Studying for trials

[cxmplete]

Hi!
So trials are coming up very soon (in 7 weeks), and I was wondering how I could go about allocating my time to study for them. I'm kind of panicked that I don't have enough time to study for them (my peers have been studying for them since ages ago), and also panicked about the fact that this may not be enough time to master the subjects. I do the following subjects: physics, chemistry, biology, advanced english and advanced mathematics.

[Rasika]

I have the same question ^^

[pikachu975]

Hi!
So trials are coming up very soon (in 7 weeks), and I was wondering how I could go about allocating my time to study for them. I'm kind of panicked that I don't have enough time to study for them (my peers have been studying for them since ages ago), and also panicked about the fact that this may not be enough time to master the subjects. I do the following subjects: physics, chemistry, biology, advanced english and advanced mathematics.

Idk why you're stressing, 7 weeks is HEAPS. My school has trials in 2 weeks for the whole course of every subject while you're stressing about 7 weeks!!

[elysepopplewell]

Seven weeks is really plenty of time, I promise! But, I can understand your panic when your peers seem to be on top of it! The key to studying is personalising it. There's no point in doing what Sally is doing if Sally is a brilliant writer but struggles to remember content, and you're the other way around. Using your half yearly feedback is absolutely essential to knocking your trials study out of the park. Where you had a downfall (big or small!) in half yearlies, becomes the path for your to succeed in the next exams! You've got to identify your weaknesses and work on them. For example, if you consistently score well in maths, but are sitting at 20th rank in English, then it's far more worth your while to knuckle down on English and jump your rank enormously, rather than just sit back and keep cruising with maths because you know it's your best skill. It can be uncomfortable to identify our weaknesses even within subjects, but it's got to be done in order to target and improve!

[Mariodonuts]

Seven weeks is really plenty of time, I promise! But, I can understand your panic when your peers seem to be on top of it! The key to studying is personalising it. There's no point in doing what Sally is doing if Sally is a brilliant writer but struggles to remember content, and you're the other way around. Using your half yearly feedback is absolutely essential to knocking your trials study out of the park. Where you had a downfall (big or small!) in half yearlies, becomes the path for your to succeed in the next exams! You've got to identify your weaknesses and work on them. For example, if you consistently score well in maths, but are sitting at 20th rank in English, then it's far more worth your while to knuckle down on English and jump your rank enormously, rather than just sit back and keep cruising with maths because you know it's your best skill. It can be uncomfortable to identify our weaknesses even within subjects, but it's got to be done in order to target and improve!

I looked through all my feedback for the Half Yearlies and for legal/modern, i ran out of time to finish both essays and consequenlty, my marks went down. I need help with time management because i tend to work on some sections more than others, and i know that is badd!!! because all sections weigh the same or relatively the same, how do i fix this problem? Especially when it comes to the Trials because i really want to turn this around for the trials so i don't stuff it up!! Any tips? And i need help with finding time to study for the trials because this term is so busy for me -- i have major works and assesments coming and going!! ANy tips on finding the proper time to study?

[jamonwindeyer]

I looked through all my feedback for the Half Yearlies and for legal/modern, i ran out of time to finish both essays and consequenlty, my marks went down. I need help with time management because i tend to work on some sections more than others, and i know that is badd!!! because all sections weigh the same or relatively the same, how do i fix this problem? Especially when it comes to the Trials because i really want to turn this around for the trials so i don't stuff it up!! Any tips? And i need help with finding time to study for the trials because this term is so busy for me -- i have major works and assesments coming and going!! ANy tips on finding the proper time to study?

Practice, practice, practice. The best way to get the hang of doing the exam under time, is to do the exam under time. It's about knowing where you can take time from to invest in other places - Lots of people do the MC for Legal in 5-10 minutes for example, taking the time they get back and sticking it into the Option essays! But you can only really get that balance right by trying it out, and getting used to the pressure for reference for Legal, I always did in order:

- Short Answer (20 mins)
- Crime Essay (45 mins)
- MC (5-10 Mins)
- Options (50-55 Mins Each)

Oh, and maybe give this guide a read for coming up with a good study timetable!!

[sudodds]

I looked through all my feedback for the Half Yearlies and for legal/modern, i ran out of time to finish both essays and consequenlty, my marks went down. I need help with time management because i tend to work on some sections more than others, and i know that is badd!!! because all sections weigh the same or relatively the same, how do i fix this problem? Especially when it comes to the Trials because i really want to turn this around for the trials so i don't stuff it up!! Any tips? And i need help with finding time to study for the trials because this term is so busy for me -- i have major works and assesments coming and going!! ANy tips on finding the proper time to study?

Agree with everything Jamon said, just thought I could add the Modern History perspective! This was roughly how I structured my exam time (I usually did the exam in order):
- Section 1: WW1 - MC and short answers (5 mins - however worked out the answers during reading time so more like 3 mins), 5-8 marker (10 mins), 10 Mark Source Analysis (20 mins) -- So 35 mins overall.
- Section 2: National Study - 50 mins
- Section 3: Personality Study - Part A (20 mins), Part B (35 mins) -- 55 mins overall
- Section 4: International Conflict Study - 45 mins.

If you can get WW1 (or any of the other sections) under 45 minutes, I highly recommend devoting the added time to the personality study. That tends to be the section most people fall down in in terms of time management, as due to the fact that part B is structured exactly like an essay, it is very easy for students to slip into the "got the same amount of time as an essay section" mindset!!

