hsc-help

[hsc-help]

Hi, I'm just wondering if you had any tips for belonging AOS section three essay especially in regards to the text, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini just if you have any advice about how it fits into the concepts of the syllabus and techniques involved in analysis of the concept of belonging. Thanks :)

i didn’t do that novel for english and i read it so long ago that i barely remember it… but again imma direct you to the syllabus (http://hsc.csu.edu.au/english/area_of_study/area_intro/3634/aos_intro.htm) for all the concepts (which i reallllly can’t help you with unless i reread the book ya know). i think a good start is to focus on the relationships between characters - esp the dad if i recall correctly.

to get a few more ideas just scour sparknotes and the like and then research whatever you find there more extensively. (for sparknotes the sections of analysis of major characters and also the themes sections has saved my life multiple times) 

and good techniques, i remember that the novel is pretty disjointed and skips around quite a bit, so you could use that. and not completely sure if all of these apply since i never analysed this novel, but good techniques to use in the belonging essay are: extended metaphors/motifs, symbolism, characterisation, basically anything that plays a large part in the novel (not repetition or puns or anything small like that) 

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What are the different aspects and perspectives of belonging? I've already got belonging to self, place and relationships within my short story. Though will that be enough to mold it easily into any stimulus? Ahhh I suck at creative writing.

hey! usually if you have a couple of ~main-ish~ ideas of belonging it will fit into the stimulus one way or another, since all the stimuli come from ideas which are in the syllabus

a few more ideas about the aspects and perspectives of belonging are the positives and negatives of belonging, how belonging shapes a person, how a sense of belonging is forged, how the attitudes toward belonging change over time, why some individuals don’t want to belong etc. focus on the points that are made in the syllabus (see http://hsc.csu.edu.au/english/area_of_study/area_intro/3634/aos_intro.htm) because they’re the ones that will have a chance of being a stimulus.

if you really want a real good band 6 creative, you can expand on the ideas that are given in the syllabus. eg. if you’re interested in the concept of not belonging, you could expand on this by exploring independence and non-reliance and how belonging can limit one’s worldviews and opinions

basically, stem your ideas from a few of the points in the syllabus (the paragraph titled area of study: belonging in the link above) and they’ll definitely fit in the stimulus, since many of them overlap anyway. then use those ideas and put your own interpretation of that idea to expand it in your creative 

good luck! 

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Hi! i sent the question about related texts for Emily Dickinson, just wanted to say thanks so much and i've researched them and i think i will do of mice and men :) really appreciate your help xxx

i'm so glad i could help you, thanks! 

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I want to thank you for your support. I still come back and read your advice when I'm feeling down, even though you posted it two weeks ago. Your kind words have been my motivation to keep going and continue being persistent. There's been so many doubters and I'm pretty soft, so I take the subtle but harsh words seriously. You're such a lovely a soul and I appreciate your help so much. Your support has changed my perspective and given me strength to move on xx Girl who screwed the assessments

<3 <3 <3 <3 thanks so much, i'm so happy i could help :) 

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hi do you know any good related texts for emily dickinson? i used a painting for trials and it was pretty terrible

hey! here’s a list from the top of my head of texts that i/friends of mine used (we all did emily dickinson). they’re all books or films bc they’re a bit more substantial i guess, but if you’re short of time, go for the films! 

books: 

the kite runner - khaled hosseini

of mice and men - john steinbeck (pretty short book) 

 never let me go - kazuo ishiguro (and the film version if you don’t have time to read it)

an imaginary life - david malouf (it’s a short book as well!) 

((and i didn’t know anyone who did this but i’ve read it and it wouldfit so well))) life of pi - yann martel (and also the film)

film: 

sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street (i did this and there’s plenty of ideas for you on the internet, and also great bc it connects well to the gothic themes of dickinson’s ‘i died for beauty’ if you’re planning on using that poem for your essay) 

black swan (used this as my secondary related and it was really easy to come up with ideas and stuff and there’s plenty of stuff on the internet as well)

amelie 

girl, interrupted 

lars and the real girl 

edward scissorhands

it’s a good idea to just google some of them (ie. “never let me go belonging”) to make sure there’s stuff on the internet to help you a bit bc it really helps to get a few ideas from the internet (pls don’t plagiarise just use their ideas ok)!!!!

