-
Finished your HSC? Check out our University Discussion, Non-School forums or help out next year's HSC students! -
YOU can help the next generation of students in the community! Share your trial papers and notes on our Notes & Resources page
Tips for year 10?? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter gc653
- Start date
strawberrye
Premium Member
Below are extracts from my senior study guide that I complied on the preliminary forum section which I think will be highly relevant to your yr 10 studies
HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR STUDY TIMETABLE:
I think the best way to make a time table is to make it flexible, whether you have a to-do list by day or organise your day into relaxation and 1 hour long study sessions, do what works for you. There are a few things you should make sure to include in your timetable/to do list to make it effective
1)Always be realistic-don't assign excessive amount of work that you cannot achieved in the designated amount of time you have set aside for yourself
2)Make sure you are flexible-so you can make adjustments to your timetable when extra-curricular and any other unforseen circumstances comes up.
3)Make sure you are studying at times optimal to your concentration and alertness level. Don't assign studying at night if you can't concentrate during that time
4)Include social activities, work commitments, relaxation time into your timetable-a balanced lifestyle is essential for long term academic success
5)Make sure you follow your timetable as closely as possible and try not to have too many carry over tasks to add onto tomorrow's workload. With lots of trial and error, you will find a way of organising time that you will feel comfortable with and which works for you
FOR ENGLISH:
1)write practice essays(but make sure you get a very harsh marker-whether it is your teacher, your tutor, or someone else)-there is no need to write excessively as quality exceed quantity in English and sometimes you need time to think over your ideas-to refine/extend them-so you don't waste so much time procrastinating when you write your essays
2)learn to listen in class-whether it is other people's opinions or your teacher's insights, it will help you formulate your own unique understanding-don't rely on study guides too much-because everyone will be doing the same thing-but check with your teacher that your understanding is not super obscure
3) probably the most important is to use all resources available, your teacher, your tutor(if you have one), the internet, library, etc-and develop a personal passion and understanding into the subject-but don't excessively seek other people's opinion on your work-because you might develop a low self-esteem and start to doubt yourself-so always reflect on each piece of advice whether it is valid or not and keep faith-believe in yourself that you have the capacity to develop independent thinking-and just because it is different from other people-does not necessarily mean it is wrong-just be prepared to back it up with textual evidence
4)read all your texts for English more than once-you really need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the whole text-not just deconstruct a few scenes and forget about the rest of the book).
5)For writing an excellent creative, you should decide what areas you want to explore, construct a 'perfect' story after various edit process, than try to adopt that story to as many creative writing question as possible-i.e. write plans and get someone to mark it for you, like your teacher, and when you come across questions that your story is difficult to mould to, then write another one to cover the rest of the questions, but to write good creative stories, you will need to practice and get feedback as well as read good examples.
Basically, to do well in English, it is just practice, feedback, practice, feedback-unfortunately there is no short cuts at all... this, coupled with perseverance, persistent optimism and consistent performance are the key ingredients to succeeding in English.
For MATHS subjects:
The only way you can study for maths is essentially to understand mathematical concepts, apply your understanding by practice questions of increasing difficulty, and checking your answers and working out with those provided by the textbook or with your teacher/tutor. Before each maths exam, I would also do a summary of all the formulas that I would need and all the tips and tricks for each topic and revise over that before the exam.
One very important tip is to avoid exposing yourself to new, difficult questions the day before the exam-you would often be panicked and this would worsen your exam performance because you are not entering the exam with a calm, clear mind.
Well, I had a habit to try to do my maths homework before it was set-so that I had more time for other subjects like English. I used an actual grid book-I found it particularly useful when I am drawing trigonometry graphs, but it is up to you, it doesn't really matter what type of book you use as long as you set out your questions neatly and in a legible manner. I did divide my pages in half, not to save space, because it was the format I was accustomed to. I would write out the question, write my working out, and ticked or crossed my own work by marking my answers with those of the textbook. And if I got a question wrong, I would re-do it several times until I get it right or I could ask my teacher.
