ATAR Notes: Forum

HSC Stuff => HSC Subjects + Help => Topic started by: jamonwindeyer on August 16, 2016, 03:49:10 pm

Title: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 16, 2016, 03:49:10 pm
This is a thread to sound off on the CSSA Exams. How do you think you went? Want to chat about your results in general? Are you worried about anything and want to get some advice from your peers or from us? This is the place!

(http://www.relatably.com/m/img/finished-exam-memes/fd04dbfe0ce87c18d7716a722f3a9e498660c27902c73cb1472814b41b7fd045.jpg)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on August 17, 2016, 04:43:59 pm
I heard the Ancient History exam was absolutely terrible and the Extension 1 Math was the hardest its been in years (apparently)

I was happy with Biology, Senior Science, SOR II (Independent paper), Design and Tech
Was not that happy about English Paper 2, Paper 1 was alright tho.

Just my thoughts!
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 17, 2016, 04:48:22 pm
I got Rekt
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 17, 2016, 06:55:57 pm
I heard the Ancient History exam was absolutely terrible and the Extension 1 Math was the hardest its been in years (apparently)

I was happy with Biology, Senior Science, SOR II (Independent paper), Design and Tech
Was not that happy about English Paper 2, Paper 1 was alright tho.

Just my thoughts!

I'm keen to hear about the questions in the exam from tomorrow when the restrictions are lifted, I've also heard MX1 was a tad tough this time around :P glad to hear you're confident with most of them! ;D

I got Rekt

Lol'd  :o
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: callumliasides on August 17, 2016, 08:08:24 pm
I got 52/70 in extension 1 mathematics, im just wondering if its good considering the difficulty of the test?

and if there are any tips to help as i lost 5 marks from silly errors which were easily avoidable, but due to the difficulty of the exam I was unable to go through my answers, so do you have any tips on time managements in the extension 1 course?
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 17, 2016, 08:14:14 pm
I got 52/70 in extension 1 mathematics, im just wondering if its good considering the difficulty of the test?

and if there are any tips to help as i lost 5 marks from silly errors which were easily avoidable, but due to the difficulty of the exam I was unable to go through my answers, so do you have any tips on time managements in the extension 1 course?
I haven't seen the exam. In general 52/70 is a mid E3 to low E4 catering for a variety of difficulties.

What were the natures of the silly errors? Silly errors is another thing that progressively diminishes with more practice and practice (past papers).

The general idea is that (Total exam time) / (Number of marks) gives you the time you should spend per mark. Of course, this formula is not absolutely indicative of what you should do, but it gives you a reference point. Fact is if you've spent more than 1 minute without making any good progress you've spent way too much time and need to move on. Always grab marks you can get before you go for those that are more out of reach.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 17, 2016, 09:16:10 pm
I got 52/70 in extension 1 mathematics, im just wondering if its good considering the difficulty of the test?

and if there are any tips to help as i lost 5 marks from silly errors which were easily avoidable, but due to the difficulty of the exam I was unable to go through my answers, so do you have any tips on time managements in the extension 1 course?

52/70, given how hard I've heard the Extension 1 paper was, is a great mark! Keep doing practice papers, work hard and improve it a bit for the HSC and you'll easily be sitting on a nice Band E4 mark! ;D good work!

Definitely agree with Rui above, it's important to keep moving! Leave questions you don't quite get until the end, get the easy marks first, it's all about mark maximisation. You can almost end up doing the paper twice; once to get the easy stuff, again to get whatever you can from the trickier. This might seem strange, but it makes sure that you get every mark that you possibly can ;D

Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on August 18, 2016, 08:42:15 pm
Just got Senior Science today and got 72/100. I was hoping for 75-80(+?) so a little disappointed that I just couldnt get there!! But some questions in it were a little bit ambiguous.. And diagrams are not my strong point lol ;D
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: zachary99 on August 18, 2016, 10:59:29 pm
English paper 1 was sweet  :D :D :D :D :D :D
paper 2 (advanced) was a little harder however.........people and politics rekt me!!!!!!!
I found the business paper a little prickly but overall okay   :o
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 18, 2016, 11:51:28 pm
English paper 1 was sweet  :D :D :D :D :D :D
paper 2 (advanced) was a little harder however.........people and politics rekt me!!!!!!!
I found the business paper a little prickly but overall okay   :o

Welcome to the forums Zach! Great to hear ;D let me know if you need a hand finding anything ;D
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 18, 2016, 11:54:38 pm
Just got Senior Science today and got 72/100. I was hoping for 75-80(+?) so a little disappointed that I just couldnt get there!! But some questions in it were a little bit ambiguous.. And diagrams are not my strong point lol ;D

No worries study buddy, plenty of time to push yourself further and meet your goals!! ;D good to hear you have an area of improvement in mind too :)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on August 19, 2016, 06:16:11 pm
Got English Advanced Paper 2 back today as well and got 3 B's!!! I was cheering! While this may seem like a disappointment for some getting B's, I got 9/20 in my last Mod A essay and to get a B (writing about power instead of authority :P) is good for me!

