I'm starting yr 11 this year and I chose the following subjects:
-Advanced english
-Mathematics
-Biology
-Economics
-Legal Studies
-Business Studies
Are these subjects too low-scaling for a high atar? What subjects do you think i should prioritise for a high atar? Is legal studies hard especially the essay questions? Also i would really really appreciate some advice or study tips for my subjects
When picking subjects it is essential that you pick subjects you know your going to enjoy and put a lot of effort in, as scaling and ATAR are all dependent on your ranks in school. So the better you enjoy a subject the better you will do as you will be inclined to put a lot of effort into it and hence gain a high as possible rank maximising your ATAR. It is also essential to know that doing well scaling subjects doesn't always mean getting a high star if you perform poorly in them and likewise if you do okay scaling subjects it doesn't mean your getting a low ATAR, at the end of the day it all depends on performance and rank throughout year 12.
I have copied the subjects I did that are in common with you and given some advice for senior study in them and how they fair in terms of difficulty.
-Advanced English: A lot of essay writing involved and consistent practice is needed, I recommend that you start from Year 11 getting excellent essay writing technique down pat as it will help a lot in year 12, this will only occur through practice in year 11. If you want your essays to stand out you will need to go beyond the text or study guide by that I mean your own research and then form a more in depth argument about the text adding to your essay.
-Mathematics: Practice is the only thing to do for this course, just do as many past papers as possible and ensure that you understand all the maths in Year 11 that you have learned as it can be assessed in Year 12 and the HSC.
-Biology: A great subject but has a lot of content, however if your systematic and do study in the holidays (for HSC year) the load in the term isn't that bad. Requires consistent practice as most of the questions now days are problem solving not just straight up content in the HSC, hence getting short answer writing technique down pat is essential prior to the HSC. Also practice a lot of MC as people often lose a lot of marks in that section.
-Economics: A great subject once again, mostly requires a lot of understanding behind economic concepts, but HSC builds on basic year 11 concepts like demand, supply, fiscal policy, monetary policy etc. I recommend you get good MC and short answer practice as you need to get 60/60 if you want a high band 6. Essays will come with time as economic essays are different to all other essays.
