Despite the slightly anxious and perhaps even fatigued faces I have been seeing at CoWorks recently, you should all be excited for what lies ahead.

In short, the Trials can be an opportunity for redemption, a chance to further move up the schooling ranks or even solidify your dominance. On the other hand, they also have the potential to become the realization of your downfall.

The difficulty of these next few weeks leading up to Trials are entirely up to your own discretion. They can be consistent revision and exam preparation or spiral into hellish cramming, sleepless nights and the need for one too many coffees.

So, without further ado, here are my 5 golden tips to staying sane, happy and confident throughout these next few weeks:

1. Take care of your body:

In short, a healthy body makes a healthy mind. No matter how prepared you are, if you happen to be sick during your Trials, you will not be able to perform to the best of your abilities. Doing the small things like staying hydrated, eating healthy and sleeping 8 hours a day can give your brain the chance to function optimally and even assist with your memory retention. Also doing some exercise everyday, even if just for 30 minutes, releases endorphins (or happy hormones as I like to call them) which really helps deal with stress.

2. Study NOW rather than later:

As Jesse and the rest of the team have been constantly emphasizing throughout the last few weeks, “the key to success is being highly effective and productive with the limited time that you have”. If you are able to create and stick to a thought-out study timetable, there should be no reason why I should see any of you pulling an all-nighter before your first English Exam.

Like I said before, it’s up to you, these next few weeks can honestly be quite bearable, if you just stay consistent and do the work day by day.

3. Take plenty of breaks in between your study routine:

“I’m going to study for the whole day today”. I’m sure all of you have started a day with this intention and ended up just burning out after the first hour and then watching YouTube videos for the rest of the day.

Studies have shown that your ability to concentrate falls dramatically after the first 50 minutes, and so giving your brain regular breaks gives you the chance to stay focused for longer during the day.

One very good method is the Pornodoro Technique. Its principle is simple. You work for a short period (usually 25 minutes) without distraction and take a break (usually 5 minutes) after that period is done. Anything that distracts you is attended to in that break, where you can also get up and move around.

4. Stick to your own plan:

Trust in yourself and believe in your own study plan. Remember you have all been in school for almost 12 years now, so you know what studying methods work best for you. Worrying too much about how other people are going about their work will just make you more anxious.

5. Don’t forget, you’re not alone:

The Trials are meant to be tough, in fact many people actually say that they are harder than the HSC exams, because you are essentially doing the same exams but in a shorter period of time. So remember, you are all going through this together. If you are feeling really tired and burnt out, don’t forget so are your friends. So stick together, support each other, and we at HSC CoWorks will also do our best to push you all through this next couple of weeks.

The truth is, by the first day of your Trial Exams, your marks will all have already been largely pre-determined, based upon the work you are doing now and over the next few weeks. Every extra past paper you do, essay you write or second you spend preparing, is really just an extra mark you are guaranteeing come Trial time. So work hard now, and you will get the marks you deserve later.

“Ultimately, there are more important things in life than exams. Ironically, you might just need to do well in your exams in order to achieve those things.”

The post Five Tips For Your Trial Exam Preparation appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

Procrastinating after working for only 5 minutes? 

Difficulty in trying & implementing new study strategies?

These are all very common issues and complaints occur for all of us from one time or another. Learning about how the brain works will give you a greater understanding into your current study habits and why they are the way they are.  It is a well-known fact that the brain is the control centre for your behaviour however a lot of people know very little about it and how it actually operates.

THE BRAIN IS A CONNECTION MACHINE 

• The function of the brain is to find associations and connections between information, creating neural “maps”.
• When we process new ideas we are creating a new map. Creating new maps take up a lot of energy!
• New maps increase motivation. This is why when you learn a new skill, such as driving a car, you feel motivated and excited. 

1. Seek to create new maps of knowledge using techniques such as Mind Maps.
2. Identify when you are struggling with a problem and strive to challenge yourself to find a solution yourself. Notice your feelings after this moment and use it as inspiration in your next problem.

NO TWO BRAINS ARE THE SAME

• There are unlimited ways that a brain may process and store information. This is why people look at things and process information differently.
• For Example, have you ever noticed that you and a friend will approach a problem or question in completely different ways. Or have you noticed that study strategies that work for your friend do not work for you at all? This is because no two brains are the same.

