for this subject? Left my revision at the last minute and have six days left (with 4 exams on top) to study. My notes are so synthesised that there's barely any detail left. Not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing.
7. When including a written source in your paragraphs, should I mention if the writer is biased or not (like commenting how Herodotus usually exaggerates his accounts) or would I just be wasting my time?

Thank you!!!

[amelia.mcconaghie]

Hey Susie!
Just wondering what you think the best way to study for the Period (25 marker) in ancient is? Practice questions dont really help me but any advice would be great

[LizzieSmith3699]

Hey Susie
Just wondering what texts did you do in English (for discovery, modules and related) and do you have any tips for the english papers?

[sudodds]

Hi there,

I am about to sit my Trial examinations for English Advanced.. and i was wondering if you had any tips for the Modules and also Creative Writing. I know that is broad but do you suggest memorising, and where do you come up with your ideas for a creative?
Thanks

Heya! So though opinions on this vary, I personally memorised all my my essays and my creative - however they key is to make sure that these essays are adaptable, meaning that you can still incorporate the question. I found that the best structure for me, that allowed for my adaptable essays was a thematic structure. No matter what essay question I received, the same themes kept popping up (eg. for Module B TS Eliot, the themes of modernity, isolation and the search for meaning) - it was just about how these themes relate directly to the stem of the question that I'd have to incorporate, so being a bit more specific about the prevalence of a particular technique, etc. etc.

I also memorised my creative In terms of making sure that it was adaptable, I tried to try and link it to as many "forms" of discovery as possible, so I incorporated physical, geographical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual discoveries, rather than just focusing on one. That way, if the stimulus payed a particular focus to say spiritual discovery, I wouldn't have to change much of my creative, just maybe spend a tiny bit more words on it That worked for me, both in Trials and in the HSC! For me, when it comes to thinking of ideas for creative writing (I actually study this at uni now as well, along with Media Arts), it came from things that I find interesting at the time, and the types of books/movies I'm consuming. For example, I wrote my creative after we looked at TS Eliot, who often uses streams of conciousness, which thus informed the style of my writing. Most recently for uni, I wrote a script inspired by the trolley theory, after seeing a couple of memes about it on facebook haha. I think a lot of it comes from experimentation

Hope this helps!

Susie

[jill1304]

Hello!
I was wondering how you would study after school? Aka, how many hours you would study, how many breaks in between, would you allow  yourself to procrastinate, how long is your 'free time'?
And how would you schedule your study during weekends?

Also, any tips on how to avoid procrastination?

[Britney Lau]

Hi Susie,
1. How did you prepare for the HSC History exam?...and specifically how did you study/prepare for the essay in the exam? (I do Ancient History)
2. I can only write max. 4-5 pages under time conditions, is that a problem? How much could you write?
3. How did you manage your time during exams?
4. Would I need to write specific dates of events for the exam or just know the approximate chronological order?
5. What was your study schedule like? (on a normal school day + the holidays leading up to HSC)
Thanks

[marcusseecy]

Hey Susie,

I wanted to ask for modern history how did you remember intricate events and specific dates? I'm doing the core obviously, Germany 1919 - 1939, Leni Riefenstahl (personality) and conflict in indochina 1954 - 1979. Sometimes it is overwhelming to look at all the dates and events and people and histiography, so yeah, any tips?

Thanks     

[dancing phalanges]

Hey Susie,
Just a quick question on Modern. I've practically finished all my essay plans... what would you do next! Do you think it is worth trying to form them into full essays under timed conditions? Or do you think it is better to just make sure you know the key ideas? Of course, this is all dependent on time, my exam is on Thursday! In other words, what worked for you? And how many statistics would you recommend using in WW1 during Questions 7 and 8 and likewise for essays, as I don't want to memorise too many if it won't improve my mark too much but of course some in there are good. Thanks

[mixel]

Hey Susie, what was your study schedule per subject like during and between trials and the hsc exams? Like how did you manage your time between your history subjects and other subjects. At what point would you say one had done enough study for modern, and did you start to get diminishing returns on modern study after you got to a certain point of confidence with the subject? If so, how did you deal with that?

Thanks