hi,
i'm a yr 9 student, writing the JMSS test this yr. to prepare for the test, i started going to james ann in december (i think) but they never really taught us the topics in science and maths. they just give us practice tests, workbooks to complete, and writing prompts. i'm currently in the enrichment program my school provides (a class that receives accelerated education). however, science is not taught properly at my school. we have a teacher that just reads off the presentations that are created for the unit. my only strength is maths, because of the preparation for selective. so, how do i make myself better at science? i have a year 9 textbook and i will start reading that textbook now (i know there is 2 months till the test). i am genuinely so screwed for the science part of the test. i don't know anything in science. i get like 40%-50% on my james ann science tests. and another thing that i'm bad at, is writing. i hate writing. i will try and get better at writing because i feel like that is easier to achieve in the less time that i have before the test. if anyone can help me by providing tips and suggesting resources that i should use for getting better scores in science, that would be great ! also, i live in the west, and so many people tell me that it'll be very easy to pass the test because i live in an area where very less people are trying for JMSS. i think i'm the only one trying in my school, so is it likely for me to get into the interview stage with an average score?

any tips that i receive will help me a lot, so please reply 🙏

    st06 im in the same position as you tbh. my school is so bad at teaching topics and in science and maths all they do is read of presentations and yap. I do recommend trying to find resources online and try to revise the year 8 and year 9 science curriculum(assuming you must be good at maths and above average). That's what i'm doing at the moment especially for science since i don't know to much. Also for the writing part i'd suggest just try to write under time pressure and find any science reports or analysis's and discussions to look over to really help you gain better understanding with your writing.

        aarna thank you for replyingg, i lwk thought no one would, thanks for the tipss

          st06 honestly my science teachers haven’t beeen great either the last two years and I wld say use online resources, ur textbook and even YouTube vids to self learn, which is the only way I’m passing lol

            i have found the link to two online year 9 science textbooks i can givee the link to them if u want

            • lols replied to this.

              lols my computers broken atm and i can't find the link to the year 9 science wuest i found but here is the yr 9 oxford scince book for the time being file:///Users/archana/Downloads/oxford-science-9-australian-curriculum-9780190300968_compress.pdf
              tell me if it works since im on a crusty old mac and i don't know how to use it

              • lols replied to this.

                  aarna oh haha i hv the Oxford on through school already but thx

                      st06 hi!!! i didn't do JMSS myself but my close friend got in. she was also lacking in english and science, and what she used to do was borrow senior textbooks (usually bio, physics and chem) from the library and practice from them! all selective exams are always 1-2 years above the year level curricula, so working from senior textbooks always ensures that you have a strong grasp of the topics that will probably be on the test.
                      you can also make flashcards etc of these topics and practice daily in the morning, sort of like a routine.

                      for writing, that's something that comes with practice unfortunately. you just have to keep on writing. i also advice reading widely and frequently. your local library is an amazing resource with plenty of books.

                          aarna lol those links won't work anyway because you are accessing the file through YOUR hardware and like the stuff which is on your hard drive wont be on other ppl's hard drives
                          ykwim?
                          like you are accessing your drive using Google or whatever, but that link will only open your file on your drive

                              4 days later

                              do you guys think i could get better at science before the exam? because there is only two months left and idk which book to start with. I have one year 9 science textbook so i might start reading that.

                              • lols replied to this.

                                also, does anyone have examples of science writing pieces that are really good?

                                st06 u could definitely do quite a bit in two months, I’m assuming ur in yr 9 so when going through the textbook maybe try and do any topics that you won’t cover in school before the exam so ur not doing things twice

                                  But u should also try and do practice tests because they will help with time management

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