Preparing for Year 11 + 12

[feedmemore]

Hi All

Not sure if this is the right place to post as this is first post. Also posted this exact same thread on another website

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone. So happy I completed Year 10. Now its the holidays and now a bit concerned in starting Year 11 and 12. Pretty much this thread says it all. How should I prep for years 11 and 12 as I am not sure where to start? Any tips? Some guidance would be appreciated. Now Subjects Im doing are
- 3U maths
- Advanced English
- SOR 1
- Business Studies
-Economics

Also any recommendations on any books, guides, notes to get for these subjects. As you all know am on a student budget atm so don't want to waste money on unneccesary resources.

Please pm me too if you like or if you're selling anything.

Thxs all

[Natasha.97]

Hi All

Not sure if this is the right place to post as this is first post. Also posted this exact same thread on another website

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone. So happy I completed Year 10. Now its the holidays and now a bit concerned in starting Year 11 and 12. Pretty much this thread says it all. How should I prep for years 11 and 12 as I am not sure where to start? Any tips? Some guidance would be appreciated. Now Subjects Im doing are
- 3U maths
- Advanced English
- SOR 1
- Business Studies
-Economics

Also any recommendations on any books, guides, notes to get for these subjects. As you all know am on a student budget atm so don't want to waste money on unneccesary resources.

Please pm me too if you like or if you're selling anything.

Thxs all

Hi!

- 3U Maths: Try and teach yourself the first few chapters, as it will give you a head start in lessons (You'll be refreshing what you know instead of learning it for the first time, and you can use that time to practice the skills learnt).
- English: Read the prescribed texts early! Don't leave it until the week before an assessment
- Economics: Read through the first few chapters

Don't burnout in Year 11 though! Remember that it is sort of a "practice" year for Year 12, where you really knuckle down and study Good luck!

[Opengangs]

Hello, feedmemore!

Good luck with your HSC in 2019 -- I'm sure you'll smash it!
The most general tip I can give to you in the lead up to the preliminary year (Year 11) is to find the best way you study. It's a time where you experiment with different studying habits and then using this studying habit throughout Year 12. Typically, the most common ways of studying is to break up the workload into chunks of manageable sessions.

I have always advised the Pomorodo technique, which uses the breaking up of large amounts of workload into smaller pieces. This technique allows you to manage your studying a lot more effectively than going blindly into studying.
I also suggest writing session goals before each session -- this is usually something very small that can be done in the allotted time (usually, 30 minutes to 1 hour) -- and writing a bigger goal before you begin studying -- this is usually your expected outcome at the end of the day.

Again, these are just recommendations to how you can approach your studies. However, the most important element for the transition between Year 10 and Year 11 is to be comfortable with the way you study, and then to continue this throughout Year 12 as well.

[elysepopplewell]

Hey there!

Welcome to the forums
I hope if you need anything ever you'll post it on the forums and we can lend a hand

I think the number one thing you can do to prepare yourself is to be mentally prepared! Ready to grasp all the opportunities, to set yourself off on the right foot, and to be ready to get moving as the workload comes in!

But, if you can read your English prescribed texts ahead of time, you're doing yourself a favour

[feedmemore]

Thanks Opengang and elysepopplewell for the tips.

[chelseam]

Hey there!
I definitely agree with Opengangs here - this time is an opportunity for you to find out which study habits are most effective for you.

Personally, the Pomodoro technique works really well for me - it breaks up tasks so that they seem less daunting (one less reason to feel like procrastinating!!)

Although Year 11 is a great time to discover what study habits suit you, as Jess said earlier, you don’t want to burn yourself out! You could read a few chapters for each of your subjects, but don’t be too stressed about this - I think that making sure that you’re relaxing and resting now will be the most beneficial thing for you as you start years 11 and 12. Here’s a few tips that may be helpful later, though.