One last important tip I can give you is that you need to ask questions the minute you don't understand something-don't leave any maths lessons without understanding everything about the maths concept conveyed-because maths is a sort of accumulative subject where if you don't understand something and don't clarify it, it can have a snowball effect. I have a habit of writing tips on the silly mistakes I've made or tips to do a certain type of question alongside questions I got wrong and I re-do these questions before the exam and remind myself to avoid making these mistakes.
MATHS is a subject that needs to be practiced on a daily basis, you cannot get away with studying it the day before the actual exam. You need to understand the approach to achieve a solution to the problems, not just knowing how to answer a problem, but knowing the different types of problems you can encounter in any topic and the variation in the solution method to achieve them. Essentially, practice, practice, practice is the key to succeed in Maths.
Hope this helps-if you have any more questions, feel free to PM me-(and if you just could post what subjects you are doing as well-it could assist all of us to help you even more specifically) Best wishes for this year
HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR STUDY TIMETABLE:
I think the best way to make a time table is to make it flexible, whether you have a to-do list by day or organise your day into relaxation and 1 hour long study sessions, do what works for you. There are a few things you should make sure to include in your timetable/to do list to make it effective
1)Always be realistic-don't assign excessive amount of work that you cannot achieved in the designated amount of time you have set aside for yourself
2)Make sure you are flexible-so you can make adjustments to your timetable when extra-curricular and any other unforseen circumstances comes up.
3)Make sure you are studying at times optimal to your concentration and alertness level. Don't assign studying at night if you can't concentrate during that time
4)Include social activities, work commitments, relaxation time into your timetable-a balanced lifestyle is essential for long term academic success
5)Make sure you follow your timetable as closely as possible and try not to have too many carry over tasks to add onto tomorrow's workload. With lots of trial and error, you will find a way of organising time that you will feel comfortable with and which works for you
FOR ENGLISH:
1)write practice essays(but make sure you get a very harsh marker-whether it is your teacher, your tutor, or someone else)-there is no need to write excessively as quality exceed quantity in English and sometimes you need time to think over your ideas-to refine/extend them-so you don't waste so much time procrastinating when you write your essays
2)learn to listen in class-whether it is other people's opinions or your teacher's insights, it will help you formulate your own unique understanding-don't rely on study guides too much-because everyone will be doing the same thing-but check with your teacher that your understanding is not super obscure
3) probably the most important is to use all resources available, your teacher, your tutor(if you have one), the internet, library, etc-and develop a personal passion and understanding into the subject-but don't excessively seek other people's opinion on your work-because you might develop a low self-esteem and start to doubt yourself-so always reflect on each piece of advice whether it is valid or not and keep faith-believe in yourself that you have the capacity to develop independent thinking-and just because it is different from other people-does not necessarily mean it is wrong-just be prepared to back it up with textual evidence
4)read all your texts for English more than once-you really need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the whole text-not just deconstruct a few scenes and forget about the rest of the book).
5)For writing an excellent creative, you should decide what areas you want to explore, construct a 'perfect' story after various edit process, than try to adopt that story to as many creative writing question as possible-i.e. write plans and get someone to mark it for you, like your teacher, and when you come across questions that your story is difficult to mould to, then write another one to cover the rest of the questions, but to write good creative stories, you will need to practice and get feedback as well as read good examples.
Basically, to do well in English, it is just practice, feedback, practice, feedback-unfortunately there is no short cuts at all... this, coupled with perseverance, persistent optimism and consistent performance are the key ingredients to succeeding in English.
For MATHS subjects:
The only way you can study for maths is essentially to understand mathematical concepts, apply your understanding by practice questions of increasing difficulty, and checking your answers and working out with those provided by the textbook or with your teacher/tutor. Before each maths exam, I would also do a summary of all the formulas that I would need and all the tips and tricks for each topic and revise over that before the exam.
One very important tip is to avoid exposing yourself to new, difficult questions the day before the exam-you would often be panicked and this would worsen your exam performance because you are not entering the exam with a calm, clear mind.