1. Understand the importance of making your own connections and seeking out ways of processing problems and concepts which work for you.
2. Always try to remember what strategies have worked for you in the past and utilise this in your next problem.
3. The Coaching team are constantly working with you to support you generate your own insights and not just ‘tell you’ what worked for us or how we would approach it. 

YOUR BRAIN HARDWIRES EVERYTHING

• The brain hardwires attitudes, processes and behaviours making it easier for the brain to respond to situations. E.g when you first learn to drive you are concentrating hard. In no time at all your brain has hardwired the actions of getting in the car, indicating, checking mirrors, switching gears without much thought at all!
• Hardwiring frees up the brain to think. 

1. It is crucial that you hardwire the behavior of essay writing and exam performance so that when you are in the examination room, you automatically move into exam mode.
2. If you have not hardwired the habit of completing an exam or writing an essay, your brain will be focusing on that and you will have no ‘free space’ for the brain to think creatively about the question/s you are being asked. 

YOUR BRAIN’S WIRING AFFECTS YOUR PERCEPTION 

• Perceptions are driven by our habits.
• Everyone has a unique perception of the world.
• Acknowledging this will help you to understand possible roadblocks in your study technique. 

1. You may have a hardwired belief that you cannot do a certain Math’s topic or you just don’t understand the Discovery unit and never will. This will then create a false reality and will become an underlying belief of yours.

• So how do you change these hardwired connections? Unfortunately, you can’t.
• But its not all doom & gloom! You CAN create new ‘positive’ wiring which over time will replace the old ‘negative’ wiring. 

1. Whenever you are stuck on a problem do not dwell on it, rather think of new possible ways you could approach it.
2. This may include using new and better techniques and methods such as structuring your essay a different way or applying new techniques to an equation you are trying to solve. 

IT IS EASY TO CREATE NEW WIRING 

• Every day our brain creates enormous amounts of new neural maps or connections
• However, there is a difference between a map that is held in our working memory (a thought) and a map that is hardwired in the deeper parts of our brain (a habit)
• In order to hardwire a new behaviour, you need to give it enough attention over a period of time so that a habit is formed.
• The less effective paths or habits you are not using will slowly become less connected over time. 

1. Reattempt & Resubmit! The more you submit your work for similar style questions throughout the year, the more likely you are to hard wire the information.
2. Make effective study techniques a habit and do them more than the ineffective study techniques – attempting exam style tasks, submitting a practice essay, completing multiple choice. 

Find our more about how HSC CoWorks can support your child with Exam Performance and Essay Writing. Click here.

The post Your Brain’s Influence On Study Habits and Exam Performance appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

Now, let’s get down to business. Time management can be your ultimate best friend throughout your study time and exam period if you let it be, and can be an enormous help to organise the swathe of tasks you have, therefore reducing stress and optimising your motivation. Here are some suggestions around how to best manage your time:

1. Plan a schedule:

Planning a schedule is most often the first response students take to properly manage their study hours and is a fantastic asset for becoming accountable for your work. Try to base your priorities both in terms of subjects and topics (e.g. prioritising history source analysis questions you’re finding difficult over completing another mathematics past paper). Make sure your study goals are specific, measurable and realistic and are more task-orientated to help quantify your study progress and avoid fill up time with non-essential tasks.

2. Making your schedule flexible:

While scheduling your study time is a step in the right direction, it should also be dynamic and adaptable to new challenges which have arisen and require more focus enabling you to truly excel at time management. This could be addressed by remaining self-reflective and critical of your study achievements over the week as to what went well, what didn’t and what you could change to better study next week. Also, regular use of a system to track these specific tasks will help to perpetuate your task-oriented learning and flexibility. For our customers that would be the Online Portal.

3. Taking a break from studying:

You’re faced with a dilemma; it’s Friday night, you’ve worked your heart out the last few days covering projectile motion, trigonometry, a few Weimar essays and 3 English practice papers and now all you want to do is relax. Don’t worry! Other commitments during the week will be essential to keeping your motivation levels up whether that be social engagements, taking nights off or just recharging for the next day. Just ensure that you remain accountable to your schedule to keep your momentum going.

