Emily's State Rank Q+A: March 18th (7pm-9pm)

[Mr Kip]

Hey Emily

Congrats on your result. It must have been very rewarding

1. What did you do in the spare time that you had from completing your notes in advance?
2. How did you keep up to date with recent case studies/contemporary issues
3. How critical is group collaboration? What strategies do you recommend?

Thanks

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hi Emily,
How are you finding your law degree at UNSW? Do you think a law degree is worth it if you are not planning to pursue a law profession? (i.e. do you know if it would be useful for DFAT?)

Hi Finn!

Ahh the law degree at UNSW is definitely something else. I think I am still getting use to the transition from high school to university so I am finding it a bit tough. At times it is quite boring since we are just covering legal history at the moment and there is obviously a lot of reading! However, I am really starting to enjoy the content as well as making new friends such a social environment.

I think a law degree is definitely worth it if you want to develop critical analysis and understand skills. At UNSW you can't do a law degree on its own so you always combine it with another degree. This allows you to either go down the law pathway or the other pathway, which for me is commerce. But yes, definitely worth it. Australia's own Rebel Wilson obtained a law degree at UNSW and look what she is doing now!

As for DFAT, there is an international studies and a politics degree that may be worth pursuing if you're looking to go down that avenue.

Wishing you all the best for this year!

[angelin.a]

Hi Emily!

When did you start writing practice essays for your subjects? How did you balance writing practice essays for each subject whilst staying on top of notes/assessments? How often did you write them?

Also, how did you pick which University to study law at?

(Sorry for the question dump!!) 

[emilyygeorgexx]

How do you write a discursive text??? I’m really struggling for my year 11 Advanced English assignment.

Hey Jade!

So if I had to give an answer, I would definitely look at what the discursive form of text really is. By identifying its different forms and features, it will allow you to identify the critical elements you need to compose a discursive piece. I would start with a basic idea and gradually build on it by incorporating different forms, features and characteristics. But to be honest, I'm not totally sure! If you like, you can copy/paste that question in our English Q+A and one of our English tutors can answer it for you, probably better than I can. Here is the link: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=164556.0

Wishing you all the best for Year 11 

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hi Emily!

- How did/would you study for HSC English Advance throughout the year and before an exam
- How did you study for HSC Economics and how did you memorise all concepts and stats

Thanks in advance!

Hi Jen!

So for English Advanced, this was one of my least favourite subjects so I always seemed to neglect my study for it. However, around trials and HSC I really amped it up. I wrote general essays for all of my texts as well as did tables by different themes in each text, providing about at least 4 quotes for each text. This was really key when I did Module B and did poetry. Making your technique and analysis tables all colourful definitely helps you to motivate to study a bit!

For economics, it was definitely my hardest subject so learning the content at times was very difficult for me. However, I made sure I just knew the basic concepts so if at any time in an exam I got stuck I just knew the absolute basics. As I grew more comfortable with the topics, I started adding in and learning more difficult concepts which really allowed me to push into that B6 range. As for statistics I would look at trends rather than trying to just memorise a bunch of a random statistics. This allows you to evaluate the trend and see what factors and why these factors caused a change. Most importantly though, know your very latest stats at the least.

Hope this helps!!

[emilyygeorgexx]

Legit question: For aspiring law students, what kind of preparation do you recommend prospective UNSW students to do, in preparation for the LAT?

Other question: I heard rumours that you flex niche branded T-shirts. Is this true?

Hey Rui!

I think there is honestly no correct answer to what preparation you can do for the LAT. The questions are very random and unpredictable so there is no really set structure that you can put into motion to study for. However, the UNSW Law website does provide practice papers to similar questions that students will be faced with in the LAT, so I highly recommend having a look at those and even attempting them. Definitely knowing your basic critical analysis and discussion techniques will provide benefit as well.

Oh yes, I do love a niche branded t-shirt. Just bought 2 more last week to add to my collection. Gotta keep up with the fashion hype at uni these days.

[Roydens19]

Hello Emily

i would like to know how you stayed motivated......i personally hate this subject at the moment. I find it hard to keep awake in my business class.
 

[melbombastic]

Hi!
Recently I've been feeling unmotivated and slow with my approach to studying. It's not as bad as the first term of year 12 (in which I completely fell behind and always rushed to recover before assessments); but I still feel like I'm not in the "routine" most HSC students claim to have been in? As in, I don't do homework, work on assignments and then do some past papers...Rather, I do homework and touch some of my assignments, and call it a night.

By doing that, I've fallen down the Term 1 hole again: I'm depending on holidays to make long-term notes, but I'm not organised at all even then! Specifically with business, I'm not up-to-date with my summaries, although I have started them. I still have to complete Drama and Ancient notes for Term 1's topics, but I just don't know how to stay motivated and on top of my "long-term game"...Please help

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hey Emily

Congrats on your result. It must have been very rewarding

1. What did you do in the spare time that you had from completing your notes in advance?
2. How did you keep up to date with recent case studies/contemporary issues
3. How critical is group collaboration? What strategies do you recommend?

Thanks

Hi Mr Kip!

Thank you. The result was definitely rewarding after constant hard work and support from my teacher and friends!