Also remember that there are more marks to be gained starting an essay than finishing one! If you've been writing for 55 mins, even if you feel as though you haven't got all of your points out - you've probably still done enough! That extra 5-10 minutes probably earned you max 3 marks, whereas 5-10 minutes starting an essay could have already landed you 10! So if you find that you have gone way overtime, leave some space (just in case you have time at the end), write your conclusion and jump straight into the next response

Good luck!

Susie

[herb123]

My modern trials are on wednesday! (argh)
we're going to get two Germany questions instead of the conflict

[sudodds]

My modern trials are on wednesday! (argh)
we're going to get two Germany questions instead of the conflict

GOOD LUCK!! I'm sure you'll smash it Yeah that sometimes happens depending on how far a school is in studying the content. Timing wise it should remain the same though as both the Section II and Section IV essays take roughly the same amount of time to complete In terms of studying, just bang out a few past papers, consolidate your detail and construct a few argument/linking tables and you'll be sweet If you need any help with anything please let us know!

Susie

[herb123]

GOOD LUCK!! I'm sure you'll smash it Yeah that sometimes happens depending on how far a school is in studying the content. Timing wise it should remain the same though as both the Section II and Section IV essays take roughly the same amount of time to complete In terms of studying, just bang out a few past papers, consolidate your detail and construct a few argument/linking tables and you'll be sweet If you need any help with anything please let us know!

Susie

Thanks alot!

[Wales]

My trials are in roughly 6 weeks. While I'm not feeling the stress yet it seems so close. I can't help but worry that we won't even cover most of the content thoroughly.

For Ext 2 Maths we're only up to Conics whilst my other friends are already done Mechanics. Our paper is CSSA so its written by an external source.

I also can't quite find the motivation to study quite yet. I don't want to leave it to last minute and I know I should take my own advice but what should I be doing now? I'm planning on doing a 3u paper per day and doing select questions from 4u per day as well. My other subjects I'm unsure I've still got assessments before my trials with English being in 2 weeks and IPT in week 1.

[brenden]

My trials are in roughly 6 weeks. While I'm not feeling the stress yet it seems so close. I can't help but worry that we won't even cover most of the content thoroughly.

For Ext 2 Maths we're only up to Conics whilst my other friends are already done Mechanics. Our paper is CSSA so its written by an external source.

I also can't quite find the motivation to study quite yet. I don't want to leave it to last minute and I know I should take my own advice but what should I be doing now? I'm planning on doing a 3u paper per day and doing select questions from 4u per day as well. My other subjects I'm unsure I've still got assessments before my trials with English being in 2 weeks and IPT in week 1.

Think about what you want to achieve, then think broadly about how you need to do that, then think specifically about how you need to do that, and put the specifics into a list. If you feel like you need a rest right now, do this process, then don't touch your list for a week if that's what you want - but only under the proviso that you owe yourself intense work later on, if that's the deal you want to make.

Seriously. Take a bath, stretch your muscles, go for a walk, find a nice tree. Sit there for 30 minutes just thinking about exactly what it is you need to be doing. Do you need to finish the course before your school, if things are going slowly? Do you need to focus on an area you got smashed on in half-yearlies? What's going to benefit you the most? Be zen, figure it out... Devise your method/process. Then, honour the process with peace in ur soul <3

Sounds like you'll be able to figure it out, and your limit right now is the feeling of "oh wow so much!!".  Breathe through that feeling and you'll devise a good plan

[Wales]

Think about what you want to achieve, then think broadly about how you need to do that, then think specifically about how you need to do that, and put the specifics into a list. If you feel like you need a rest right now, do this process, then don't touch your list for a week if that's what you want - but only under the proviso that you owe yourself intense work later on, if that's the deal you want to make.

Seriously. Take a bath, stretch your muscles, go for a walk, find a nice tree. Sit there for 30 minutes just thinking about exactly what it is you need to be doing. Do you need to finish the course before your school, if things are going slowly? Do you need to focus on an area you got smashed on in half-yearlies? What's going to benefit you the most? Be zen, figure it out... Devise your method/process. Then, honour the process with peace in ur soul <3

Sounds like you'll be able to figure it out, and your limit right now is the feeling of "oh wow so much!!".  Breathe through that feeling and you'll devise a good plan

I feel like I really do need a plan.  I'm actually so lost. I've been working on English lately but I know I need to ace my other subjects too. I think I need to work on my confidence a lot. I feel like limiting me most at the moment.

Cheers for the words, Wales

[12070]

I'm unsure as to how to study for content heavy subjects. I have had this predicament for awhile so I have resorted to only doing Maths and English study because I know I am being efficient. I find writing out notes tedious and I usually get distracted and consequently not take anything in. Also, when I do past papers I feel like I'm only doing questions that are highly unlikely to be in the trial.

[tloos1999]

I'm unsure as to how to study for content heavy subjects. I have had this predicament for awhile so I have resorted to only doing Maths and English study because I know I am being efficient. I find writing out notes tedious and I usually get distracted and consequently not take anything in. Also, when I do past papers I feel like I'm only doing questions that are highly unlikely to be in the trial.

What content heavy subjects are you finding difficult in terms of revision/exam preparation?