4. Juggling time in between exams:

Let’s say you’ve just finished the English Paper 2 HSC exam and two days later you have the Economics exam. What are you going to do? What I found most helpful was to focus squarely on your future exams rather than dwelling on the one you just completed to avoid any distracting worries over any mistakes you made. Also try to balance out your attention to the next exam as well as your later ones – the key is to remain consistent. Finally, in the last few days before an exam, try to focus more on revising topics which have troubled you and retrying questions you’ve gotten wrong before.

5.Vision:

Finally, the most important thing I can impart to you is the significance of your vision. Whenever you may be feeling demotivated or stressed out about an exam the next day, take a moment to evaluate your position in the grand scheme of things. You’ve almost reached the top of Mount HSC, something you’ve been working towards for a long time. Make sure that you finish the HSC with no regrets and with satisfaction knowing you’ve done the most you possibly can to achieve your vision.

Finally don’t forget that we, the HSC CoWorks staff and coaches will be there to help you out with any issues at all you might be experiencing.

The post Time Management Skills appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

Whilst this journey belongs to the Student, like any goal being strived for, having the support, guidance and understanding of a parent goes a long way.

Below we explore several ways you as a parent can support your child through the HSC year. 

Vision & Planning

 “Vision without Action is merely a dream;

Action without a Vision just passes the time”

A Vision is the student’s end goal. Whether it is a specific ATAR, University degree, a goal to create opportunities for themselves or even just beat their older sister’s ATAR! Having a strong vision will provide the motivation to keep working hard and climbing Mount HSC.

Encourage your child to define their Vision, say it out loud together, research post HSC options with them, Create a Vision Board, Write out goals daily… Anything which will keep the Vision front of mind.

Every goal requires strong planning. How are you going to achieve your goal? What actions do you need to put in place? How could you do things differently to ensure you are getting closer to your Vision? 

Stay Solutions Focused & Encourage a Growth Mindset

The Brain is 5x more likely to be in a problem/negative state.

By understanding this, you are able to work with your child to identify that what they are feeling is just a natural state however it can be changed. As long as a person stays in a Problem State, they will not be able to move forward and achieve their goals.

Example of Problem State: ‘its not fair’, ‘I can’t do it’, ‘its too hard’.

Instead of a parent confirming this problem state (‘oh dear’, ‘that sounds awful’, ‘I wish I could help’), work with them to bring them back to a solutions focus (‘I know you can work through this’, ‘what steps can you take’, ‘what actions do you think you need to take to get a solution’, ‘was there a time in the past where you felt good about this subject’)

Stretch and Challenge 

Outside your Comfort Zone is where the Magic Happens

Students are less likely to stretch and challenge themselves without the support of a Coach or someone who can keep them accountable.

Without stretch & challenge, students remain within their comfort zone and there is no real progress.

If you were an athlete and wanted to improve how far or how fast you could run, you would continually stretch and challenge yourself by running an extra 100m each time or increasing your pace slightly. By making these small adjustments and gradually stretching your comfort zone, you WILL see progress.

How is your child stretching themselves with their study? How many practice essays are they completing or past papers are they completing? How often are they working on their memorisation of quotes?

The more exposure a student has to exams the more they will develop their technique. The Board of Studies website has past exam papers available for every subject so please encourage your child to make a start on this critical study behaviour.

Get Interested

When you’ve had a goal in the past, how much more exciting has the journey to success been when you can share it with your family or friends.

If you can show some interest in topics being learnt or texts being read, this will make all the difference to your student’s journey. You might read one of their English texts, watch the evening Alan Kohler report with them and discuss the relevance to an Economics topic, Visit an Art Exhibition with them etc..

Celebrate the Successes!

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out”, Robert Collier

It doesn’t need to be an exam grade or ranking, instead it could be the completion of a core text study, an essay or positive comments towards their work attitude or improvement. The HSC year is a journey and every success, big or small, should be celebrated.

Grit 

“As much as talent counts, effort counts twice”, Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth’s book GRIT explores the importance of resilience and perseverance in achieving goals. The HSC year will have it’s inevitable disappointments but it is a student’s ability to persevere and believe that they can change their output which will lead to ultimate success.

We STRONGLY recommend that parents and students read this book as it will support both of you in developing your Growth Mindset and understanding of how you can overcome obstacles to reach your dream!

It’s all about Balance

Ensure your child is making the time to relax, rejuvenate and refresh each week. As a guide year 11 students should be completing at least 2 hours study in the evenings and 4 – 5 over the weekend.

