Recovering from a very bad result. (1 Viewer)

[VeryBoredOfStudies]

Hey everyone, i just got back my English marks 3 days ago and I've gotten a 15 and a 16, so 31/40. Im feeling very very bad about this. My goals are to get a 92 or 93 for English advanced in the hsc. Usually, for most of my assessments, I've gotten 17s and 18s (from my schools hsc markers) but this was my first HSC assessment and it went really badly. Any advice on how to improve, and what I should do from this point on? I don't think I've never felt this bad about a result ever.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

 

[jimmysmith560]

First of all, you need to be reassured since a lot of people who do well in their HSC may face a bad start. Take me for example, my weakest subject was 2U maths (I got 62% for my first exam) but my final mark was in the band 5 range.

What you need to do starting now is to make sure you spot your mistakes (your teacher should be helpful with this) and study effectively to make sure you won't make those same mistakes again in future exams/assessments.

Since this is English, you could try to improve your essays/other writing pieces and regularly seek teacher feedback. Another thing you could do is take your prescribed texts more seriously, including making more detailed notes and familiarise yourself more with the texts.

You just need a little bit more effort and time since you aren't really that far from your goal. Sure this result doesn't meet your expectations, but it's not final. You shouldn't let your feelings take over as you still have other assessments and I'm sure you will eventually reach your goal!

 

[Directrix]

Hey everyone, i just got back my English marks 3 days ago and I've gotten a 15 and a 16, so 31/40. Im feeling very very bad about this. My goals are to get a 92 or 93 for English advanced in the hsc. Usually, for most of my assessments, I've gotten 17s and 18s (from my schools hsc markers) but this was my first HSC assessment and it went really badly. Any advice on how to improve, and what I should do from this point on? I don't think I've never felt this bad about a result ever.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

Improve the mentality of the aftermath of getting subpar results. That's the true test.

A close friend of mine got about a 60 for their first task but scraped a Band 6 overall.

 

[2xq]

A "not so great result" should be your motivation to get back into getting those 17s and 18s that you know you can achieve!

Hey everyone, i just got back my English marks 3 days ago and I've gotten a 15 and a 16, so 31/40. Im feeling very very bad about this. My goals are to get a 92 or 93 for English advanced in the hsc. Usually, for most of my assessments, I've gotten 17s and 18s (from my schools hsc markers) but this was my first HSC assessment and it went really badly. Any advice on how to improve, and what I should do from this point on? I don't think I've never felt this bad about a result ever.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

 

[CM_Tutor]

Look before you leap.

In other words, before starting to make changes / do more of X / less of Y, identify the problems. Also, identify your strengths... what was good about the answers you gave? What was weak? Recognise that you are building on a base and 15 / 16 is a much better base than many will manage.

Some possible issues, each calling for a different response:

• Having a prepared answer that was not well-adapted to the actual question
• Answering the question you wanted to be asked rather than the one that was asked
• Trying to cover so many areas that nothing was really covered in depth
• Having a question that presented a sizable quote from the text and not sticking sufficiently close to it in your answer or making clear the connections between it and the examples you offered
• Unbalanced time distribution - 3 equally-weighted tasks in 2 h means about 40 min for each... spend 1 h on the first and the other two will suffer
• Writing that is overly waffly / padded. It is unnecessary to extemporise utilising the full breadth of your vocabulary in order to paint a word picture of great depth and sagacity at a moment in proceedings where concision is prudent. (ie. Don't use ten words where two will suffice.) There are times and places to be flowery and also times where simplicity is appropriate. It is also unhelpful to keep repeating the same point in different ways as this may add length to your essay but not marks to your outcome. So don't say the same thing over and over again. Repetition can even become irritating to the reader. So don't do it.
• Argument that is not well-structured and logically developed... a couple of minutes of planning can be rewarding.
• (Sad but true)... an answer that the marker doesn't like. If you are presenting an argument / opinion that will be controversial or simply unpopular with the marker, consider whether s/he will have the intellectual honesty to assess it fairly. Sometimes its wisest to tell people what they want to hear, rather than what you want to say.

