here is another yet happy but also sad update on the journey, I've gotten my grades back for 3 subjects, physics, English and biology. again, I'm not happy with the results bar physics, I've always been the "math's and science" student but assignment writing is where I am crap , I received an A in physics, a B in my biology report and a 15/25 in English, realistically I should've done better in my biology as I did not put as much time into it as I should've, however for English I really tried to enjoy it but I just can't. The actual content that is taught in math's and science is the easy part, it is just writing it up that I cannot do well. for context the physics result was from an exam.
I really want to get better at writing English and science reports and I do have the knowledge, but I seem to have some trouble with it all, if anyone has had this issue or knows how to improve in English and/or science reports then please share. I genuinely have been studying a lot and its good to see it pay off in recalling the content and understand it all but it sucks that I cant write good reports/ English assignments.
Anyway, I am not in a good mood after getting my English and biology so I am really going to have an even stricter schedule next term and have a heavier focus on English and Physics (I have a research report for physics and block exams for everything else so hopefully do better in the exams because that is what I am better at).
Any tips on how to improve at it? I used all the feedback, read high level responses, proofread it all but it just doesn't click in my head.
Journey of doing the "suicide six"
- Edited
I just wanna know the results you'll get doing all these lol. I'm thinking bout not starting 1/2 for spec but we'll see.
Mind you I'm in year 10 so giving advice from my pov is kind dumb (LMFAO). Anyways, for each assessment what I do is just write a bunch of dot-points. Dot-points, dot-points, dot-points. For assignments, make a few dot-points for each sub-section in your work on what you should do or talk about. If you feel that something isn't strong enough, like for a science ia3 your 'analysis' for example, you could add a dot-point to "write more details and how these respond to the RQ".
It's been really helpful tip for my assignments and has made doing my essays a lot easier. For exams, I just skim through as many pieces of information I can find right before the exam and recite some important facts in my head. Another tip, please go from the 1st question to last, exams are made like that for a reason!
Anyways I wish you the best of luck for your block exams and hope you find the best tips to use!
DumbNerd sorry haven't had much time to reply but now that I'm on holidays I have time. Yay! I did well in all my exams and I did get a B in English, although it isn't what I wanted I know how I could've made it better and the mistakes I made are things that I know I wont make again.
Results for block exams:
Math methods: A+
Math specialist: B+
Chem: A
Physics: A
Bio: A-
English: B
Overall happy with most results and I am going to continue these subjects next year, was a bit disappointed with my spec result as I have been maintaining A+ in exams all year but I know I made a few careless mistakes in the test.
Also if anyone could help answer one of the questions from the test that would be great!
Prove sin(A+B)=sinAcosB+cosAsinB
We had a topic of proof and geometric proof with vectors as well as a trig topic, this was under complex unfamiliar as it combined those topics. My teacher said that the solution he expected was to use Pythagorean identity but I tried and did not get it ahah. That's it for now, I hope everyone's year has gone well and good luck with everything!
If you have any questions about the subjects don't hesitate to ask!
ok its been a couple months now and I am starting to get settled in with unit 1.
Just want to keep updating this journey to remind myself why I am doing all of this.
I have actually started enjoying bio and have nearly finished unit 1 topic 1 already (working ahead). I am thinking of doing this for all subjects except methods (worked ahead last year). do you guys have any tips on how to manage time so I am not studying for hours each day, preferably want to set aside 1 day to just relax. Spec is good but idk, I don't think I will ever "get" proof.
At this point I am just waffling ahah, just wanted to update this journey because why not.
Leeshi Hello!
It most certainly is not easy however it is not like what I was told. I am on a spare right now so this will be rushed and if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask! Personally I have worked ahead in physics, bio, methods and specialist. I feel like even just reading ahead consolidates what you learn in class and that has been a sole factor in why I find the amount of content alright. if you stay on top of all the notes in class, read ahead maybe 2-3 weeks you will be fine. But for me I have finished all of year 11 biology content already and just revising and perfecting memorizing everything. The content is not difficult to memorise nor understand if you try, Like for chem the concepts are challenging at first but the more in depth you get the easier it is to understand where you were at before. Don't worry about the memorization or difficulty just make sure you are willing to focus on understanding and you will be fine. Again this was rushed in the span of 2 mins so ask if you need anything else and I can reply later today!
Patty
We're allowed only six subjects but I would also like to study languages... Should I just forfeit languages because many people say that languages has a higher score for ATAR points.
Leeshi
Hello again, Honestly its all up to you. Whatever you prefer go for it. Doesn't hurt to try it 
Also, although the subjects may scale higher does not mean they will get you a better score, remember, the reason they scale is because they are hard and it is better off going with a subject that you are good at and doesn't scale too well than go with a subject that scales a lot but you barely pass.
Hope this helps!
Thank you! I will see how I go for this year and see what subjects I do very well in.
Also if anyone has completed biology, chem, physics, methods and spec this is for you.
Were units 1&2 easier or the same difficulty than 3&4, I have been told this is the case for Biology but I don't know whether to believe it. Just curious and it would give me a good idea on how to prioritize my subjects.
lil N
Chemistry Unit 3 is pre chill, but Unit 4 requires you to be on the ball and a lot of memorisation. Practice questions and drawing diagrams out multiple times should help
Physics, unit 3 calculations go from linear to quadratic and it becomes slightly more complex to apply the right equations to the questions. Unit 4 really requires a lot more understanding (except topic 3, you can kinda memorise some things) than Units 1&2.