Happy with English Paper 2 and hope paper 1 doesnt drag me down!!
People and Landscapes question was a gift, although heard that people and politics was a tad hard..

**releases pent up enthusiasm ;D**
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: sudodds on August 19, 2016, 06:35:53 pm
Started getting marks back today, and they were not as bad as I thought they would be at all! I'm actually really happy haha, which was not what i was expecting after last week.

I was so worried for modern (u may remember hahaha) but I ended up getting 95%! And 92% for history extension :) Those are the only physical marks that have been given back, but I've got feedback from other subjects and it seems in general it all went okay :)

One problem though that has cropped up in almost all of them is my handwriting... :/ Apparently it gets REALLY bad by the end of the exam because I start to rush + my hand hurts really bad. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve this? I've bought a weighted pen, so thats a start.

Now onto HSC Drama performances Monday... :/
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 19, 2016, 07:55:15 pm
Got English Advanced Paper 2 back today as well and got 3 B's!!! I was cheering! While this may seem like a disappointment for some getting B's, I got 9/20 in my last Mod A essay and to get a B (writing about power instead of authority :P) is good for me!

Happy with English Paper 2 and hope paper 1 doesnt drag me down!!
People and Landscapes question was a gift, although heard that people and politics was a tad hard..

**releases pent up enthusiasm ;D**
Started getting marks back today, and they were not as bad as I thought they would be at all! I'm actually really happy haha, which was not what i was expecting after last week.

I was so worried for modern (u may remember hahaha) but I ended up getting 95%! And 92% for history extension :) Those are the only physical marks that have been given back, but I've got feedback from other subjects and it seems in general it all went okay :)

One problem though that has cropped up in almost all of them is my handwriting... :/ Apparently it gets REALLY bad by the end of the exam because I start to rush + my hand hurts really bad. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve this? I've bought a weighted pen, so thats a start.

Now onto HSC Drama performances Monday... :/


Awesome job guys!! Top efforts, brilliant work! ;D
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: ssarahj on August 19, 2016, 07:55:27 pm
Started getting marks back today, and they were not as bad as I thought they would be at all! I'm actually really happy haha, which was not what i was expecting after last week.

I was so worried for modern (u may remember hahaha) but I ended up getting 95%! And 92% for history extension :) Those are the only physical marks that have been given back, but I've got feedback from other subjects and it seems in general it all went okay :)

One problem though that has cropped up in almost all of them is my handwriting... :/ Apparently it gets REALLY bad by the end of the exam because I start to rush + my hand hurts really bad. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve this? I've bought a weighted pen, so thats a start.

Now onto HSC Drama performances Monday... :/

The weighted pen is a great idea, I've taken to just taping a AA battery to the end of my normal pens and its helped me build up some strength. I've definitely noticed an improvement but other people I've chatted to haven't noticed any difference, so either way its worth a shot.

When your hand starts cramping its 110% worth pausing for just 5 seconds and giving your hand and wrist a shake/massage. I sometimes use those seconds to take a swig of water as well. Figure out the shittiest aspects of your hand writing and make a conscious effort to keep on correcting them as you write, e.g. my s's get straighter and just look like random lines so even in the most intense moments I always have this in the back of my mind. Check out this article for more info: http://atarnotes.com/handwriting-improving-speed-neatness-and-legibility/

Overall it sounds cliche and boring but its true that the more practise you do under timed conditions, the faster you'll get and your hand will hurt less. Good luck!
P.S. those Trial results are BLOODY AWESOME, top job  8)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: sudodds on August 19, 2016, 08:39:23 pm
The weighted pen is a great idea, I've taken to just taping a AA battery to the end of my normal pens and its helped me build up some strength. I've definitely noticed an improvement but other people I've chatted to haven't noticed any difference, so either way its worth a shot.

