• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Overstudy and Burn out. (2 Viewers)

nerd_2b

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
86
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
4u maths
3u maths
adv english
physics
chem
When did you start studying hard then? And did you focus more on learning your content thoroughly before past papers, or just jumped straight into those papers like how everyone suggests you do?

How rigid was your study schedule?
 

kenhuima

New Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
6
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
ahahah i know youre freaking out right now but honestly i just did the homework which took around 3 hours a day and that was basically it all the way until a few weeks before each exam block and then i turned it up a notch

for the hsc it was 2 past papers a day other than that i wasnt working that hard
 

ilikebeeef

Active Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
1,198
Location
Hoboland and Procrastinationland
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
ahahah i know youre freaking out right now but honestly i just did the homework which took around 3 hours a day and that was basically it all the way until a few weeks before each exam block and then i turned it up a notch

for the hsc it was 2 past papers a day other than that i wasnt working that hard
*applauds*

Lol you make it sound so simple. :)
 

wendybird

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
316
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
The trick to not burning out (imo):

- Do the subjects you love, so that "work" for those subjects don't even feel like work, but is instead actually enjoyable and meaningful for you.

- Keep up your extra-curricular activities (sport/music/debate etc) so you feel like a real person with an actual identity outside of studying.

- Find creative ways of studying. I listened to dramatic readings of Coleridge's poetry (for English X1) and watched Wuthering Heights on TV days before the HSC exam instead of trying to cram. I've gone to plays of my english texts (Crucible, Hamlet), and been to museum exhibits for the histories. Mix it up.

- Take plenty of breaks. If you procrastinate, make it the best damn 3/4/5 hours of "wasted" time of your life. (A good film/ a great party - whatever).

- Look long term. The ATAR is just a number. It shouldn't be a goal in itself. The goal should be whatever you want to do after the HSC - your course/career etc. Keep that in mind to keep yourself motivated.
 

Aerath

Retired
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
10,169
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
ahahah i know youre freaking out right now but honestly i just did the homework which took around 3 hours a day and that was basically it all the way until a few weeks before each exam block and then i turned it up a notch

for the hsc it was 2 past papers a day other than that i wasnt working that hard
You did Deeming's Chem homework? Aw man.....I never did it. :p
 

nerd_2b

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
86
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
The trick to not burning out (imo):

- Do the subjects you love, so that "work" for those subjects don't even feel like work, but is instead actually enjoyable and meaningful for you.

- Keep up your extra-curricular activities (sport/music/debate etc) so you feel like a real person with an actual identity outside of studying.

- Find creative ways of studying. I listened to dramatic readings of Coleridge's poetry (for English X1) and watched Wuthering Heights on TV days before the HSC exam instead of trying to cram. I've gone to plays of my english texts (Crucible, Hamlet), and been to museum exhibits for the histories. Mix it up.

- Take plenty of breaks. If you procrastinate, make it the best damn 3/4/5 hours of "wasted" time of your life. (A good film/ a great party - whatever).

- Look long term. The ATAR is just a number. It shouldn't be a goal in itself. The goal should be whatever you want to do after the HSC - your course/career etc. Keep that in mind to keep yourself motivated.

How did you fare in your internal assessments? How were they scaled?
 

nerd_2b

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
86
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
I'd like to know especially for english.....How to improve?? I did pretty bad in my first assessment which was worth 25%, and I'm aiming for a 98+.
 

annabackwards

<3 Prophet 9
Joined
Jun 14, 2008
Messages
4,670
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
How did you fare in your internal assessments? How were they scaled?
Do you mean moderated?

I made a list of things i had to finish (i remember uploading it so it's probably still somewhere on this site) and i basically did something from there each time i felt like studying.

Every other time i enjoyed myself :D

Sometimes i felt guilty for not studing, so i basically did a little of a study (~30mins) and then returned to playing again and repeated the process if i was in the mood.

The longest i studied for a day in the holidays was 6hrs with breaks every 45mins and that was because i was in the state library researching for my history extension project which i found fun ^^

Usually i probably didn't do more than 5hrs and most of that was studying for subjects i liked :)

So there you go, perhaps you guys can make a list too :spin:
 

wendybird

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
316
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
How did you fare in your internal assessments? How were they scaled?
I got full marks in basically all my internal assessments. My trial mark was 98.

The moderation is pretty irrelevant to anyone who isn't from my specific cohort at my specific school - moderation is done according to YOUR cohort. Mine would have no relation to yours.

We had 250 people do Eng Adv, the top 5 were basically neck and neck the whole way through the year and for all the assessments. I was ranked top 3 internally.

Its definitely possible to improve, I'd say work really closely with your teacher to go over your essays and assessments, identifying where you went wrong and what areas you need to work on. Its not something I can give you a magic formula for.
 
Last edited:

determine

Premium Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
631
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I got full marks in basically all my internal assessments. My trial mark was 98.

The moderation is pretty irrelevant to anyone who isn't from my specific cohort at my specific school - moderation is done according to YOUR cohort. Mine would have no relation to yours.

We had 250 people do Eng Adv, the top 5 were basically neck and neck the whole way through the year and for all the assessments. I was ranked top 3 internally.

Its definitely possible to improve, I'd say work really closely with your teacher to go over your essays and assessments, identifying where you went wrong and what areas you need to work on. Its not something I can give you a magic formula for.
Wow, amazing! What subject was this for?
 

ninetypercent

ninety ninety ninety
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
2,148
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
I can't be bothered studying anymore
I did one page for my religion assessment
and then i realised that the way I phrased my sentences didn't make sense
and I have to do it all over again

:( boring...
 

ascentyx

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
234
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
One way i found was effective was breaking up study for subjects i disliked with subjects i did like. For example i didn't really like chemistry (cause alot of it was straight content memorisation) and enjoyed 4unit maths (i like problem solving). So i would do 1 hour of chemistry and then 1 hour of maths and it would work out better that way. Also try and trick your brain into thinking you have done less work than you should have, so you overprepare for every assessment task :D
 

ninetypercent

ninety ninety ninety
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
2,148
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
how much time do you spend doing an assessment anyway?

I spend around 3 days each assessment task
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top