Hey guys,
Not sure if anyone will see this, but id thought I'd share my major work experience with those of you who are considering dropping or are doing major work subjects for year 12.
Before I go on my little rant I want to say that this was just my experience with major works and everyone handles them differently. As someone who struggles with time management and organisation (in relation to my ADHD and ASD) my major work experience really helped me learn how to plan ahead and meet deadlines. While what I say may seem obvious to some or not difficult, juggling three major works is HARD on anyone.
I would also like to note that during my HSC year, I did not have a job, meaning I was able to dedicate more time to my major work and had less pressure from out-of-school obligations.
theses are the subject I took this year 🙂
- Math Standard 2
- English advanced
- visual arts (major work: a body of work)
- drama (major work: group performance & costume design individual project)
- society and culture (major work: personal interest project)
I can make more specific guides for each individual major work if needed.
Be consistent!!!!
Don't forget about them just because they are due later in the year, because the due dates will sneak up on you and you will be stressed. I dedicated Sunday every fortnight as my Major work day, a day where I would spend time working on my major work. While other things will pop up these days it helps to set a dedicated time for you to spend working away at them.
THEY WILL TAKE A LONG TIME
There is a reason they give you 9 months to complete major works. They need time to be made and refined or edited, they are not always something you can complete a month or so before due dates. Start early and be prepared for how long they will take.
IF YOU ARNT PREPARED TO PUT IN THE HOURS MAJOR WORKS MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU
Across my major works, I have probably spent on average close to 300+ hours across all three major works. The PIP alone required hours of researching, editing, designing primary research, writing etc. Your holidays need to be spent doing these projects and getting the bulk of them done and out of the way.
On average these are the hours I put into my major works that I digitally drew
Costume design for drama: 20 hours per drawing I did 5 (this is just the physical drawing time this does not include the time reading the play creating design ideas or putting the renderings together)
Art BOW: My digital art drawing alone has taken 100+ hours to complete (obviously this will differ depending on the type of form you use but time is effort people!)
- Pick something you will enjoy doing and stick to it
Avoid picking something that you think will get you good marks, stick to what you are good at, and listen to your teacher's advice because they know your strengths and weaknesses. Pick something you are passionate about and avoid changing your topic when it gets too hard, especially for the PIP and Art, break it down, think back to why you picked it and keep going. Its hard to work on something when you hate it, if you pick something you are passionate about you will hate it less when you are stressed.
I know this will sound stupid to some or over dramatic but if you want to do well in major works subjects (which usually scale poorly) you need to think of them like a child you will be carrying for 9 months. you can tell the difference between those who left it till the last minute and those who were consistent, save yourself the stress and don't ignore them. If I hadn't been consistent with mine I would be even more stressed than I already am with trials and major works due around the same time (for my school at least). This week just been, I had the PIP due Monday, drama GP and IP due Tuesday and art 80% due Thursday + my first trial exam for English.
I wouldn't recommend doing three major works to anyone, If I didn't love the subjects I had selected or didn't hate bio as much as I did (dropped it for year 12) there is no way in hell I would do three major works. But if you are like me and find yourself doing 3, for the love of your own sanity, please don't forget about them.
sorry if this makes no sense
hope this helps x