 

[Pikapizza]

I have to be honest, 15-16 is not a bad result, nor a very bad result either! Rest assured, I assume this is your first assessment out of many in your HSC year; you have plenty of chances to prove yourself and work back on your losses. Like many people have said above, treat each loss as motivation, reflect on what can be approved and work twice as hard!! It is possible to get that mark in your situation - I was in that situation. I got 15/20 in my first assessment - But, I never thought of this mark as a terrible failure, but more so mediocre; the main lesson, was that it something that could be improved - the growth mindset heh. Each assessment was a little bit of up and down, but I just worked twice as hard as I did for the assessment before - ask to see your friends/top-scorers' responses to see what worked and how they wrote, ask your teacher for advice about how to improve, find as many past papers as you can from other schools and complete their papers (if it is reading task), if essays, write more essays in your study time and get your friends/tutor to provide feedback - all in all, never give up. By the HSC, I achieved the exact goal you stated in your post. It is definitely possible to get back up from this hurdle. The first step is to admit it wasn't a bad result, but something to reflect and learn from. Good luck for your HSC year!

 

[idkkdi]

Hey everyone, i just got back my English marks 3 days ago and I've gotten a 15 and a 16, so 31/40. Im feeling very very bad about this. My goals are to get a 92 or 93 for English advanced in the hsc. Usually, for most of my assessments, I've gotten 17s and 18s (from my schools hsc markers) but this was my first HSC assessment and it went really badly. Any advice on how to improve, and what I should do from this point on? I don't think I've never felt this bad about a result ever.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

dw this is me. @vernburn disappointed in me now . im way worse rank than he was in internals

 

[Nacseo]

dw this is me. @vernburn disappointed in me now . im like worse rank than he was in internals atm rip.

Dw man, you're a goat. I may be in Year 10 rn, but I've been in the same position as you, I once got like a mark that was very lower than usual, I started pushing myself, by doing self learning and practice test which helped me identify my weaknesses and improve on them. Self learning is a way to get a ahead of everyone else, and starting now, if you don't have any hw for eng adv, ask the teacher to give out more homework and try to give urself some homework as well. If you want to, you can teach others on the topics so you can remember and u can possibly just saying... tell them to pay you (5-10 dollars), then you'll be challenged to help them understand the concept easier and you'll find it easy too. That's all my tips, I hope I've helped.

 

[idkkdi]

Dw man, you're a goat. I may be in Year 10 rn, but I've been in the same position as you, I once got like a mark that was very lower than usual, I started pushing myself, by doing self learning and practice test which helped me identify my weaknesses and improve on them. Self learning is a way to get a ahead of everyone else, and starting now, if you don't have any hw for eng adv, ask the teacher to give out more homework and try to give urself some homework as well. If you want to, you can teach others on the topics so you can remember and u can possibly just saying... tell them to pay you (5-10 dollars), then you'll be challenged to help them understand the concept easier and you'll find it easy too. That's all my tips, I hope I've helped.

lmao.
ty for the advice?
tho my position is actually pretty good just not good enough to be better than @vernburn top 10%.

 

[B1andB2]

if you don't have any hw for eng adv, ask the teacher to give out more homework and try to give urself some homework as well. If you want to, you can teach others on the topics so you can remember and u can possibly just saying... tell them to pay you (5-10 dollars), then you'll be challenged to help them understand

Do you do this ?????????????

 

[idkkdi]

Do you do this ?????????????

abnormally sweaty for someone who's trying to go to st mary's.
can confirm i do bare minimum for homework. and maybe get one practice exam done before exam with 0 feedback.
but i will try sweat english a bit more.

 

[VeryBoredOfStudies]

Look before you leap.

