Major works – Sounds like a major problem right?
You’ve probably heard these famous words before “You cannot do two majors in Year 12” or “Majors are a big workload and it will affect your other subjects” or “Majors are a waste of time.” I still remember during my Year 11 subject selection interviews, that the teacher interviewing me just kept warning me. “Don’t do it” she said.
But guess who didn’t listen.
I was forced to do two major works because I couldn’t drop any subjects at the start of Year 12 (I curse thee Photography class!). At first, I thought that this would be a major problem because previous HSC girls at my school advised to not do a major, let alone two majors at once. I’ve seen girls in the past getting insanely stressed because they couldn’t manage their time well. But I survived. I had to do a personal interest project (Society & Culture) and a body of work (Visual Arts) for my HSC. I successfully made it through my two major works, and even finished a few days before the due dates!
Here are some tips and tricks on how to handle your major works throughout your HSC year.
Understanding that there are two different types of majors.
When people think majors, they think a drama performance or an extensively thought out painting. But majors aren’t necessarily practical assessments. Some majors are written, require field research and oral tests.
The first type of major, like I previously mentioned, are the practical ones. Some subjects include;
Visual Arts (Body of Work)
Drama (individual and group performances). Essentially Drama is considered to be a double major in itself.
Design and Technology (Major Design Project)
Music 1
Textiles and Design
Industrial Media
Software Design and Development, and more!
Practical majors always include a portfolio, log book or a process diary that you must work on consistently, to prove to the HSC markers that you actually did the work.
The second type of major are theory based! These usually consists of a huge report, a research paper or a long essay. Some subjects include;
Any language course, and more!
Aboriginal Studies (but can also be practical!)
History Extension
Society & Culture (Personal Interest Project)
Interesting Topics
When doing your major/s, ensure that your topic is interesting and something that you are passionate about. This will help motivate you to do your major and will ensure you don’t lose interest. After all, this still counts towards your final mark and ATAR! If you are passionate about your topic, this gives you more things to talk about.
Whether you’d be planning on doing ONE major (practical or theory) or TWO majors (practical/practical or practical/theory or theory/theory), or maybe even THREE, you must be passionate and willing to dedicate extra time to them, which I will be discussing in the next two points.
Time Management
I cannot stress this enough! I’ve had classmates in Society & Culture and Visual Arts who did their major works at the last minute. Yes this is possible, but your major won’t be up to the same standard as someone who managed their time well because it would have been very rushed. I find that people who have two majors are better with their time management than people who only have one.
You must understand that you must dedicate extra time to your major/s. It is essential to start early! When you start early, your teacher is likely to help you with your major. They will see how much you care it and will be inspired to help you one on one. The advantage of getting one on one help is that the feedback that you will get is not rushed (as they’re not under pressure to accommodate for the other people in your class) and will be very detailed (teachers will have more time to write down more feedback, and that feedback is essential to maximising your marks for your major).
The hours you dedicate to your major works must be consistent. One week can’t be just three hours and the next week ten hours. Try an additional 2-5 hours per week (excluding allocated lessons during school time). Having consistent hours for your major works is key to maintaining a good balance between them, your other subjects, your social life, health and sleep.
Do not get effective time management confused with dedicating 10 hours on Saturday on working on your major work. Although it may seem like a good idea, your brain will drain out after a few hours. I remember pressuring myself to get 15 canvasses done in eight hours, but ended up finishing 6 because my brain was so tired that I could no longer concentrate and lost motivation.
I personally think it’s better doing your major works in bits, rather than huge chunks. For example, instead of typing out a 50 minute transcript all in one sitting, I did 5 minutes per day instead. By doing this, I was more alert during those small segments, making it easier to form the transcript for my PIP. Same thing went with art. Instead of painting 10 canvasses in seven hours, I did two canvases for one hour then took a 30 minute break and went back into painting. Repeated this for another two-three hours.
I understand that you may have other subjects and commitments. Allocate a specific time for your other subjects. For me, I had Maths tutoring every Tuesday after school and allocated this specific time just for Maths alone. I would dedicate my Monday studies for English and my Friday studies for Ancient History. Try having a digital/physical calendar and write down your goals for each day. Tick off each goal when you complete it. If you happen to finish early, don’t add more things to your list. You’ve reached all your goals for the day, you deserve a break!
Getting a head start during the summer holidays will give you a HUGE advantage. Whether that’d be drawing up a composition or doing primary research on your PIP or a list of monologues that you are interested in, your teacher will see your dedication and will take that into account when giving you a progress mark. Progress marks are what set the top and bottom students apart. Use the summer holidays to your advantage.
Studies
If you’re in a study period with your best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/your favourite teacher/whoever, just move away. This won’t help you at all. I know multitasking is possible, but this doesn’t apply to everyone. Not everyone can sew and talk to their friend at the same time, because people eventually get distracted. Listening to music may be beneficial to people doing their practical majors, but as for people with theory majors, there’s a certain temptation on picking a suitable Spotify playlist, going on YouTube or catching up on your favourite TV show, and thus losing precious time.
So the next time you want to talk to your friend during study, ask yourself this; “Would I prefer to work on this major now, whilst I’m still in the school context, or at home; which is a place where I would prefer to relax and not do any school work as much as possible?” Your conversations with your friend can wait until lunch and recess. The latest gossip is not worth losing time for your major. Every second counts!
If you’re doing a practical major, ask your study teacher to allow you to head down to the Art/DT/Drama/etc room to work on your major works. Nothing is going to happen if you decide to stay in the library or your study room. These rooms are not suitable for the completion of your practical major. Not only will you have minimal room and supplies, this can also distract your fellow study classmates who are doing their own work.
