Adding on to what's already been said:
I think my biggest tip is to learn the
every. single. dot point on the study design inside out. This really isn't just memorising definitions and leaving it at that, it's a lot more useful (and interesting) to think about why things would be done a certain way, when you would take into account these factors etc. Actually understanding the reasons behind things also makes it easier to structure your answers properly too (things like providing more depth where depth is needed etc.)
Paying attention to exam technique and how you go about writing your answers is pretty important, and the assessor reports do note that this is sometimes a weak point. Things like if the question asks you to 'explain' your answer, then you need to realise that the examiner wants you to provide some kind of reason. If you don't do this, then you'll lose a mark. This is something that you'll pick up throughout the year and is very much worth paying attention to (you might find that a lot of your exam revision consists of this).
it really comes down to being sure to answer things as said by the study design in the exam.
To a
small extent I'd disagree with this, since I found that you can answer most questions the way you want to, provided that you can back up your answer. A lot of the exam questions are written such that there would be quite a broad range of answers that are acceptable i.e. there's not one right answer.
I know some people don't like looking at past exam questions before they sit it for practice, so I'll put them in spoiler tags e.g.
question from VCAA 2012
Minama has just begun working for a software developer. He is given the pseudocode for a program and asked to write the program code.
Minama is unsure about what naming convention he should follow.
b. i. Identify two features of a naming convention for solution elements of a program that Minama could use. 2 marks
ii. Explain how this naming convention helps both the development and the maintenance of the software solution. 2 marks
or
Question 3
In a computer science lesson, Dr Little claims that, at times, it can be more cost effective to produce code quickly and not be concerned about the quality of the program and code. State when this may be the case. Explain your answer. 2 marks
But then there are
those questions that only make sense if you go by what the study design says, which is probably what Uberjew was thinking of and why I don't completely disagree with him.
e.g.
question from VCAA 2012
Question 19
When planning software projects, it is necessary to identify, schedule and then monitor
A. resources, people, time and tasks.
B. resources, people and documentation.
C. tasks, time, people and documentation.
D. tasks, resources, documentation and systems.
It helps to stay interested in the content. I found this is easy enough for the programming stuff, since I found that a lot of fun. Some of the theory stuff wasn't too bad (e.g. DFDs, networks etc. I liked), but there was stuff like decision-support frameworks and training users which I think is more on the boring side. Mostly because it just seems like common-sense. I think once you put that kind of stuff in the context of 'why' and ponder over it a bit, it does become easier to plow through.
As Uberjew pointed out, you do have to work your ass off on sacs. And then you have to try and perfect the exam. You
do have some breathing space when it comes to how many marks you can drop to get 45+. I didn't get a statement of marks so
I must stress this isn't something very accurate to go off by at all, but I
think I dropped about 7 or 8 marks on last years exam. But yeah, as little marks as possible dropped is what you want to do.
Don't let this put you off or scare you off. When it comes November, having studied the entire course, whilst actually sitting the exam, it doesn't feel too bad at all. It's only natural during the exam that you'd try your best on every single question.
Using class time effectively is also something that you'd want to do. It'd sometimes happen, but I tried as much as possible to not to walk out of a period having done nothing. This doesn't mean not have fun, I found SD classes to be quite enjoyable, but recognise when you're slacking off too much and should move onto something more productive.
This will differ on a case to case thing, but understanding your teachers approach to the subject and what areas they're strong in and what areas they're weak in is something to take note of too. Take the opportunity to ask them questions with topics that you can tell they're good at. I think I did luck out by getting a teacher who was pretty good, but if you feel that your teacher isn't that great (this might not be you, but I know there's a been a couple of AN users in the past that weren't entirely happy with their teacher), you can still use them as a springboard for ideas and their thoughts on matters (hopefully).
The study design is ambiguous at times and there isn't an absolute interpretation of there (not even VCEIT fills this gap completely) so getting different points of views on it is definitely something you want to do.
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