When your hand starts cramping its 110% worth pausing for just 5 seconds and giving your hand and wrist a shake/massage. I sometimes use those seconds to take a swig of water as well. Figure out the shittiest aspects of your hand writing and make a conscious effort to keep on correcting them as you write, e.g. my s's get straighter and just look like random lines so even in the most intense moments I always have this in the back of my mind. Check out this article for more info: http://atarnotes.com/handwriting-improving-speed-neatness-and-legibility/

Overall it sounds cliche and boring but its true that the more practise you do under timed conditions, the faster you'll get and your hand will hurt less. Good luck!
P.S. those Trial results are BLOODY AWESOME, top job  8)

Awesome tips! I'll definitely make an effort to implement them thank you! I think a big part of my problem is that when I running write, my letters tend to blur together, so that the first letter of the word is clear, but the rest of it just looks like a squiggle. I'm sure your tips will help a bunch  :D
And thank you! I'm feeling a lot better now than last week thats for sure!
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: birdwing341 on August 20, 2016, 07:25:09 pm
Awesome tips! I'll definitely make an effort to implement them thank you! I think a big part of my problem is that when I running write, my letters tend to blur together, so that the first letter of the word is clear, but the rest of it just looks like a squiggle. I'm sure your tips will help a bunch  :D
And thank you! I'm feeling a lot better now than last week thats for sure!

I don't want to ruin the weighted pen party, but I've found that in my experience writing with a weighted pen might give your hand strength, but actually makes my handwriting worse in the exam. Idk, but for me when I used a weighted pen, my hand moved in a pattern according to that pen's smoothness (which was pretty hard because of its weight). So when I change pens just before the exam, my hand struggles to compensate for the ease at which I could now write, and so my letters are a lot bigger and more jumbly and much harder to read (and even slower than normal). That's just my experience with the battery/weighted pen idea. But if you think it might work then its up to you :)

BTW great job in your trials!!!
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 20, 2016, 07:27:33 pm
There is some controversy over the battery on the pen.

I remember my friends' biology teacher criticising the usage of the increased weight on normal hand function.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: sudodds on August 20, 2016, 07:35:07 pm
I don't want to ruin the weighted pen party, but I've found that in my experience writing with a weighted pen might give your hand strength, but actually makes my handwriting worse in the exam. Idk, but for me when I used a weighted pen, my hand moved in a pattern according to that pen's smoothness (which was pretty hard because of its weight). So when I change pens just before the exam, my hand struggles to compensate for the ease at which I could now write, and so my letters are a lot bigger and more jumbly and much harder to read (and even slower than normal). That's just my experience with the battery/weighted pen idea. But if you think it might work then its up to you :)

BTW great job in your trials!!!

Ahh okay, what I think I might do then is use a weighted pen for the next month and a half to build up strength, but switch back to a normal pen early so that I can have time to get used to the lighter weight, and in that time just focus on the actual style and legibility of my handwriting :)

And thank you! I hope all of yours went okay as well :)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: jamonwindeyer on August 21, 2016, 12:14:08 am
There is some controversy over the battery on the pen.

I remember my friends' biology teacher criticising the usage of the increased weight on normal hand function.

The picture of a high school biology teacher giving medical advice is hilarious in my head (they could very well be qualified to do so mind you, just a funny image ;) )

For what its worth my girlfriend used the battery on the pen idea and really liked it, she swapped back a week or two before the exams :) never did it consistently myself :P

Perhaps we should develop a series of hand yoga techniques? ;)

Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: conic curve on August 22, 2016, 08:41:41 am
There is some controversy over the battery on the pen.

I remember my friends' biology teacher criticising the usage of the increased weight on normal hand function.

Oh yeah that

I thought it would increase my handwriting speed, turns out it didn't  ???
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: Sanaz on August 24, 2016, 10:23:48 pm
I know this might sound silly to you all but after the trials I am not really looking forward to the HSC, in fact, i am scared sh*tless! I just hope I can achieve an ATAR of 97. I'm not sure if that goal is attainable since i screwed up maths and chemistry.
My marks are as follows;
English Adv: 97
Chemistry: 82.5
Physics: 95
Biology: 94.5
Maths 2U: 80
Maths extension 47.5 (out of a hundred) yesss i failed :(

I'm just worried that my teachers mark easy and that I am not going to get a mark anywhere near 97 in my final HSC.
Do I still have hope?  :-\ I'm sure I have made many grammatical errors in this post, a 97 is surely not reflective of my abilities. 
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 24, 2016, 10:25:57 pm
I know this might sound silly to you all but after the trials I am not really looking forward to the HSC, in fact, i am scared sh*tless! I just hope I can achieve an ATAR of 97. I'm not sure if that goal is attainable since i screwed up maths and chemistry.
my marks are:
English Adv: 97
Chemistry: 82.5
Physics: 95
Biology: 94.5
Maths 2U: 80
Maths extension 47.5 (out of a hundred) yesss i failed :(

I'm just worried that my teachers mark easy and that I am not going to get a mark anywhere near 97 in my final HSC.
Do I still have hope?  :-\
Before you start panicking, have you read this?
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: Sanaz on August 24, 2016, 10:29:33 pm
Before you start panicking, have you read this?