Allocated Lessons
During actual lessons always set a goal for yourself. For example in Art, I would always set a goal for myself at the start of the lesson (i.e. get three canvasses done, get the stencils done, get three colours mixed up etc). This meant my allocated lessons were constructed and always that I always had a particular goal to work towards. At the end of the lesson, I would always reach that goal giving me more confidence and a sense of accomplishment as time went on.
I have 10 studies in a two week cycle and I dedicated 2-3 studies per week just for Art. We also had a Wednesday Workshop where we stayed after school for an additional two hours. As much as possible, try and avoid sitting with your friends. As tempting it may sound, it’s better to have your mind concentrated on one thing rather than trying to attempt to do two things at once; this will overwhelm your brain.
As for theory majors, your teacher should have set a specific day in the week, dedicated towards doing your major work. However, just because you have Tuesday’s lesson allocated for your History Extension major, this doesn’t mean that this is the only time you should work on your major. Allocated lessons should be the lesson where you get one on one feedback from your teacher, not the lesson where you work on your major. You must take on the responsibility to work on this major in other studies and at home.
I dedicated 1-2 studies per week for my PIP. Ensure you set goals for yourself when doing theory based majors. “I’ll get my resource annotations done by —” “I’ll submit my History Extension draft by —” and so on. Like I said previously, when you reach your goals, this will give you confidence and a sense of accomplishment. You will feel better about yourself for achieving a goal; no matter how small or big it is.
Weekends
The weekend is the perfect time to get more things done for your major/s. An additional 2-4 hours per day for your major/s will make a HUGE difference. Make sure to start early in the morning (around 8am-9am), when your brain is still charged! By the time lunch strolls by, you would have already completed a part of your major, and you can give yourself a break in the afternoon.
Feedback
As daunting this may sound, this is beneficial and significant for aiming high marks. Teachers are ALWAYS willing to give you constructive feedback and will prioritise your needs over other year groups. Some teachers will go above and beyond just to help their students. Share your drafts with your teachers. Email them a video of you practicing your monologue. Send them pictures of your DT portfolio. As much as possible, try to push them to give you feedback. This may come off as annoying at first, but it’s their job. They’re there to help you and guide you into the highest mark that you can achieve. They want you to reach your full potential. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your major works.
However, feedback isn’t limited to your teacher. Get your friends to read your History Extension draft. Get your parents to comment on your major design project. Maybe even get your next door neighbour to watch your individual monologue. Having feedback from other people can be beneficial as they may give you suggestions that your teacher may have not thought of.
Share Notes With Other People
I dedicated 2-3 studies for Art and 1-2 studies for my PIP. I have 3-5 studies for my majors alone, leaving me with five other studies left for my other subjects. But how can I dedicate 5 studies for my two majors and the other five for my three other subjects?
Having combined notes with other people will save you time and allow for you to allocate more time for your majors. I know rankings are important and people will go to extreme lengths to get first in course. Sharing your ‘top secret’ notes with other people doesn’t mean they’ll beat you in that particular subject. It’s how you and other people apply your notes into assessment tasks and exams. Even sharing your notes with one person will make a huge difference. At the end of the day, your class and cohort needs to work as a whole in order to bring up your ATARs up.
You can check out our FREE Notes for a variety of HSC subjects, and even upload your own! Remember, sharing is caring!
Sleep, Treats and Support
Remember to be kind to yourself and to not push yourself too hard. Remember to give yourself a break after doing your major. Give yourself a nice long sleep after a long day of work. Treat yourself when you complete a goal. Never ever neglect sleep and treats. This is what keeps you going. This also maintains consistent energy levels each time.
When you are struggling with your major, whether that’d be because you can’t sew a zipper properly or can’t up the word count for your PIP, you need to take a break. This may seem like a waste of time, but your brain needs to drain the stress away and recharge. Get up from your seat, stretch or get a glass of water. Maybe even go outside and lounge in the sun. Do this even for five minutes. Your brain will feel more refreshed and prepare to tackle the problem you were struggling with in the past.
Lastly, having a great support system will benefit your mental health during your HSC year. Support from your family, friends, fellow major classmates and teachers will boost up your self esteem. Hearing positive words and encouragements will motivate you to do your best. There’s that mindset where you want to make your family, friends and teachers proud. They see your potential, passion and your talents. So use that and simply, push yourself and make the best major/s that you are capable of.
My major works and I …
Continuing on from the start of the article, yes I did two majors. Yes I did a Personal Interest Project and a Body of Work. Yes I did survive. I was one of the few girls who did two majors at once during my HSC year. I desperately wanted to drop out of Society & Culture so that I could focus all my energy onto Art. But I couldn’t because I exactly had 10 units at the start of Year 12.
Do I regret my subject choices? At first, yes. Do I still regret them now? Of course not. Doing these major works gave me a sense of freedom and uniqueness that set me apart from the other people in my year group. There was no certain guideline or syllabus you had to conform to in order to get top marks, making my major works a lot easier and a lot more fun to do. I was able to talk about a social issue that I desperately wanted to do a PIP on. I was able to discuss my cultural heritage through the expressive form of a painting.
These major works made my HSC year better and boosted my self esteem. I admit that there was a lot of workload but it was achievable. If you asked me, would I do another two majors if I had to repeat Year 12? And my answer to that is, of course I would!
If you believe that you can manage your time well, willing to do extra work and take on the responsibility to push yourself to make the best major that you are capable of, I highly recommend you to do at least one major during Year 12. This is an opportunity to show off your talents and passions. You can do it!