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Hey lovely, first i would like to thank you for setting this up, such a thoughtful idea ! I was wondering if you could give me some direction, for legal i got a bit overwhelmed with the content and was unable to write proper notes, for trials i just had very brief notes on family & wrote a quick essay for workplace which i memorised, but now i have no idea how i can fix them up before HSC, so do you think it would be better to write proper notes or to just do the contemporary issues? thank you x

hey! apologies for not getting to this earlier, i’ve just been super busy, but thank you! i’m glad i can help :) 

family and workplace are both just essays in the exams, so i’d say that notes for them are less important than crime and human rights. as long as you know all the content (so think concepts, legislation, cases, news articles) and think you can reasonable remember them for the exam, it’s probably more important to do the contemporary issues - there have been questions in the past that focused entirely on one single contemporary issues, such as surrogacy in family law a few years ago. 

if i was in your situation, i’d probably just make a brief, dot-pointed version of notes, making sure that there’s relevant legislation/cases/articles under each concept, and then get around to the contemporary issues! 

good luck! 

ASK ME HSC/SCHOOL RELATED QUESTIONS HERE, I’LL BE REALLY HAPPY TO HELP 

[hsc-help]

How did you deal with stress? I'm worried about the exams, I screwed up my assessments getting only 60% in everything. I feel like I could have done better though. The most annoying thing is that I've always been a consistent grade A student in my junior years, most people wouldn't believe this. I just want an atar of 75, is that too much to ask for? Ugh what if I don't even get into uni, I just want to do law (yeah you can doubt me like everyone else, I'm used to it now). I need to ace the hsc.

firstly, i just wanted to say that your internal marks mean absolutely nothing - that’s why they have scaling in the hsc. i understand that it’s disappointing, but gurl, you just have to put it in the past and look towards the next hurdle! your internals are only 50% of your hsc - that means there’s another 50% to complete, so focus on that instead! 

as for dealing with stress, remember to take breaks every now and then to just focus on yourself. honestly, looking after yourself is more important than anything. something i used to do was when i felt it was getting too stressful, i would take an hour or two out of my day just to do anything i wanted to, and not feel guilty about it. it’s okay to take breaks and not feel like you should be studying! 

the hsc ain’t the end of the world, and that’s something i realised only when i finished it, but it’s really isn’t! your atar certainly isn’t going to define the rest of your life (no one has asked about my atar since the day they came out), and there are ALWAYS alternate pathways to everything. 

i’m not sure if you’re aware of these, but there are places where you can get ‘bonus points’ to add to your atar when you’re applying to universities - for NSW, the UAC Educational Access Scheme could award you bonus point if you’ve been disadvantaged in any way, or you can get points for leadership or sporting achievements etc, and i’m sure these kind of things exist for VTAC and all the other equivalents. 

i believe in you ok!!!! go and ace the hsc and get into law!!! and keep in mind that if you do fall short, there ARE other ways to get into uni, or transfer into law. like, that’s reassuring isn’t it? there’s ten thousand different ways of getting to where you want, just do your research and work hard, keep your eye on your passions and i swear that you’ll get there. 

best of luck!!! 

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Do you think its possible to rank first in all your subjects? For prelims I've had top 3 ranks for all subjects, but just not sure if I'm being unrealistic having this goal for year 12?

if you can do it for prelims, i don’t see why you can’t do it again in year 12 :) 

it’s so fabulous and i really like that you give yourself such high goals and standards, and no goal like that is unrealistic if you really want it! and top 3 ranks for all your subjects is such a great achievement and you should be really proud, but remember that (((and i’m not saying this to discourage you, i just feel like it’s something to consider))) the hsc is not the end of the world, and that it is freaking fabulous that you’re going for your goals, but if you fall short a little, that’s not so bad either. if i’ve learnt anything since the hsc, it’s that everything is way more fun when you’re supposed to be studying.

so all in all, no, your goals aren’t unrealistic at all, considering you did so well for prelims, and i STRONGLY URGE you to go for your goals, but if you begin to think that it’s creating too much stress on yourself and your mental health, then it’s not worth it. 