Year 12 students should be completing at least 3 hours in the evenings and 6 – 8 over the weekends. That leaves plenty of time for other activities to refresh the Mind, Body & Soul!

Have you ever wondered why you avoid the tasks you need to do?  

Have you ever found yourself procrastinating after working for only 5 minutes? 

“6 Insights Into The Brain’s Impact On Your Exam Performance“

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL BLOG

The post How Can Parents Support Students Through The HSC? appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

Having a mildly contractionary stance with a deficit outcome of $29.4 billion, the coalition’s 2017/18 Federal Budget delivered by Treasurer Scott Morrison on the 9th of May features initiatives to stimulate employment through the promotion of economic growth. The prospect of achieving a surplus of $7.4 billion by 2020/21 is to the detriment of funding to universities, foreign aid and welfare payments.

To assess the impacts of budgetary changes on resource use, income distribution and economic activity, the HSC Economics Syllabus asks students to examine the key outcomes of past and current Federal Budgets in relation to fiscal policy.

Fiscal policy 

Fiscal policy is a macroeconomic tool used to influence resource allocation, the redistribution of income, and economic activity. Instruments include government spending, taxation and the budget outcome.

Resource use – what is it?

In an economic sense, resource use refers to the changes to taxation and the impacts of these shifts on the prosperity of the economy. There are both winners and losers stemming from changes to resource use in the 2017/18 Budget;

Winners:

o  Small businesses

Small businesses with a maximum turnover of $10 million are exempt from taxes on the purchases of capital equipment worth up to $20,000. Recent budgets have directly addressed small businesses, as they employ 4.7 million Australians, having a great impact upon domestic economic prosperity.

For instance in the 2016/17 Federal Budget, Treasurer Morrison announced the small business tax rate for those with a turnover of $10 million was to be lowered by 1% to 27.5% from July 1st 2016, affecting 870,000 more businesses than the initial tax cut introduced in 2015. By 2020, the coalition has the aim of increasing this threshold to encompass all businesses, regardless of turnover, to pay 25% company tax by 2023.

Losers:

o   Multinationals

The government aims to extend the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law to cover transnational corporations that have foreign partnerships and trusts, which have been dodging tax on Australian soil.

Income distribution – a growing divide 

As you may recall from Topic Three (Economic Issues), the distribution of income and wealth is a crucial factor determining the level of inequality in the Australian economy, having both important economic and social costs and benefits. The winners and losers from policies regarding the redistribution of income policies include;

Winners:

o   Working parents

The government pledges to invest $37.3 billion into the childcare sector to lift the cost of living pressures for one million Australian families. This investment includes preschool, before and after school care. With this increased expenditure, the government aims to encourage workforce participation and support families who are willing to work more hours, and had been restrained in the past due to high childcare costs.

This influx of spending relates to the distribution of income as childcare support will be means-tested, allowing widespread access to quality early learning centres for those who need it the most.

Losers:

o   University and prospective university students

Possibly the most controversial element of the 2017/18 Federal Budget is the funding cuts of $2.8 billion to tertiary education. This reform essentially means that students will have to pay back a greater share of their degrees, and start paying back loans at a lower income threshold of $42,000 from mid-2018, a substantial cut from the current $55,000 threshold.

Can you think of the economic and social benefits and costs of the introduction of funding cuts to tertiary education?

Economic activity – aggregate demand and supply 

We’ve all heard the slogan; ‘jobs and growth’, right? Well in the 2017/18 Budget, the economy should experience a steady rise in growth (within target range) whilst stimulating employment.

The government’s 10-year nation-building program is set to create thousands of jobs, coming at a great time of need as Australia continue to transition off the back of the mining and mining-investment booms.

$5.3 billion will be invested into the new airport for Western Sydney at Badgerys Creek, Melbourne and Brisbane will be connected by a new rail link, and the government will gain more control over the Snowy Hydro scheme to stimulate local economic growth in NSW and Victoria, all within the next decade.

As the Budget is mildly contractionary, it is expected that there are more losers than winners, at least in the short term. This short overview provides only a small snapshot of the 2017/18 Federal Budget.