In other words, before starting to make changes / do more of X / less of Y, identify the problems. Also, identify your strengths... what was good about the answers you gave? What was weak? Recognise that you are building on a base and 15 / 16 is a much better base than many will manage.

Some possible issues, each calling for a different response:

• Having a prepared answer that was not well-adapted to the actual question
• Answering the question you wanted to be asked rather than the one that was asked
• Trying to cover so many areas that nothing was really covered in depth
• Having a question that presented a sizable quote from the text and not sticking sufficiently close to it in your answer or making clear the connections between it and the examples you offered
• Unbalanced time distribution - 3 equally-weighted tasks in 2 h means about 40 min for each... spend 1 h on the first and the other two will suffer
• Writing that is overly waffly / padded. It is unnecessary to extemporise utilising the full breadth of your vocabulary in order to paint a word picture of great depth and sagacity at a moment in proceedings where concision is prudent. (ie. Don't use ten words where two will suffice.) There are times and places to be flowery and also times where simplicity is appropriate. It is also unhelpful to keep repeating the same point in different ways as this may add length to your essay but not marks to your outcome. So don't say the same thing over and over again. Repetition can even become irritating to the reader. So don't do it.
• Argument that is not well-structured and logically developed... a couple of minutes of planning can be rewarding.
• (Sad but true)... an answer that the marker doesn't like. If you are presenting an argument / opinion that will be controversial or simply unpopular with the marker, consider whether s/he will have the intellectual honesty to assess it fairly. Sometimes its wisest to tell people what they want to hear, rather than what you want to say.

Hey, thank you heaps for the response. I think I did pretty much all of those things, I had a semi memorised essay and I adapted it really shitly. But I'm struggling to understand WHY it went so badly, in my previous essays I managed to get good marks because I could answer the questions well, but then it just doesn't seem to work. My essay which I prepared was considered pretty good, I would say 18 or 19. I really dont know how to go about this, although reading what you've said has helped in targeting some areas, there's aspects which I cant handle under timed conditions (even though I wrote about 4 prac essays in timed conditions). I honestly feel absolutely broken about this, and it will be near impossible to catch 1st place, she got 19 and 19, so 38/40.

 

[idkkdi]

Hey, thank you heaps for the response. I think I did pretty much all of those things, I had a semi memorised essay and I adapted it really shitly. But I'm struggling to understand WHY it went so badly, in my previous essays I managed to get good marks because I could answer the questions well, but then it just doesn't seem to work. My essay which I prepared was considered pretty good, I would say 18 or 19. I really know know how to go about this, although reading what you've said has helped in targeting some areas, there's aspects which I cant handle under timed conditions (even though I wrote about 4 prac essays in timed conditions). I honestly feel absolutely broken about this, and it will be near impossible to catch 1st place, she got 19 and 19, so 38/40.

15,16 seems pretty normal for a shitty adaptation ngl.

 

[idekkedi]

abnormally sweaty for someone who's trying to go to st mary's.
can confirm i do bare minimum for homework. and maybe get one practice exam done before exam with 0 feedback.
but i will try sweat english a bit more.

abnormally sweaty for someone who's trying to go to baulko.
can confirm i skip all english classes. and maybe get one practice exam done before exam with 0 feedback.
but i will try sweat english a bit less.

 

[idkkdi]

abnormally sweaty for someone who's trying to go to baulko.
can confirm i skip all english classes. and maybe get one practice exam done before exam with 0 feedback.
but i will try sweat english a bit less.

i dont want to go to baulko lmfao.

 

[quickoats]

I got 16/30 in my first english adv assignment in yr 11 but I ended up doing quite a bit better in the HSC. You just have to have a little faith in your abilities and believe in yourself.

 

[Nacseo]

Do you do this ?????????????