Well, I had a habit to try to do my maths homework before it was set-so that I had more time for other subjects like English. I used an actual grid book-I found it particularly useful when I am drawing trigonometry graphs, but it is up to you, it doesn't really matter what type of book you use as long as you set out your questions neatly and in a legible manner. I did divide my pages in half, not to save space, because it was the format I was accustomed to. I would write out the question, write my working out, and ticked or crossed my own work by marking my answers with those of the textbook. And if I got a question wrong, I would re-do it several times until I get it right or I could ask my teacher.
One last important tip I can give you is that you need to ask questions the minute you don't understand something-don't leave any maths lessons without understanding everything about the maths concept conveyed-because maths is a sort of accumulative subject where if you don't understand something and don't clarify it, it can have a snowball effect. I have a habit of writing tips on the silly mistakes I've made or tips to do a certain type of question alongside questions I got wrong and I re-do these questions before the exam and remind myself to avoid making these mistakes.
MATHS is a subject that needs to be practiced on a daily basis, you cannot get away with studying it the day before the actual exam. You need to understand the approach to achieve a solution to the problems, not just knowing how to answer a problem, but knowing the different types of problems you can encounter in any topic and the variation in the solution method to achieve them. Essentially, practice, practice, practice is the key to succeed in Maths.
Hope this helps-if you have any more questions, feel free to PM me
-(and if you just could post what subjects you are doing as well-it could assist all of us to help you even more specifically) Best wishes for this yearRivalryofTroll
Sleep Deprived Entity
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2011
- Messages
- 3,805
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2013
- Uni Grad
- 2019
For subjects, during Year 10, its important to maximise the opportunity to explore them. So participate in all your subjects, put in the effort for all of them and do the work that is required in each subject.
What I mean by this is:
- Find out your strengths and weaknesses
- Find out which subjects you're interested in.
This is important because it will allow you to correctly choose suitable subjects for you in Years 11 and 12.
This might allow you to correctly select:
- The appropriate level of English (Standard/Advanced/Extension) for you to do.
- The appropriate level of Mathematics (General/2U/Extension) for you to do.
Also, this year - you might find that you like a certain faculty (you might want to specialise in social sciences or sciences or history or creative arts and so on).
E.g. In Years 9 and 10, I loved Commerce (an elective) and this contributed to my selection of Business Studies and Economics for my HSC. I liked Science (not as much as the Social Sciences) so I chose one science (Physics). In Year 9, I was thinking of doing 2 sciences (or the Asian 4 to be exact) in Year 12. By Year 10, I ended up only choosing 1 science and 2 social sciences for Years 11 and 12.
If you like history during your time in Year 10, look into Modern History and Ancient History.
If you like PDHPE during Year 10, consider undertaking it for the HSC.
Year 10 is a time where you might make important decisions such as choosing the subjects that you have to do in the next 2 years so don't waste the opportunity to LOOK at ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS.
What I mean by this is:
- Find out your strengths and weaknesses
- Find out which subjects you're interested in.
This is important because it will allow you to correctly choose suitable subjects for you in Years 11 and 12.
This might allow you to correctly select:
- The appropriate level of English (Standard/Advanced/Extension) for you to do.
- The appropriate level of Mathematics (General/2U/Extension) for you to do.
Also, this year - you might find that you like a certain faculty (you might want to specialise in social sciences or sciences or history or creative arts and so on).
E.g. In Years 9 and 10, I loved Commerce (an elective) and this contributed to my selection of Business Studies and Economics for my HSC. I liked Science (not as much as the Social Sciences) so I chose one science (Physics). In Year 9, I was thinking of doing 2 sciences (or the Asian 4 to be exact) in Year 12. By Year 10, I ended up only choosing 1 science and 2 social sciences for Years 11 and 12.
If you like history during your time in Year 10, look into Modern History and Ancient History.
If you like PDHPE during Year 10, consider undertaking it for the HSC.