So with this in mind, in how many other ways does the 2017/18 Federal Budget relate to the HSC Economics Syllabus?

http://www.budget.gov.au

The post Federal Budget appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

So what makes you most likely to complete work? The results suggest that to have a 95% probability of completing work, you need to set a specific time to share your progress with another person. Conveniently summarized, the results of the study are:

So, now knowing this information, what are you going to change in your study pattern to make sure that you get more work completed?

Remember the coaches will gladly keep you accountable to your actions if you ask them ? But it has to be your initiative for it to work!

Michaela, Senior Coach

The post How Likely Are You To Get Work DONE? appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

1. Set small goals and stick to them

If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘study smart, not hard’ you will know what I’m trying to emphasis.

There is no point languishing away at your computer screen, flicking between YouTube and your discovery essay. The only thing this achieves is a sense of dissatisfaction and a substandard essay.

Create a goal for yourself and a plan to complete it that you know will be a challenge. If you try to complete a task in a time period a bit shorter than you are comfortable with you are less likely to become distracted. When you attempt a challenging task you engage your pre-frontal cortex in your brain.   There are two main advantages of this:

1. 1. You pre-frontal cortex is where all your high-powered thinking goes on. You are free from distraction and more readily absorb information and facts making the memorization process much quicker.

2. Plan free time

There is nothing worse than going to see a movie with friends, one week before

English Paper 1 and feeling guilty. Try to be either 100% on, or 100% off. This way you can truly enjoy your free time without having thoughts about that inescapable English essay you have been avoiding to do in the back of your mind PLUS being efficient when completing such tasks.

You don’t want to be this #5848 pleb teenager à

I know it’s easier said than done but it’s all about training yourself to develop a habit… Which leads me into part

3. Develop a habit

Being studious doesn’t just hit someone in the face and they wake up being a high achiever; it’s a process of training oneself to develop an inherent way of studying that is both effective and efficient.

You don’t have to suddenly study 10 hour days to force yourself into the habit, but you can ease into it by slowly increasing your study time each day until it becomes a habit to sit down and focus for 3 hours on a school night and around 7 hours on weekends (the numbers are just a suggestion). But of course, don’t overwork. There must be a balance between eating healthy, resting up (sleeping for 8-9 hours) and socializing.

Once you’re in the habit of studying, doing homework or higher-level tasks such as mind maps or practice exams become tasks like brushing you’re teeth. You don’t necessarily want to do it, but you feel like you have to and it feels odd if you don’t do it.

I know that sounds funny and probably impossible but it’s 100% true. Your brain is wired to repeat particular habits without thinking too much about it. The only reason you can’t do it right now is because you’re resistant. All you need to do is start scratching the surface and slowly penetrate that barrier of resistance. Tell yourself it’s not that intimidating to train yourself to be a more capable and diligent person with autopilot modes for studying 😉

 4. Avoid ‘group hysteria’

This is one of the worst things about exams. When you arrive early to find a group of people sitting around discussing the worst possible scenarios and what they’re planning to do if that comes up or doing some last minute cramming of the most obscure section of the syllabus. Your exam results don’t come from what you did the morning of the exam rather the preparation you’ve been doing over the year.

The ‘bottom up’ theory of fear is reliant on the idea that our environment can subliminally induce fear. Being around scared, hysterical peers can be enough to make you feel very similar. The last thing you want is to freeze up in the middle of your exam.

When you arrive for an exam, avoid this group. Have a drink of water, a quick snack and find a quiet place to sit and get yourself ‘in the zone’.

The ‘top down’ theory of fear tells us that we can induce fear in ourselves— just from activity in our cortex. This idea works both ways. The time you spend reflecting, relaxing and preparing can undo a negative emotional state.

When your pre-frontal cortex is engaged you are less likely to become emotional about what you have to and therefore less stressed.

5. Once an exam is completed, leave it in the past 

When an exam finishes its over. There is physically nothing you can do to change the result and therefore no point worrying over what has happened. You will find out the result soon enough along with an explanation of any improvements you can make.

Don’t stay behind and discuss with people how you did a particular question or what you included to make sure you got all the makes necessary. Have some down time, talk about what you’re going to do when exams are over.  When you get back to studying forget about that subject and allow your full concentration.