U3&4 Methods is just building upon Unit 1&2 methods so if you get the basics, you should be right.
I didn't do spesh or bio so I hope someone will answer that one.
Feel free to ask more questions,
-jinx_58
Hello all, just want to do another update as I have received my PSMT's for methods and spec, and also have started getting closer to revision for my data tests, there is 1 per science which means I only have 3 block exams! the topics that the assignments are based on for methods and spec are piss easy, however the spec assignment required me to learn how to code to calculate the average number of times it would take for a brute force hacker to obtain a password (had to run code 10000 times), which took a while with the help of a friend. and on the other hand my methods assignment is similar to the one I had last year and so I should do better (I really should've done better last year for the PSMT).
I did a physics practical today and that was quite fun, although they are usually quite easy this one took a while to set up.
Just wanted to update this journal as it is my way of recording my progress
Patty.
Leeshi Languages dont get u really a 'higher' score, but some unis offer adjustment factors to ur atar if u do a language and if u do specialist. U get 2 points added respectively for each criteria, so if I did spec and german I would get +4 on my Atar (90 --> 94), but you dont really see that number, its just the number universities see when accepting you.
- Edited
major question!!!
I was researching the ESP program at UQ and wondering how it works, I have a few questions and if anyone has done it before or knows the answer please help me out:
Will it replace a subject that I normally take or will it be a 7th subject?
Does it contribute to my atar? I want to take the calculus and linear algebra 1 subject and I assume it is difficult hence would be great for my atar (assuming it scales), not that it is the reason I'm doing it just curious.
Afterall, it is not the end of the world if I don't take it however I really enjoy math's and the topics that it covers are really interesting, like Taylor series. Also, i've been looking at engineering/ med so for engineering it would help but not so much med. IDK I just need help because I really want to do it but unsure if it benefits me.
Patrick.
lil N
Hey Patty,
That's great you're looking into programs like ESP. I did a similar program at Griffith and I also know friends who did the UQ ESP program. As far as I know, it will not replace a subject and rather, it will be a 7th subject on top of your current ones. Speaking for myself, the workload wasn't as bad as one of your normal ATAR subjects.
As for the ATAR, it doesn't go to your raw ATAR given by QTAC. However, it may contribute to your QCE points to get a QCE. And on top of that, if you end up going to UQ, UQ (and possibly other unis) may specifically give you bonus ranks (adjustment points) to your ATAR but that will be uni-specific.
Hope that makes sense.
- PP
PhytoPlankton
Thank you!!!
also, follow up question.
I am somewhat remote from campus, it says I can complete externally through elearn etc. But I am unsure how exams would work? It would be ok if I went to campus just for the exam, but there is also workshops which I don't know what they are there for and If I need to be present.
Long question short. I am ok to do it externally right?
lil N
Happy to help!
I believe you can do exams online and if you're doing ESP through the school, they will take care of it but if not, you'll just have to do it by yourself. If they are online, they are also usually open-book.
As for workshops, it would be helpful if you could attend since you can ask questions but if you can't, they are usually either recorded or they put the workshop learning materials on the e-learn page.
However, I would highly recommend that you give the ESP coordinators a call and ask all your questions because my information could be outdated and not specific.
Nevertheless, I hope this helps!
- PP
All done with block exams!!! YAY!
Bio, Chem and physics FA1 are all over and I am pretty confident with how I performed in all, I am also happy with my PSMT's for methods and spec which I am handing in finals next week. Just wanted to give an update,
For the data tests I didn't study, this year I felt like the tests were something you do not really "have to" study for. Is this going to be the same in year 12? we'll see. Also, English is so meh ahahah, just don't want to put the effort in as it is soooooo boring. Anyhoo I will post my results and reflect on how I feel about them because I feel like I will bum atleast one of my assessments (other than english which idc about).
Patrick.
lil N
Ok I am back with all my data test results! I just handed in my PSMT's for methods and spec this week so I should get the grades back over the holidays. As goes with english, handed in today and do not care much about it.
I did ok in the data tests but I need to improve it a lot if I really want to get into med, my grades were:
Biology=18/21 which goes to a 9/10
Chemistry=18/20 which goes to a 9/10
Physics=16/20 which goes to an 8/10
Overall I was ok with all of the exams except for Physics, I walked out of the fia1 so confident thinking I was gonna get at least an 18/20 but oh well. The reasons I did not get full marks for chem and bio are because I didn't refer to the data enough and generalized the information without giving evidence, which cost me not getting 100%. As with the maths reports, I am confident with both, hopefully they are at least 18's/20 which is a HUGE step up from last year where I got a C on my math's report, but you never know I could get another C. Guess we'll have to wait.
For anyone who has an Idea, will a 9/10 for the data test suffice for a good overall grade as I am not entirely sure as to how I am going to go in the research investigation and student experiments?
Patty.
- Edited
Don't worry too much about the data tests, they're not too content heavy and require different skills to standard exams.
Focus on revising for exams otherwise they'll kill you eventually (the chem exam killed me). Most if not all of my data tests follow the same broad structure which allows me to complete them even though I don't know crap about the topics most of the time.