For math, I think that keeping up to date with classwork is really important - whenever you learn something new, it’s helpful to read over your notes and to do the homework right away. That way, you’re more likely to realise if you’re struggling with something before things get more complicated! Constant revision is also really helpful - it’s good to practice topics that you haven’t revised in a while to ensure you understand all its aspects earlier (and not the night before an exam!!)

For english, I would definitely recommend reading/viewing your prescribed texts early so you can recognise the important aspects while you study them - researching online can also help you get the gist and purpose of your texts! There are a lot of ‘translation’ and chapter/character summary websites which can help you understand more unfamiliar texts (e.g. Shakespeare!) The ATARNotes guide is really useful because it covers a lot of areas that students struggle with!

I didn’t study your other subjects, but a more general tip is to stay up to date with your notes! It’s helpful to make your notes as soon as you learn something new in class, but let’s be real, that won’t always be possible. I allocated time on my weekends specifically to review the things I’d covered in my content heavy subjects that week, and updated my notes then if I hadn’t earlier 😊

[bimberfairy]

Hi there! I also agree with the other users too that Year 11 is that period of time where you try and find the study habits and techniques that suit you. I spent my Year 11 testing out a whole bunch of study techniques like chewing gum while studying, associating my subjects with specific songs, falling asleep to a recording of me reading out my notes, using multicolour highlighters, reciting content over and over again etc. There are so many techniques and this is the time to really figure out what fits with you.

I share a couple of subjects with you so I'll try and give some advice on those! For 3U Mathematics, it's always good to consistently revise the content and formulas, and do practice questions. Content you learn in Term 1 won't still be fresh in your mind in Term 3 so it's important to have a consistent schedule for revision. I usually did half-yearly and yearly exams of other schools who were known to have harder exams. This tested my skills and also allowed me to practice my exam techniques! My cohort also created a Facebook group where we can drop in questions we don't know the answer to and other students in the grade would be able to help us. It was really cool and also allowed us to collaborate to get to a solution.

Business Studies was one of my strongest subjects in the HSC and honestly, it goes down to being updated and knowing the syllabus. Case studies are SO important when it comes to Business Studies and it's important to not only know iconic/important case studies, but also the new ones. Reading the "business" section of the news opens you up to a ton of case studies that other students won't have. This differentiates your essays or responses from theirs. Knowing the syllabus is also important + start practicing your essay writing too.

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hey!

I do 4/5 of your subjects and just finishing Year 11, I can tell you some of the mistakes I made so hopefully you won't make them!

English Adv - Definitely recommend reading your first text (if you know what it is) before you do it! This will help so much in better understanding the content and deepen your understanding in class. One of the biggest problems for me in English last year was because it is my least favourite subject, I prioritised everything over it simply because I didn't want to do the work. 2 units of English goes towards the ATAR so you want to make sure you balance it out with all your other subjects!

SOR 1 - This one seems to be a lot of content for a 1 unit subject but don't worry as it's quite easy to grasp the information. The religious traditions that you study in depth are quite interesting and if you like history, then you'll like this subject. I recommend keeping on top of your notes and continuously revise information because when I got to my Yearly Exam they were testing things I learnt on day 1 of term 1 that I had completely forgot!

Economics - This is such a great subject and if you really like learning about Australia and the things that happen in our economy. I must admit grasping onto this subject in the beginning was difficult for me, even though I did Commerce we never got to the economics topic. So the concepts you will learn might be a bit difficult at first so don't be scared if you don't get them straight away. Revise them at home and always ask your teacher for additional help if needed!

Business Studies - Personally, this is my favourite subject and enjoy learning about it a lot. If you did Commerce, the first topic you learn about 'Nature of Business' is quite similar to concepts covered in Year 9/10 Commerce. This subject is definitely not the most difficult but is quite content heavy so the best thing to do is know your syllabus inside out. For me the best thing I did in Year 11 was getting ahead of the class. I completed my summaries ahead (not too ahead) so when I got to class it was maybe the 3rd or 4th time I was listening/processing that information. Also, completing the 'Student Learn To' questions will definitely help as they tend to be questions that come up in exams!

All the best!!