Best of luck heading into the trials,

Fiona, Rachel & Isobel

The post How Can You Deal with HSC and Study Stress? appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

Strengths and weaknesses:

As you’re studying for Trials these holidays, it’s so important to identify any areas of weakness you feel you might have so that you can prioritise different tasks. Subject areas or types of questions that consistently come up as a challenge for you are something that deserve more of your time, and perhaps even some alternative strategies and approaches if your current study methods aren’t working. After the Trials, there is still time to use the feedback you receive to single out areas that need more attention. For example, I knew I found the Reading Task in Paper 1 harder than any other area of English so leading up to HSC I tried to give it a bit more attention than, say, my essays or creative – and it paid off! Even though these things might make you feel discouraged, be persistent in perfecting them. 

State of mind:

I sometimes found that your state of mind before and after the exam doesn’t get much attention. Your teachers are focused on exam content and techniques but for me my biggest challenge was overcoming anxiety, and if anything learning to be calm perhaps made the biggest difference when it came to my results. Around Trials, I started to learn my anxiety triggers – things that would set me off and make me feel nervous before exams. As a result, I had to develop my own calming mechanisms. These are not necessarily things others can teach you but it so beneficial to be able to enter the exam room in a more relaxed state. For example, I used to watch TV the night before and the morning of exams, have a leisurely breakfast, go get a coffee etc…a small routine but a great distraction. That’s not to say you can eliminate your nerves entirely. It’s natural to feel agitated in such a situation, but there are ways in which you can train yourself to absorb these nerves rather than fight them. This is also something you can discuss with any of the coaches or Jo when you’re in the office if you feel you need some coping strategies!

Don’t leave any stone unturned:

Make the extra effort to ask your teachers questions. I used to be a little intimidated by my Economics teacher but I made myself take all the questions I couldn’t answer to her and she’d go through them with me. As I thought, so many of them came up in my Trials and HSC and I was glad I hadn’t been satisfied to leave them blank. Try to collate all the things you can’t answer and take them to your teachers, or bring them into the office and get the coaches to help! In general, it is a really beneficial practice to push yourself to get all your questions answered.

Exam technique:

As Trials is the closest thing you’ll get to the HSC, it’s the best opportunity to perfect your exam technique. There are certain strategies you can develop beforehand because of course, Trials is important in itself – i.e. using the Mock Trials at the office to practice good time management skills. However, once you’ve finished your Trials it’s valuable to reflect whether your exam technique might have let you down at any time. Do you take too much time on multiple choice? Do you need a better balance in the time you spend on essays? Consider these questions so that you have a well-thought out strategy as you approach the real deal!

All of your work in the office these holidays has been fantastic and we are all so impressed with your efforts to really push yourself. We are looking forward to results in Trials that are going to make us proud!

Nechama Bass

Senior Coach

The post Surviving and thriving through your HSC Trials appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

I am going to do my best to try and explain to you this last question. Why are high achievers high achievers? What do they all have in common? And how do you become a high achiever yourself?

For the purposes of this article I’m going to group people into two categories: Achievement motivated individuals (AMIs) and failure-avoiding individuals (FAIs). Be honest with yourself, which category do you belong to at the moment?

Ferg and Jesse have talked no end about the importance of goal setting and being achievement oriented so I am going to assume you know all about this and jump straight into it!

You might have heard before that the first step to solving a problem is identifying the issues you face. Hopefully after reading this you will be able to identify in what areas you are an FAI and take the necessary steps to become an AMI.

Writing from the perspective of a high achiever myself I can tell you that the following information isn’t just a random bunch of facts from various surveys and psychological studies that you don’t understand. These are the very essential qualities that all high achievers share, no matter what area they are in.

 We have an incredible NEED to win 

I’m not talking about motivating factors like marks or ATARs here. Sometimes there is no such motivating factor but regardless there is this burning need to do well, to beat yourself, to do the absolute maximum you can possibly do. Trying to describe this is hard but I think the best example is: imagine a situation where how you perform doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect you academically, financially or socially, it has no implications for your family or necessarily even your future. Do you still experience this desire to outperform your previous achievements or others? Do you still spend a significant amount of time thinking about how to do this and put in an honest 100%?

• If you answered yes to those questions then you are one step ahead, you are an AMI, all you need to become a high achiever is harness that NEED and use it to propel you forward.