Sorry I've started applying for university and the ATAR cutoffs are making me panic! haha gotta love physio... Yes actually I did read that post before I came on here. I don't feel as if the marks I received are a reflection of my ability.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 24, 2016, 10:38:29 pm
Sorry I've started applying for university and the ATAR cutoffs are making me panic! haha gotta love physio... Yes actually I did read that post before I came on here. I don't feel as if the marks I received are a reflection of my ability.
If you don't feel they are a reflection of your ability then you have a good idea of where your ability is at. So your first course of action would now be to prepare such that on the day you will, at the very least, perform at your true ability right now. Then we can talk about improvements and properly pushing towards the goals.

The ATAR cutoffs are not the end of it because there's usually more than one means of getting in. And I also know that the two guys that got 99.8 didn't expect their ATAR to be all the way at the upper end either, nor me with mine as well actually. It just happens when you try hard enough - you exceed your expectations.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on August 27, 2016, 07:16:24 am
Are your ranks or your marks more important?

I am in the Top 10 for the subjects I have got back but have performed relatively miserably..

6th in Senior- yet only a mark of 72%
7th in Bio- yet only a mark of 67%
9th in Gen Maths- yet only a mark of 67%
10th for Eng Adv Paper 2- yet only a mark of 70%.

Do the ranks or the marks matter? Thanks all for advice
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 27, 2016, 08:18:36 am
Are your ranks or your marks more important?

I am in the Top 10 for the subjects I have got back but have performed relatively miserably..

6th in Senior- yet only a mark of 72%
7th in Bio- yet only a mark of 67%
9th in Gen Maths- yet only a mark of 67%
10th for Eng Adv Paper 2- yet only a mark of 70%.

Do the ranks or the marks matter? Thanks all for advice
Always your ranks.

Your marks themselves don't matter at all. It's your relative mark differences that matter. Your mark (that gets submitted) should not be too far away from 1st place

Ranks decide where abouts your final internal mark will lie. Relative mark differences decide how close/far you'll be from the top of the cohort
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: birdwing341 on August 27, 2016, 05:36:30 pm
Are your ranks or your marks more important?

I am in the Top 10 for the subjects I have got back but have performed relatively miserably..

6th in Senior- yet only a mark of 72%
7th in Bio- yet only a mark of 67%
9th in Gen Maths- yet only a mark of 67%
10th for Eng Adv Paper 2- yet only a mark of 70%.

Do the ranks or the marks matter? Thanks all for advice

Because these seem to be your trial marks, I just wanted to clarify something. Your marks matter until all of your assessments are completed and your total internal mark and rank are calculated. Afterwards only your rank matters.

Just wanted to say that because if you get rank 10 in trials, but you were rank 25 before, your overall rank is not just an average of these two :)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 27, 2016, 05:38:52 pm
Because these seem to be your trial marks, I just wanted to clarify something. Your marks matter until all of your assessments are completed and your total internal mark and rank are calculated. Afterwards only your rank matters.

Just wanted to say that because if you get rank 10 in trials, but you were rank 25 before, your overall rank is not just an average of these two :)
Very much true. But I'd hope that every student would understand what "weighting on assessments" mean by the time they're in Yr 12.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: birdwing341 on August 28, 2016, 12:56:44 pm
Very much true. But I'd hope that every student would understand what "weighting on assessments" mean by the time they're in Yr 12.

You can't always assume these things :)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: RuiAce on August 28, 2016, 01:02:18 pm
You can't always assume these things :)
Actually, whilst I see your point, I'd say I should be allowed to assume this one.

So long as they care about their education, a student should be well aware of what "weighting" is by now. Ranks were juggled once already in prelim, and the weighting factor should've been made apparent by then already. Performing well in certain tasks and not in others should've visibly impacted on where in the cohort they were.

Year 12 is just a version of Year 11 that has proper value. Whilst I can understand if some questions regarding "scaling" and etc. remain a blur, if they don't realise that certain exams/assessments deserve to count more towards your final result, that's something seriously concerning. Plus it doesn't exactly take that much thought to determine why weightings are necessary - if the final exams are weighted equal to or less than the initial, then clearly the marks received don't reflect a year's worth of performance as opposed to a few weeks.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: birdwing341 on August 29, 2016, 10:18:42 am
Actually, whilst I see your point, I'd say I should be allowed to assume this one.

