Hey everyone,
As the December and January holiday period has just started, I am curious as to what previous (or current) HSC students did during their holiday period and how they structured their study in order to get ahead of Term 1 next year, and how this lifted their grades.
Any advice is much appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Coolmate
Hey Coolmate,
Congratulations on getting through the first term of Year 12!
For me personally, as I had an exam block in the last two weeks of school, I spent the first two weeks of the holidays (up until New Year's) just relaxing. It's a good idea to spend a bit of time recovering from what was likely an intense term. Even though you might feel unproductive, it's worth it in the long run - you don't want to burn out before Term 2 even begins!
In saying this, I did spend a reasonable amount of time preparing for Term 1. On a general note, I'd really encourage you to revisit your assessment tasks (if completed already), look at the feedback and implement strategies for improvement. Aside from looking over assessments, preparing in this break can almost be separated into three steps; (1) ensure you understand all content learned, (2) practice said content, and (3) familiarise yourself with upcoming topics!
As I did relatively similar subjects to you, here are a couple subject-specific things that worked for me:
English Advanced: I made sure to get through my prescribed texts for Modules A, B and C in this break (I covered my Common Module prescribed text in the October holidays). Brief annotations but nothing major - it was just about familiarising myself with the plot, characters, etc. This may also be a good time to practice your writing on the Common Module - you can try drafting essay responses to sample questions, or even practice your short-answer skills.
Sciences (Physics and Chem in my case, I'd imagine that this would work for Bio too) - I had all my notes for the first modules we did finished before the Holidays, but if your notes aren't complete, try to finish them off. In regards to reading ahead, I found that my textbook was a little dense, so I used the ATAR Notes study guides - they were an easy read yet were brilliant in allowing me to understand what we would be covering in the next module. Excel books are also a great resource. Again, it's unfeasible to teach yourself the entire course in this break, but if you familiarise yourself with upcoming Module, come Term 1, you'll grasp it a bit faster and have more time for practice questions. On the note of practice questions, I found it useful to do questions specific to the modules I had just completed. HSC style questions are super helpful (the ATAR Notes topic tests are a really good resource here, as are the Excel and Strive books which have past + sample HSC questions!)
As well as this (and same goes for all subjects)
it's not necessary to do tons of questions if you're finding them easy and/or repetitive - I found it useful to be selective, completing questions which I felt were harder / covered my weaker areas.
Maths: Very similar to the sciences, your number 1 priority is to iron out all wrinkles and make sure you understand everything. After this, to practice, attempt textbook or HSC style questions specific to the topics you've just completed (topic tests are great). For me, personally, as I had my MX2 HSC Task 1 almost as soon as the summer holidays ended, I used this time to study for this exam. If you don't have an exam, and have the time, though, you might want to read ahead on the next topic (ATAR Notes study guides are again perfect for an easy yet informative read!)
SOR I: Again, I had an exam in Week 2 Term 1 so most of my 'preparation' for SOR I in this break consisted of study for the exam. However, if you don't have an exam, it's useful to again ensure there aren't any gaps in your notes + knowledge, and then afterwards work on particularly Post-1945 5-markers and multiple choice practice. Doing an HSC or Trial Section I every now and then is a really good way to practice and it's not very time consuming either (once I practiced enough, I managed to complete a Section I in under 12 minutes)! My teacher was really great here in that our class was encouraged to consistently practice our writing and multiple choice. If you want, you could read ahead on your upcoming religious tradition depth study, but in my case, as I had an exam, I simply didn't have the time.
I also attended the ATAR Notes January lectures for most of my subjects. These were a really great way to get ahead for the next term - if you have the time, I encourage you to also look into them!
Now, you might be thinking, jeez Louis[a] (hehe), I'm gonna be locked in my room for the next 6 weeks! Well, while it may seem like a lot, if you pace yourself over an extended period of time, you won't have to study for hours per day. As well as this, quantity of study does not directly correspond to marks - I really encourage you to do as much as you see fit!
I hope this helps. Have a great holiday and good luck for Year 12!