Year 10 is a time where you might make important decisions such as choosing the subjects that you have to do in the next 2 years so don't waste the opportunity to LOOK at ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS.
Last edited:
ivorybranches
Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2013
- Messages
- 61
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2015
Year 10 is basically your last year of freedom. I was in year 10 last year, and I took it as the year to do as much extra curricular programs as I could. Thanks to that, I ended up winning our school's scholarship for senior years. Once you hit senior years, you're too busy to be running around doing them, so I suggest you try to do something so you can write about it for your resume or in a scholarship application.
To be honest it's not that different from year 9, although you should think about working hard to get yourself ready for senior years. Perhaps read some more books, and focus on your school work. Also, ROSA is essentially just your yearly exam and at my school no one even cared about it (you only need it if you're thinking about dropping out in year 11/12). However, do study for it so you understand which study technique works best for you. It's only year 10, so don't work yourself too hard, but just think about doing little things to help yourself for year 11
Oh and welcome to BOS
To be honest it's not that different from year 9, although you should think about working hard to get yourself ready for senior years. Perhaps read some more books, and focus on your school work. Also, ROSA is essentially just your yearly exam and at my school no one even cared about it (you only need it if you're thinking about dropping out in year 11/12). However, do study for it so you understand which study technique works best for you. It's only year 10, so don't work yourself too hard, but just think about doing little things to help yourself for year 11
Oh and welcome to BOS
historia
Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2013
- Messages
- 57
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2014
This is really good advice, just use the year to work out what you like and what you don't so you can make better decisions when you come to pick your subjects. Also, don't just dismiss subjects you didn't like in previous years- as with what happened to me, your interests and aspirations can change significantly over the course of a year. Best of luck.
Audranda
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 91
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2015
Having finished year 10 last year, here are some of my 'pearls of wisdom':
ROSA- Record of School Achievement (basically a substitute towards the School Certificate)
* Your teachers across core subjects and electives will grade you (As, Bs, Cs) and have your marks delivered electronically on the Students Online website.
* This is not necessarily indicative of your overall school achievement if you intend on progressing to your senior years ~ however, this shouldn't prohibit you from becoming lax and not reaching your maximum potential (a regret from last year).
For an extensive response on optimal studying and skill-building, strawberrye covers a plethora of questions/queries.
Subjects: ^ RivalryofTroll elaborates on how to wisely select subjects catering towards your ability
You'll also be choosing a multitude of subjects of your choice (aside from mandated English) this year. Your school will probably hold an 'Information Day' and provide booklets/talks from a variety of faculties to make informed decisions on subject selection for the upcoming senior years. What you should reap from Year 10 is your overall aptitude and attitude in a broad spectrum of subjects (towards subject selection).
There is a required 12 unit bench mark for your preliminary year; with divided subjects in Category A, B and 'Other' (e.g. SLR).
As for studying, the generic, yet useful advice is to have a sustained approach towards learning and retaining knowledge. Study on a daily-weekly basis throughout the year, compiling categorised notes (preferably in bullet-point form) and consistently reviewing them. Throughout the year, I would compose a checklist for each day to complete particular tasks, finding it more flexible in comparison to a study timetable.
Good luck in Year 10!
ROSA- Record of School Achievement (basically a substitute towards the School Certificate)
* Your teachers across core subjects and electives will grade you (As, Bs, Cs) and have your marks delivered electronically on the Students Online website.
* This is not necessarily indicative of your overall school achievement if you intend on progressing to your senior years ~ however, this shouldn't prohibit you from becoming lax and not reaching your maximum potential (a regret from last year).
For an extensive response on optimal studying and skill-building, strawberrye covers a plethora of questions/queries.
Subjects: ^ RivalryofTroll elaborates on how to wisely select subjects catering towards your ability
You'll also be choosing a multitude of subjects of your choice (aside from mandated English) this year. Your school will probably hold an 'Information Day' and provide booklets/talks from a variety of faculties to make informed decisions on subject selection for the upcoming senior years. What you should reap from Year 10 is your overall aptitude and attitude in a broad spectrum of subjects (towards subject selection).
