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.

Our brain craves certainty and the exam room provides lots of uncertainty. If our brain feels too greater ‘uncertainty’ in the preparation for the exam room and in the actual exam room itself, it is inevitable that the student will underperform. Many HSC students find themselves disappointed by their marks and become disheartened as a result. What many of these students don’t realise is that their preparation might not be as effective as they think it is.

To be well-prepared for the exam room, we must train our brain to work in exam conditions. This means testing ourselves, attempting closed-book questions and working against the clock. Students that regularly undertake exam-style tasks in advance of their assessments perform better than those who avoid these types of tasks. This is because they familiarise themselves with the appropriate thinking, pressure and methods of applying and communicating content before taking the final exam.

If a student avoids working under exam conditions before the exam, the pathways and connections required to respond to the questions will not be strong enough. This means that the exam room will be a unfamiliar and highly challenging experience for them. Walking into a situation that you’ve never been exposed to means there is more to consider and more to be overwhelmed by.

At HSC CoWorks, we regularly encourage students to engage in exam-style tasks in and out of sessions throughout the year as well as running mock exams before trial and HSC exam periods because we know just how important exam-style tasks are. Through providing students with challenging unseen exam papers and replicating an exam environment, our students are encouraged to get outside of their comfort zone before taking the exam. This means that they can walk into their exams feeling more confident and prepared, as their comfort zones will have expanded.

We do exams to find out what we know, but more importantly, to find out what we don’t. The most successful students are those that commit themselves to the process of exam preparation, through completing exam-style tasks, seeking feedback from teachers and markers on their responses, and collaborating with coaches and working independently to address gaps.

If a student takes responsibility for their exam results through active and challenging preparation, they will be rewarded with the results they’ve dreamt of.

Our mock exams are currently running for our Year 12 students, with us moving into closed-book exams next week. Current students can reserve their place via the ‘bookings’ function on the portal to capitalise on this opportunity to improve their exam ability!

Please note – enrolments are closed for HSC 2018 students.

Get your child exam-ready with us. Call us now on 1300 967 890 for HSC 2019 enquiries!

Challenge = Growth // Source: Pinterest

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Stress management seems to be something that is always talked about and never actually addressed. There is a multitude of articles online claiming to help you reduce stress etc. In fact these articles are rarely helpful. But why is that? Well simply because there is no magic cure for stress! Reading an article will not be any help unless you take action on what you read. I will try to summarize for you a few of my personal strategies for coping with stress. But remember they are not designed to, and will not be a magic cure… You will have to actively try some for yourself, figure out what works, and then stick to it!

Firstly, stress is normal. Stress is caused by your body releasing chemicals (hormones) into the blood stream and ultimately give you more energy and strength. This is an integral part of our survival, most of you will have experienced an adrenaline rush. The danger of stress though is when it is evoked in response to an emotional, not physical stimuli and the additional strength and energy has no outlet. When you become emotionally invested in the HSC (which all of you who want a good result definitely are!) then it is natural that you will experience a stress response, especially now, so close to the final exams. The question is how do you manage that stress and harness the additional energy and put it to good use.

There are bad ways of managing stress which in fact exacerbate it in the long term. Things like smoking, drinking, junk food, procrastination, outbursts of anger… The list goes on. I’m sure you have experienced some of these. If you truly want to learn how to manage stress, you must abstain from these behaviors, which will only compound the problem down the track.

Now some of the good ways to manage stress, techniques that I and many successful people use. But remember they only work if you implement them!

Tip #1: Exercise

Cliché, I know. But it works! Scientifically exercise produces endorphins (chemicals that make you happy) and can counter some of the negative effects of stress. During the HSC I had a friend with who I would go for a run/walk along the beach every morning ? Having a routine like this and someone to keep you accountable to sticking to your exercise definitely helps! You don’t have to do an intense gym session to get the benefit, just go outside for a few minutes. If you want to be super focused you can take your laptop outside and work in the shade or record your essays and listen to them as you do your walk. It doesn’t matter how you personally approach it, but do something active (especially if you don’t feel like it) and your mood will 100% improve. My personal tip though is go somewhere natural. Nature has a way of putting things into perspective ?