I did the tutoring part since year 8, but i didnt get paid T-T, but at the end, I got 100% for one of the assignments and the person I taught got like a mark lower than me. The Practice test story is true, I did some recently to revise topics and homework really helps. Like the shit in ur hw is guarnteed to be in ur exam

 

[Nacseo]

lmao.
ty for the advice?
tho my position is actually pretty good just not good enough to be better than @vernburn top 10% atm lol.

nah im just saying ur a goat, but the advice is for the other dude

 

[CM_Tutor]

Hey, thank you heaps for the response. I think I did pretty much all of those things, I had a semi memorised essay and I adapted it really shitly. But I'm struggling to understand WHY it went so badly, in my previous essays I managed to get good marks because I could answer the questions well, but then it just doesn't seem to work. My essay which I prepared was considered pretty good, I would say 18 or 19. I really dont know how to go about this, although reading what you've said has helped in targeting some areas, there's aspects which I cant handle under timed conditions (even though I wrote about 4 prac essays in timed conditions). I honestly feel absolutely broken about this, and it will be near impossible to catch 1st place, she got 19 and 19, so 38/40.

Firstly, your competition is much less the other people in your school, though that can be motivating... your competition is the tens of thousands of students in the state. Ranking is more important thank marks, and ultimately the HSC is a hoop to jump through in pursuit of your personal goals. If you are going to use every disappointment in an assessment as a reason to beat yourself up, you are setting yourself up for a daunting task. Learn some self-compassion and try for some perspective on strengths as well as weaknesses. I never made it into the top 5 of my school... but I did comfortably make the top 100 in the state and the top 500 nation-wide. Should I regret not doing better against my classmates or rejoice in the achievement of being near the top of NSW and Australia?

Secondly, a truth that far too many students fail to accept: You can't control what questions you are asked. If you have an absolutely brilliant 25 / 20 essay memorised and it doesn't suit the question, writing it out is not going to make the question better suited to your response. You can only control the response and that means being too prepared to give a particular answer is dangerous. If you must have a memorised response, perhaps try to take in pieces on different areas that you can arrange into an argument based on the question?

Thirdly, remember that the criteria for each band cover necessary components. In the sciences, for example, I could ask a 6 mark question that starts with "assess"... A student response could make six solid points about the topic, without any inaccuracies, and get at most 4 / 6 because the answer did not include the mandatory aspect of an "assess" question - a judgement based on the evidence presented. A band 6-level response must answer the question, and an essay that does not give a persuasive response to the question put will never earn a band 6 mark - even if it would be at the very top of band 6 for a different question.

 

[Qeru]

Firstly, your competition is much less the other people in your school, though that can be motivating... your competition is the tens of thousands of students in the state. Ranking is more important thank marks, and ultimately the HSC is a hoop to jump through in pursuit of your personal goals. If you are going to use every disappointment in an assessment as a reason to beat yourself up, you are setting yourself up for a daunting task. Learn some self-compassion and try for some perspective on strengths as well as weaknesses. I never made it into the top 5 of my school... but I did comfortably make the top 100 in the state and the top 500 nation-wide. Should I regret not doing better against my classmates or rejoice in the achievement of being near the top of NSW and Australia?

Secondly, a truth that far too many students fail to accept: You can't control what questions you are asked. If you have an absolutely brilliant 25 / 20 essay memorised and it doesn't suit the question, writing it out is not going to make the question better suited to your response. You can only control the response and that means being too prepared to give a particular answer is dangerous. If you must have a memorised response, perhaps try to take in pieces on different areas that you can arrange into an argument based on the question?

Thirdly, remember that the criteria for each band cover necessary components. In the sciences, for example, I could ask a 6 mark question that starts with "assess"... A student response could make six solid points about the topic, without any inaccuracies, and get at most 4 / 6 because the answer did not include the mandatory aspect of an "assess" question - a judgement based on the evidence presented. A band 6-level response must answer the question, and an essay that does not give a persuasive response to the question put will never earn a band 6 mark - even if it would be at the very top of band 6 for a different question.

Man excellent advice again, this is the one guy I would pay to get advice from.