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when did you start studying for the hsc externals? and what are some effective ways to retain information?

hi! i felt like i really built up for the hsc throughout the year, so i was writing notes all throughout the year and so i didn’t really ‘study’ study for the hsc externals, since my notes/essays were already mostly done. i must add that for the weeks after the trials, i did get a little lazy and a little caught up on celebrating and whatnot, and also binge watched the oc which i don’t regret but definitely don’t recommend. i guess if you’re asking whether you should be spending the last few days of school (!!!!) studying, i’d say, if you’ve prepared all your notes, then let yourself off for a while! if you haven’t, this is a good time to catch up. So i personally started studying for the hsc when the holidays started, but that was because after doing the trials i did somewhat feel mostly prepared already.

I think you’ll find that even though you feel like you’ve forgotten everything you learnt for the trial, once you pick up your notes again, it will come back quite quickly! but anyway, i’ll just list some of the techniques that worked for me: 

I had a long commute to school so if you do as well, use that time. I always used to read my notes on the way to school - and it’s boring, i know - but it’s a good way to retain information. 

do past papers. if you feel like you haven’t been able to retain all the information yet, have your notes in front of you while you do them. This really helps because not only do you get to see many likely questions you might get in your exam, but it helps you to make connections between key words in the questions and what content they expect you to use. 

dot point your notes. try to make them briefer and and briefer with every draft until you can summarise them on only a few pages. use coloured markers and make a mindmap of a single topic on a piece of blank paper, then using your mindmap, and try to think about what’s under every branch

on the same concept, if you’re having trouble with retaining essays, try making acronyms with your main points. it takes a while but if you’re really having trouble, this could be something to try 

after you do past paper and past questions,mark them and correct all your answers. marking is annoying and not fun but this really helps! read the answers of the questions you get wrong, and write points about the questions you got wrong on a piece of paper. afterward, go through the piece of paper and hopefully you can pick out specific trends/topics that you find yourself struggling with, so you can work on those. 

talk to your cat/dog/laptop/duck. tell them all about the stuff you learnt and explain it to them. if you can say it out loud you know you can remember it

lastly, have a little faith in yourself and if you’ve done your best to learn the material, just trust that you know it! there were so many times where i was sure that i couldn’t possibly remember everything and panicked right before the exam, but it all comes back to me in the exam! and also other miracles where i simply got so exhausted that i went to sleep knowing i couldn’t remember everything, only to wake up in the morning and realise that i retained more than ithought i did! be well-rested before your exam, and get up a little earlier on the day to make sure you won’t be in a rush, and i’m sure you’ll be able to retain more information than you think you can :) 

good luck! 

ASK ME HSC/SCHOOL RELATED QUESTIONS HERE, I’LL BE REALLY HAPPY TO HELP 

[hsc-help]

tips for writing a band 6 creative?

hello! i’m just having this moment of nostalgia because i realised i haven’t had to write a creative for AN ENTIRE YEAR WOW but anyway, i’ll just list these in dot points because this is a great question and i have heaps of tips bc i sucked at creatives and it was one of the things i really had to work on. (i did in fact end up getting a band 6 for my creative in the trial, so if you’re struggling with it REMEMBER THAT IF I CAN DO IT SO CAN U OK)

just because it’s been this way for the past 10 years or so, i’m going to focus on tips for writing short stories, but i have included a little bit on other text types at the bottom

keep the plot simple to work on the elements that get you marks. it’s brilliant to have a really good plot, especially so that the marker can be really engaged in your short story, but the elements of a short story that really get you marks are things like how it explores belonging (assuming this is AOS), how it relates to the stimulus, ambience, setting, characters and characterisation, and your use of literary techniques. Focus on these elements rather than plot. Like you know how some of the best short stories are the ones that span over 10 minutes and go into minute detail about one little thing? Also, i was told to stick to the traditional narrative model - that is, (optional or short) orientation, complication and resolution. I did that but i’m not sure how much much that would impact on anything - but just wanted to stress that you do get marked on how ‘short-story-ish’ your short story is, so make sure you do have those complication and resolution elements. 

introduce your characters and set the scene early on. it’s a short story so don’t waste time/space and do it early. again, there’s no need for super complicated plotlines so try to keep it to only a few characters and settings. that way, you won’t be left with a million ends to tie up at the end, and also, it’s easier to really develop them into 3 dimensional characters (think about back story, personality and motives, just to name a few!) and richer settings and ambience. and i’m sure you’ve heard it all before, so i’ll say it in a quiet voice, but, show, not tell. 