There is a required 12 unit bench mark for your preliminary year; with divided subjects in Category A, B and 'Other' (e.g. SLR).
As for studying, the generic, yet useful advice is to have a sustained approach towards learning and retaining knowledge. Study on a daily-weekly basis throughout the year, compiling categorised notes (preferably in bullet-point form) and consistently reviewing them. Throughout the year, I would compose a checklist for each day to complete particular tasks, finding it more flexible in comparison to a study timetable.
Good luck in Year 10!
Last edited:
lightthefuze
Active Member
For me, it was just another year of school, this time a bit more serious because of subject selections. Nothing special.
Hey everyone thanks so much for your helpful comments and advice!!! I really appreciate them and will take all of them to thought when I start year 10!! Good luck to everyone starting years 11 and 12 this year too
Good luck to everyone starting years 11 and 12 this year too 
moni5281
Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2013
- Messages
- 74
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2015
seriously don't be too worried about year 10, like i personally bludged a little, but if you want to get a head start I suggest you establish good study habits so that it's easier next year. For english make sure you're comfortable with writing essays and know how to write good ones. also read a variety of books as well. For maths, it's really important to do your homework as you need a good foundation to succeed! For other subjects I didn't really try that hard because I wanted to save my energy for yrs 11&12 good luck to you too
good luck to you too
As others have said year 10 was a bit of a bludge for me too, but I would recommend studying and doing your homework for English and maths because as RivalryofTroll said you'll have a better idea of what level to choose for your senior years. Learn what your strengths and weaknesses are, you'll have an easier time choosing subjects for next year. Just enjoy year 10 and have fun
I actually wanted to try in Year 10, but it eventually became a bludge as others have said XD
But yeah, Year 10 is the time for you to start thinking about your future and determining what you are good at/not good at for the HSC.
But yeah, Year 10 is the time for you to start thinking about your future and determining what you are good at/not good at for the HSC.
Just some very general advice, but I'd use Year 10 to get into a study habit and develop some solid study methods. Establishing this early on helps a lot for senior schooling. Some people become complacent in Year 10 and think "It doesnt count so I wont bother" - which to me is like a footballer saying "I wont bother in training because it doesnt count, I'll try during the game though". It's true that it doesnt count, but if you have high goals then the skills you gain will.
That being said, dont stress out and try to enjoy Year 10 as much as possible.
That being said, dont stress out and try to enjoy Year 10 as much as possible.
For year 10 I would recommend that yes you work on organisation skills and study habits but really just relax and have fun. Enjoy the year, don't stress about assignments and tests, meet new people and get involved in activities/school etc.
iJimmy
not dead
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2013
- Messages
- 1,594
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- HSC
- N/A
its seem's that in most years of junior high, you try your hardest in the first week or two and then the gradual bludge kicks in making the whole year worthless, it is only during pre half yearly and yearly exam time that people get worried, (according to my school)
ingeniarius
Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2013
- Messages
- 44
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2015
Be sure to ENJOY year ten, it was by far my favourite schooling year by far. Work on study habits, but don't burn yourself out. Also, I'm not sure if any other school does this, but at my school senior subjects had 'prerequisites' (eg; for 3u high A in 5.3 maths, for Physics B or A in Science as well as a B or A in 5.2/5.3 Maths) so be mindful of those as you don't want to be limited in choice when it comes to choosing subjects. Get involved in as many activities as possible, this was the first and only year I was part of a school sports team which was a lot of fun.
Frostbitten
Active Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2012
- Messages
- 426
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2013
Play as much League as you can.
But srs, you got year 11 to sort out study habits and what you want to be in life, just chill.
But srs, you got year 11 to sort out study habits and what you want to be in life, just chill.
raggiedoll
Scumbag
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2012
- Messages
- 148
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2014
Have fun, but for god's sake do your maths homework because that's the only homework that's truly important (mentally punches my Year 10 self in the face)