So long as they care about their education, a student should be well aware of what "weighting" is by now. Ranks were juggled once already in prelim, and the weighting factor should've been made apparent by then already. Performing well in certain tasks and not in others should've visibly impacted on where in the cohort they were.

Year 12 is just a version of Year 11 that has proper value. Whilst I can understand if some questions regarding "scaling" and etc. remain a blur, if they don't realise that certain exams/assessments deserve to count more towards your final result, that's something seriously concerning. Plus it doesn't exactly take that much thought to determine why weightings are necessary - if the final exams are weighted equal to or less than the initial, then clearly the marks received don't reflect a year's worth of performance as opposed to a few weeks.

Yeah ofc, but there might be some not-so-knowledgeable year 11s browsing who might not know. Anyway, it doesn't matter too much
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on August 29, 2016, 11:26:23 am
Didnt think I would spark a debate lol ;D

Firstly, they are Year 12 Trial results. I have known how waiting works before I even started Year 11.
Secondly, thanks a heap for your help!!
Thirdly, my ranks have improved in all my subjects a little but not that much. (Eg 9th in Gen Math with a rank of 12th before hand)
Fourthly (and lastly) English is my only subject where the prior posts really affect. Idk how but I went much better in my paper 2 then I thought I would so improved my rank quite a bit (18% weighting paper 2) as well as my speech I just did (20% weighting- and teacher hinted that I got an A) as well as my Mod B essay before trials (15% weighting 16/20)

20+18+15 -> 53% weighting where I have performed well. The other 47% I only got 60%ish

Thanks again!
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: Bookworm101 on September 02, 2016, 07:08:33 pm
English Paper 1 - I was fine in that one 26/45 (wanted to get 30)
English Paper 2 - did better than Paper 1. 36/60 (happy that I passed)
Modern History - 49/100 (so close to passing hope too in the real ones)
Ancient History - 48/100 (need to pass on this one and get above 60-70)
Hospitality - 50/100(want to get about 60-80)
Studies of Religion 2 - 47/85 ( our school just finished learning about religion and non religion) [happy about the marks that I got but I want to do better]
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: studybuddy7777 on September 02, 2016, 07:55:38 pm
English Paper 1 - I was fine in that one 26/45 (wanted to get 30)
English Paper 2 - did better than Paper 1. 36/60 (happy that I passed)
Modern History - 49/100 (so close to passing hope too in the real ones)
Ancient History - 48/100 (need to pass on this one and get above 60-70)
Hospitality - 50/100(want to get about 60-80)
Studies of Religion 2 - 47/85 ( our school just finished learning about religion and non religion) [happy about the marks that I got but I want to do better]

Hey bookworm101, welcome to the atarnotes forums!! Nice to see new faces/names pop up!

I got 52% in my SOR 2 exam. Not that impressive. I have most of the detail correct, but cannot word it right for some reason. Any tips here? (Asking simply because 47/85 is much better than 52/100)

Remember Eng Paper 2 scales more (60%) than Paper 1 (40%) in the HSC and following the same trial format as me (16%- Paper 2, 14% paper 1). Thus it is important to get good marks in Paper 2.
May I just ask what English you are doing? Standard/Advanced?

I got 41/60 in Paper 2 (dont ask how lol, i thought i had failed for sure!) and 35/45 for Paper 1 (again, dont ask how) in advanced. This was the reward not from rereading my texts and analysing them (though this does help!) but rather reading and evaluating summaries (eg Top Notes). Creative you either have it or you dont, and this was the first creative that got over a 9 so quite chuffed (got a 13).

Heard the ancient history exam was horrid as well as one of the modern questions being a bit ambiguous.. So you at least have that to fall back on.

I cannot stress how much rankings are important though What ranks did you achieve for these exams? Fir example, an average of 80% where you got 85% is not as good as an average of 45% where you achieved 70%. ranks over marks always

Finally, remember the trials are harder than the HSC!
(I'll get off my soap box now, not even sure if you wanted elaboration or if i have just embarrassed myself/wasted a good while typing this up. :)
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: Bookworm101 on September 03, 2016, 09:03:17 pm
Hey studybuddy7777

I do Advanced English and had all three essays prepared for Paper 2. Also, got a 10 in Creative Writing, a 12 in my discovery essay for The Tempest and 11 for the unseen text for Paper 1. Ancient History was hard... the Alexander the Great questions were very ambiguous and very hard.
Title: Re: CSSA Sound Off Thread
Post by: melprocrastinator on September 03, 2016, 09:52:05 pm
Quote
Perhaps we should develop a series of hand yoga techniques? ;)

I vote YES to this idea Jamon ahaha