We enjoy the challenge            

A challenge is a tricky situation, a bit of a gamble, a double edged sword. On one hand you can overcome it but on the other hand there is always that risk that you will ‘fail’.

There is no such thing as ‘failure’.

Every experience is either a success or a learning experience.

And here is the crux. High achievers DON’T BELIEVE IN FAILURE. They believe in trying again and again until they succeed. Sometimes it is actually this first initial defeat which gives you that extra push, the extra motivation you need. And it is this challenge of doing better next time that high achievers relish. And that feeling of overcoming the challenge is indescribable.

• Now think to yourself how would an FAI react to the same scenario? Are you an AMI or an FAI in this point?

• We are never satisfied with our achievements

I know what you are thinking, what a pretentious thing to say. How can you not be satisfied with your achievements when everyone else is jealous of them? I don’t know the answer to that question. But we’re not. In our minds there is always something we could have done extra, better, faster…

It is infuriating to rationally know that you should be really happy with an achievement and yet your brain is telling you all the ways you weren’t good enough. But it is exactly this thought process that makes us work so hard and harder still next time…

• Are you an FAI in this point? I’ll make it easy for you, if you were incredulous when you read the title of this point and don’t really understand what I am talking about then yep, that is a characteristic of an FAI.

 We never admit defeat 

I know I have already covered this point to an extent above but I think it is a fundamental quality that you need to have in order to keep you going in the face of adversity. This is very much a mindset, a way of thinking. And as you might know, our ways of thinking are determined when we are very young and so are difficult to change. Nevertheless, if you want to be the best you simply have to lose this self-depreciative attitude. It doesn’t do you, your friends, family or colleagues any good. So make a commitment to yourself that from today onwards you will stop seeing setbacks as failures and negative experiences. Look at them in a positive light (easier said than done, I know) and your life will get easier and more positive. Guaranteed.

• For the purposes of your HSC course if you ever, after reading this, utter the phrases “I can’t do this” or “I’m not an English/maths/science/art person” you are an FAI and have accepted defeat and the belief that your achievements are determined by your skills or situations out of your control. Two notes on that: skills can improve and enjoy the challenge of trying to overcome situations out of your control– go back to point two for a refresher.

Our passion and drive inspires others 

You know that a person is passionate about something when they start talking about it and their whole face lights up. Its like they had a shot of some magical potion that gives them extra confidence and allure. Do you know why these people suddenly become more alluring? Simply their passion inspires us. And once we are inspired, our interests become aligned and they become that much more powerful and inspiring in our eyes (for my bio students I would say this is a great example of positive feedback 😉 )

I’m not going to lie, I haven’t seen many students, even high achievers, passionate about subjects such as English or maths. In a school context, which you are all in, the fact that you lack passion for a subject doesn’t automatically doom you to doing badly. BUT, the students who do really well, the high band sixes, the first-in-states have at least an INTEREST in the subject. It is very hard to do exceptionally well if you don’t trick yourself into thinking something is interesting.

From a personal experience I hated year 11 english and honestly didn’t do very well in it either. But in year 12 I summoned some sort of interest and this combined with my NEED to win was the potent combination which got me my high band six!

• It doesn’t matter if you hate a subject. To turn yourself from an FAI into an AMI make yourself see it as interesting and it will become easier to get the marks you want.

 Finally, we thrive in competition 

For me personally this is, hands down, the biggest driver.

The thought of other people doing something better than me makes me angry. And what I have learnt to do is harness this anger and any other emotions and use it to beat them.

• If you are an FAI on this point, seek out and learn to enjoy competition. From experience I can tell you that it is very very powerful.

I look forward to seeing you all transform into AMIs as trials and the HSC creep closer and closer!

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Comments are in CAPS and in the final paragraph under Comments.

Essay Question

Practice Creative Writing Piece

Essay

Ding Ding! Ding Ding!

Max was jolted out of his daydream, just in time CLICHE – TRY TO AVOID OVERUSED PHRASES LIKE THIS IN YOUR WRITING to jump out the way of his fellow classmates stampeding out of room. Groggy and avoiding the disapproving look of his English teacher, Max collected his scribbly artworks ready for the long, lonely walk home.