1. You are right, I did complete my notes in advance. To fill that very long and void period of time I wrote an essay to every single student learn to in the HSC Business Studies syllabus. The 'student learn to' part of the syllabus is very commonly overlooked by most students so I would HIGHLY recommend students attempting responses for at least the common ones or ones they find the most difficult. I also really amped it up during trials and smash out trial papers on the weekly for a whole term.

2. I was a real big lover of watching the news and always looking/examining the different strategies businesses were implementing. I also made a 'school Twitter account' which provided real time updates and news articles that I could dissect and analyse to see which syllabus dot point applied to them. However, my teacher was also very good at keeping up to date with the news and providing us case studies regularly whether that be on paper or just their past experiences. So always consult your teacher because you never know what they might have up their sleeve!

3. I can't even stress enough how important group collaboration is. Although, most students are hesitant I think it's a really good way to bounce ideas/thoughts off each other and see if there are any other ways that you could have interpreted the question other than what you originally had. Yes, you need to help yourself out but most importantly helping each other out whether that be sending notes when someone is away or just sharing resources because you care really establishes this sense of cohesion amongst the class. Ultimately, it is good if you do well but EVEN BETTER if everyone does well.

Hope this helps you out

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hey Emily,

How do you approach long response questions?

And
I currently have an assessment which requires me to conduct a "Business Intelligence Report into a highly successful product" and enquire into critical factors while evaluating how it contributed to the products success....So would you recommend any products?

Thanks,
Rohit

Hi Rohit!

What sort of long response questions are you talking about. Short answers, business report, business essay? I might need a few more specific details to give you a comprehensive answer.

Well for products, I would definitely be looking at the different product strategies that relate to the business. So take a look at branding, packaging as well as labelling. To do this, your business would have to look at the results and evaluation from the market research you have conducted, that has assisted in establishing your target market.

Hope this helps!

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hi Emily!

When did you start writing practice essays for your subjects? How did you balance writing practice essays for each subject whilst staying on top of notes/assessments? How often did you write them?

Also, how did you pick which University to study law at?

(Sorry for the question dump!!) 

Hey Angelina!!

Well, I finished my whole course notes very early so I had lots of time to write essays. This meant I had started writing essays for Business as early as February but in saying that I wrote essays constantly throughout the whole Year 12 course. I was a person who really liked to plan things out so I would always make time for my other subjects to ensure I was on top of all of them rather than just 1. I wrote them very often so that by the time the HSC rolled around I had over 40+ essays to read over and take out the main points for.

As for uni, there was just always something about UNSW that made me study there. I think it stemmed from even when I was a kid and drove past it quite frequently. The location and social environment was also a big factor in choosing to go to UNSW.

Hope this helps and all the best

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hello Emily

i would like to know how you stayed motivated......i personally hate this subject at the moment. I find it hard to keep awake in my business class.

Hey Roydens!

I’m sad to see your heart isn’t with business at the moment but that’s okay! Everyone has these moments where they are just completely unmotivated and honestly just don’t want to do anything. Even for myself like business studies is literally my life but there were points during my HSC where I just couldn’t even look at the content because I was just not feeling it.

I think the best about business though is the flexibility to tailor it to yourself since it is only core topics. If you’re struggling with some of the concepts just sit yourself down with a clear mind and ask yourself “how can I break this down so I can fully understand this”. You can do this by taking a chunk of information and just simplifying it into a few dot points. Trust me it makes your life so much easier.

Another thing is in business you obviously need case studies for your essay and in some cases short answer. Research your favourite clothing brand, different businesses you like and by doing this you’re actually researching businesses that you’re interested in and want to know more about. It definitely takes the burden away of “Oh I just have to do this”.

Lastly, one of the things I did was make my notes look really pretty. When I had established a so called “theme” I wanted to use for my notes it made me motivated to continue doing my notes so they would be perfect for me! Maybe jazz up your notes, use lots of colour and even chuck a few pictures and diagrams in there.

That’s most of my tips, but if you want I have written an article that goes into depth on how to succeed in business studies. You can find it in the Articles section and it’s called “HSC Business Studies: Maximising Marks”.

I hope this gives you some slight motivation but always reach out if you need more help!

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hi!
Recently I've been feeling unmotivated and slow with my approach to studying. It's not as bad as the first term of year 12 (in which I completely fell behind and always rushed to recover before assessments); but I still feel like I'm not in the "routine" most HSC students claim to have been in? As in, I don't do homework, work on assignments and then do some past papers...Rather, I do homework and touch some of my assignments, and call it a night.

By doing that, I've fallen down the Term 1 hole again: I'm depending on holidays to make long-term notes, but I'm not organised at all even then! Specifically with business, I'm not up-to-date with my summaries, although I have started them. I still have to complete Drama and Ancient notes for Term 1's topics, but I just don't know how to stay motivated and on top of my "long-term game"...Please help

Hey!!

Its unfortunate to see that you aren't motivated to study at the moment. Everyone goes through these periods, and I did myself but it's how you make the best of it that really kicks in your motivation.

I recently just replied to another student with a length answer about motivation in Business Studies so give that a read and let me know if you have any more questions!

All the best for Year 12

[beatroot]

Hey Sister Emily!

Loving the new profile picture Not sure if this has been asked already but what’s your favourite thing about your degree so far?

[Grace0702]

Hi again,
How did you manage your time in the Business Studies HSC exam? How did you spend the reading time? People say to do the multiple choice first, but others say to start planning the essay and business report. What did you do?