Tip #2: Plan Your Time

Again a cliché… But especially important if you know you are a person prone to get stressed easily. Try to avoid the problem. A lot of HSC stress comes from the feeling of ‘I have so much to do but no time!!’ Get out a daily calendar and plan every day in detail. Make sure the plan fits the type of person you are though! For example, I am a morning person so I would much rather get up early and study from say 7am-1pm and then take the rest of the day off. I also find the thought of getting everything done quickly quite inspiring whereas the thought of studying until the late hours makes me depressed…If you are a night owl though, then you might want to swap it around, chill in the morning and work in the afternoon. Again up to you but make sure you adapt it to your personality.

Tip #3: Don’t isolate yourself

Engaging socially has been proven to be the quickest and most effective way of relieving stress. But by this I don’t mean going to a party with a massive group of friends and drinking your worries away together (remember what we said about BAD ways of coping with stress!). No, what I mean is meeting up with one or two really good friends who you trust and are comfortable with and just chatting or doing some activity for a while (if possible talk about non-HSC related topics). Just try to enjoy yourself for a bit. You will feel more relaxed and capable of doing productive work later. And I’m sure your friend will thank you for making them feel the same ?

Tip #4: Avoid unnecessary stress

Most of the HSC stress is unavoidable and you can’t do much about that. However, there will often be additional factors, or stressors, that will make you feel more stressed. Avoid these. Some examples could be highly competitive classmates (you all know the type…”omg have you prepared for the possibility of a minor characters question for Hamlet?? You haven’t?? Whaaat?”) additional chores around the house (most parents will be very understanding about being a bit more chill with your responsibilities over the next few weeks) or even things like the news (just turn the TV off! Your brain is more active when you sleep anyway so you might be better off just going to bed instead!).

Tip #5: Accept the things you can’t change

Some things you can’t change, so it is a futile exercise to try. There is no point sulking about the HSC, you have to do it. You will go through some stress and lots of study. Accept this fact and move on. When you are facing challenges during the HSC or your study though try to look at them from a positive perspective (incredibly hard, I know!). See them as an avenue for self-improvement. One of my favorite quotes of all time is:

“Don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as an opportunity for a solution”

This might be the hardest strategy of all, because often it requires a complete attitude shift. Guaranteed it’s not easy, but if you do master it, the rest of your life will be easier! Because remember this does not relate just to the HSC, but the rest of your life as well.

Michaela Turancova (Senior Coach)

The post How To Relieve HSC And Study Stress 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!

The post What Do High Achievers Have In Common? appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

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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Make every minute count over these coming holidays and you will be that much stronger for it when you walk into the exam room for your first Trial Exam.

If you have any questions or comments, please send me a message on basecamp.

Jesse Gardiner

Head Performance Coach

The post How Much Study Time Do You Really Have? appeared first on HSC CoWorks.

The key to success in preparing for your Trial Exams is being highly effective and productive with the limited time you have over these upcoming holidays.

Just to illustrate how little time a student actually has:

If a student is to study 6 hours per day (5 days per week) during the school holidays and 3.5 hours once they resume school in Term 3 they will only have 132 hours of study available to them to cover their 10 – 12 units. So if you do 10 units, that leaves only a total of 26.4 hours to study for their 2 units of English and get fully prepared to answer the 6 sections of English in only 40 minutes each. Our Mock Trial Exams are a crucial step in preparing students to be able to complete such tasks.

The below video outlines how to make the most of your time and ensure you are working on the tasks that matter rather than those comfort zone tasks which feel nice but are really a form of procrastination.

Keys to success when creating your study timetable:

1) Be highly specific on what you will work on in a block of time
2) Always work within allocated blocks of time (45 minutes to 90 minute blocks unless you are completing a practice exam)
3) Ensure that there are at least two exam style tasks in each days schedule
4) Use Basecamp so you can be kept accountable and we can encourage you along the way.

If you have any questions please send me a message on Basecamp.

Jesse Gardiner

Head Performance Coach

The post Creating Your Study Timetable For The Holidays appeared first on HSC CoWorks.