KEEP IT TO BELONGING!!! in fact, centre it around belonging!!! this is possibly the single most important point. and not only that, but a band 6 creative should show multiple perspectives of belonging. instead of just focusing on the one perspective of belonging (which could potentially be didactic), treat your creative like a discussion, and explore the positives/negatives/complexities of belonging. also, explore different types of belonging - remember, you spent an entire term on this topic so try to incorporate everything you learnt into this creative! eg. you could centre you story on say, belonging to self, but add other vicissitudes of belonging, for example, your character could be eavesdropping on an old travelling couple on a plane reminiscing about their home, effectively adding two types of belonging into your creative - relationships and belonging to place. it doesn’t matter how small these examples of belonging are - as long as you have a main idea that interweaves throughout the entire story, feel free to drop as many examples as you want! 

also super important, USE THE STIMULUS!!! I know it’s annoying, but do it!!! you automatically lose a lot of marks if you don’t so, so please do it :) a good guideline on how much of the stimulus to incorporate is 3 times - beginning, middle and end, and if you’re using a metaphorical interpretation of the stimulus, have at least one physical allusion to the stimulus somewhere. I was taught to allude to the stimulus very early on - first few sentences, because it supposedly makes the marker relax because they know you’ve incorporated the stimulus already. that’s probably a good idea. they don’t have to be HUGE OBVIOUS allusions to the stimulus, as long it does quite easily connect to it. i know it’s annoying to use a stimulus, but seriously, do it. 

techniques!!! use the ‘bigger’, more ‘meatier’ techniques. it’s better to use characterisation than that pun on line 87 (although i do love a good pun). a favourite of my high school english teacher (a hsc marker) was using flashbacks, and i highly recommend because they’re fun to write and also add back story! other good techniques to use in your short story are extended metaphors, symbolism, atmosphere and imagery. 

the AOS creative has been a short story for the last 10 years or so, but remember that they might decide to change it! so it’s probably wisest to prepare for a short story, but don’t ignore the possibility that they might ask for a speech, or feature article, or conversation, or script. Think about how you could ‘morph’ some of your ideas from your short story into different text types, and also if you’re asked to write one of these alternative text types, utilise the key features of them. eg. for a speech, you could address the audience with ‘good morning’, or for a feature article, you would need an attention-grabbing headline etc. All in all, this is probably something you’d think about last and only if you had time. It’s probably going to be a short story. but if you’ve got the spare time and want peace of mind, then maybe think about it! 

this has gotten super long so i’ll wrap it up here, but if you’re unsure of anything i mentioned or have other questions, feel free to send me another message! hope this helped, and good luck! 

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i have my first half yearly exam tomorrow at 9am and i have no idea what the eff is happening throughout the entirely of my English text! Is it true that is easy to just make things up for English exams on belonging? My text is Steven Herricks The Simple Gift. Please help! :(

ahhhh i’m so sorry and hope your exam went well, not sure why, but any messages i get on my side blog aren’t coming up in my notifications :((

all the hsc markers are teachers who have read that particular text, so it’s probably not a good idea to make up plot points, quotes and stuff! if you mean making up theses, ideas, literary techniques and stuff, save yourself the hard work because there’s heaps on google! did a quick search and gave me these which have a few ideas:

http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/english/area_of_study/belonging/3725/simple_gift.htm 

http://neboliterature.mrkdevelopment.com.au/topic-areas/belonging/The-Simple-Gift.html

http://www.sydneyhometutoring.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/The-Simple-Gift-Area-of-study-Notes.pdf

http://belongingareaofstudy.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/analytical-writing-key-scene-analysis.html

if you don’t understand what’s happening in your text, don’t worry too much - make sure you know the basic plot, then know all the context, connections to belonging, and the techniques really well - most of which can be found on the internet. of course it’s always an advantage if you understand the text so in the future always try to, but hell, i didn’t read an entire text i did in english and still ended up getting a 94 in the hsc - so let that be some hope for you! 

good luck! 