“Oi! Hermit crab, why don’t you take off your fuckin mask and actually say something?” Max heard Steve scream at him as he shuffled across the parking lot. Touching his mask tentatively, Max continued the agonising trip across the car park INSERT COMMA quietly accepting the crude and threatening taunts from Steve and his gang. Even though this was the same route Max had taken every day for the last two months since starting at Mulberry High, each day he retracted deeper and deeper into the comforting darkness of his shell, feeling trapped as he couldn’t escape the bullying. BREAK THIS DOWN INTO TWO SHORTER SENTENCES. YOU’RE DEVELOPING SOME GOOD CHARACTERISATION HERE, BUT YOU NEED TO GO DEEPER TO REALLY GET THE AUDIENCE TO EXPERIENCE THE AGONY YOUR CHARACTER WOULD BE FEELING IN THIS SITUATION. BE CREATIVE IN THE WAY THAT YOU USE LANGUAGE SO THAT THIS IS A FRESH APPROACH TO A WELL KNOWN TOPIC

At home, and in the comfort of his room, Max felt safe to remove his mask and let his mind run wild in his drawing. Still affected by the actions of his father, Max wore the mask as it allowed him to hide what his father had done and feel invisible. Max vividly remembered this day. He remembered receiving the phone call, a day before the biggest football game of the year, when he was told his dad, while drunk had ran over Samuel Burton, top football player and one of the most popular kids in school BREAK THIS DOWN INTO SHORTER SENTENCES AND ENHANCE THE LANGUAGE – MORE EMOTIVE LANGUAGE NEEDED. THIS WAS A TURNING POINT IN YOUR CHARACTER’S LIFE SO YOU NEED TO COMMUNICATE IT IN A MORE AUTHENTIC MANNER SO THAT THE AUDIENCE CONNECTS WITH YOUR CHARACTER. From that day on, Max’s grades had dropped and he rarely went outside, feeling hated by his friends and the world. Sick of the pain and suffering, Max and his mum moved 200km south to Mulberry, seeking a new beginning and leaving their old life behind CLICHES, FIND MORE ORIGINAL WAYS TO COMMUNICATE THESE IDEAS. Even then though, Max wore the mast as a safety net, in fear that people would start hating him again.

Working late into the night, Max painted his feelings, his imagination and his dreams for the future. Every night he fell asleep at his desk, only leaving his room for meals and school.

***

Packing his bag (for another agonizing day at school) with all the crayons and art paper he could find, Max mentally ticked off all the things he needed to get through the day. Lunch, Crayons, Pencils, Sharpener, Rubber, Paper, Mask… MASK! That was what he was missing. Quivering, Max frantically searched for the mask, overturning books, emptying his bag, but the mask – his comfort, his world, his place, was gone. “Max you have to go to school! Come on ill drive you as usual, no one will mind if you don’t have your mask”, Max’s mum said laughing and shaking her head at the look of dismay and worry on Max’s face as he begged her to not make him go. THIS IS BETTER – THE ACTION HERE IS BUILDING A STRONGER MOOD

The closer Max got to school, the more sick he felt inside CLICHE – FIND SOMETHING MORE CREATIVE HERE IN THE WAY THAT YOU COMMUNICATE THIS POINT – PERHAPS SOME MORE ORIGINAL FIGURATIVE LANGUGE WOULD DO THE TRICK, his heart pounding in his ears about what people would do and think. Timidly he stepped out onto the gravel of the school parking lot, miserable and anxious as he watched his mother bid him good bye and slowly drive away. “Hi…” a voice said behind Max, almost giving him a heart attack as jumped around to see a small, pale skinned boy with mouse like hair standing casually leaning against the pole behind him. “Im Tom… Im new, and I sit behind you in English class”, he continued friendly, breaking into a smile. “You’re a really good drawer, you know. I love watching you draw and the way your hand just flows! Do you want to join me for a trip to the art gallery this afternoon?” THIS ENDING IS A LITTLE TOO ‘NEAT’ – KEEP WORKING ON THIS.

Comments

Hi G ****** You’ve got the makings of a good story here, but it still needs some work. You’ve chosen a well known topic, bullying. If you’re going to choose content like this, then you need to ensure that you write about it in a fresh and original manner. You can’t rely on telling the story the way it has typically already been told before. Keep working on your language and the way that you communicate your ideas. Ensure that you communicate your points effectively and with originality. This will enhance the overall quality of your work. Keep up the great effort, you’re going strong. Donna

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