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Heya :) Do you know how hsc first in course is calculated? Is it taken from the mark that is calculated after the scaling process and all, like how the atar is calculated? Or does it take into account the raw internal marks? Thank you :)

sorry for the late reply this message somehow slipped through my inbox 

it’s taken from your scaled, moderated mark - basically your final mark that appears on the ‘official’ document, but without rounding up or down to whole numbers - so yes, the one used to calculate your atar, but they use the ‘un-rounded up/down’ version that has a few decimal places after it which is how they can determine first in course 

your scaled and moderated ‘final’ mark takes in account your raw internal rank, not mark, so that’s how that is incorporated into the first in course. if you mean whether the actual internal mark matters, no it doesn’t :)

if you need more clarification just shoot me another message :) 

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hey everyone! 

this is just a psa to say that my absence is not because i've done the sensible thing and quit the internet but rather because no one asks me any questions!

so yeah, if you happen to stumble across this blog and want to ask a questions but it looks like it's been abandoned, it hasn't! ask away! i'm pretty much on tumblr everyday! 

(that rhymed)

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hey so I only just started year 11 but we're already focussing on assessments and all that and I was wondering, what do you find is the best way to study? I mean obviously I know it differs from person to person, but I've never really had to study for anything or push myself until now so I'm not really sure how to start?

i found (along with almost everyone ever) that making notes and doing practice questions were definitely the best way to study. basically what i would do is once we finished a sizeable chunk of content in class, i'd make notes, so by assessment time most of my notes were already done, then i'd spend that 'revision time' where everyone is crazily studying just doing lots and lots of practice questions - look around the internet for past papers and stuff! 

whatever way you want to study, i think the most important thing is keeping up and not falling behind on content. you probably would have noticed that the pace really gets faster in year 11? so it's not always possible to cram everything two hours before the assessment :) 

good luck! 

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Hi I was wondering if you have done the HSC? And how much study for half yearly's is enough? Are they hard? I'm just so scared

yes i did my hsc last year

tbh i feel like studying is something you build on for the whole year, with every assessment i guess you kind of get a little better with it. i didn’t feel like the assessments really got harder throughout the year, (not until you get to trials anyway, which is because there is simply so much content). 

idk about you but when i did mine they specified how much of the course would be in the exam? well i started really studying for exams about 3 weeks before them (before that i’d still be writing notes and stuff), by firstly reading the exam notifications for each subject carefully to see what type of questions there would be and what topics would be in it. then i’d get my notes ready for all the topics that would be in it. i would read through the topics once or twice (if you travel to school by train/bus then that’s a good time to read through them), then i’d find the same style questions in past hsc/trial papers and practice questions (eg. if your exam was going to be short answers then i’d find short answer questions in past exams to practice with). i personally went through about 3-5 papers, only doing the relevant questions - if it’s half yearlys 5 papers won’t take too long. mark your responses, correct whatever you got wrong. then the night before the exam i just like to make little summaries of my notes to make sure you’ve been through everything!

for essay subjects like english where all you have to is write a few essays, a good way to study is to know all your notes back to front really well, then choose a question and just do a plan for what your introduction, arguments and conclusion will be like -it’s much faster than writing entire essays out and you can attempt more questions (and hopefully pick one that’s similar to your exam one). of course you should always try and write at least one complete practice essay, making sure you can fit everything in the time limit! 

and really, don’t spend too much time worrying about it, the half yearlys are truly not worth missing sleep/stressing/studying to the point of exhaustion/being scared over :) i survived, so you will too! (and in a year’s time you’ll realise why its not worth being worried over) 

good luck! 

ASK ME HSC/SCHOOL RELATED QUESTIONS HERE, I’LL BE REALLY HAPPY TO HELP 

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HEY I’M ANSWERING HSC RELATED QUESTIONS ON MY HELP BLOG RN 

PLEASE ASK ME THINGS BECAUSE I’M REAL BORED THANKS XX

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thankyou so much! the notes were really useful! xx

you're very welcome!