Breakdown (1 Viewer)

[DirtyDancer]

I don't know about anyone else but i am so close to breaking down right now, i feel like crying. The teachers have put on so much pressure for us to perform well and write super-great essays in these English trials and i dont think that i can perform to their standards. I doubt i'm going to even come close to being able to write 3 essays in only 2 hours. I have no chance.

Sitting here trying to memorise all the information for Emma and Clueless, King Lear AND Frontline, is one -boring me to death, and two- just damned impossible because i cannot remember all of this information ready for tomorrow's exam.
How is everyone else coping? Am i the only one who can't do it??

 

[starlitwonder]

Hey hey, listen I know how you feel, I had my trials over the past two weeks. The time leading up to the exams sucks because you don't know what they expect from you, and you don't understand all your work yet. You've just gotta breathe, and as my English teacher told me - in the end, each essay is only worth like 5% - so say you go 9/15, you're really only 2% behind someone who got full marks.

Just relax - easy for me to say in hindsight - and understand that these trials are just that TRIALS - to prepare us for the real thing.

But no, you are not alone

 

[ditto]

don't worry! when you are memorising your essays just make sure that you are in some place very quiet - otherwise learning off by heart is quite difficult.

remember that everyone is in the same situation as you are (EVERYONE is writing 3 essays in 2 hours), and it won't be too bad if you have already practiced/learnt off by heart an essay. be very careful with time management, try exactly 40 minutes for each essay otherwise it gets difficult to finish off the last one!

when i learnt my ideas i practiced it lots before but then also - on the morning of exam (it really helps me!)

strange! i'm doing exactly THOSE texts!! practice well, DON'T PANIC, and you'll be absolutely fine!

GOODLUCK!

 

[glitterfairy]

calm down calm down calm down

A lot of people in this thread will tell you that everyone else is in the same boat, other people like myself will tell you that the system itself is screwed up But since that's not overly productive, here are some other things to remember:

Half the reason life is so scary now is because a lot of you haven't sat an HSC-style paper before, nor been walked through one. Knowing one module in depth is one thing... but having to know three and being able to write about them consecutively?! aaaahhhhhh-ness lol.

Practice essays are your new best friend. Don't beat yourself up if they're not perfect - they're not supposed to be (this is why we're talking about essays in the plural/multiple form, and this is why your REAL HSC papers are in oct/nov ). Everything is scariest and hardest the first time, so let's try and make your HSC trials the 6th or 7th time. Time your essays - focus less on writing the same thing each time and more on learning how to keep calm under pressure and be able to string thoughts together/get solid essay structures underway.

And if worse comes to worse, your HSC is about three whole months away - you have plenty of time to go over your notes between then and now And you WILL get better!

otherwise learning off by heart is quite difficult.

Just as an aside, you shouldn't be learning anything other than points/quotes off by heart :/

 

[*Ninny-mole*]

Don't worry. I had a full on breakdown nearly every day of my exams, and panic attacks when I actually slept. I actually had a breakdown yesterday afternoon when I finished them. Sorry for not being uplifting but It made me feel better to know that other's felt the same, so don't worry. I'm actually on the verge of a breakdown right now, but I really shouldn't worry, the HSC is over in about 3 short months.

 

[glitterfairy]

If it helps, try keeping everything in perspective

You're doing your trial exams. It seems ridiculously scary, but what's the worst thing that could happen? You might get a low mark which constitutes maybe 30% of your internal mark, which constitutes about 50% of your final mark, and then you consider scaling, and... it's really not worth that much

Chances are you'll do heaps better in actual HSC anyway

And if not, what happens? You get a lower mark, maybe apply for some waivers or get in via transfer after 1 year of any other degree. And guess what - you can still get into uni this way! Naturally by this stage your HSC is but a distant memory.


^ those are the two worst situations I can think of right now, and they both end with happy endings. Not bad, eh? lighten up guys - the HSC is not worth you getting this stressed over

 

[DirtyDancer]

Thanks guys. I read over that post now and realise i probably was over-reacting a little lol. But it was stressful at the time but after the exam i realised it wasnt worth getting stressed over.
These exams have been a definite wake-up call though, i now know just how prepared i have to be in a couple of months time. And that kinda scares me lol cos i know i'm no-where near the stage of prepared-ness (yep just made that up)
But thanks again and good luck to everyone with their exams!

 

[lourai*87]

I know people have already reassured you... but i spose i can add my bit. Ever time i tried to write an essay for an assignment or practice i would no joke end up in tears on the floor. Yes, highly overdramatic but i felt so helpless.

You can do it!!! I never thought i could until after the trials...but i ended up with a band 5.

I dont know if it will help you, but i found writing my intro over and over again, then quotes, key paragraphs and some sort of general conclusion reinforced it. And you know, if worst comes to worst and you completely run out of time in your last essay, you can work those things into legible sentences - so long as your key points are there. (not advisable of course, but drastic times...)

Anyway i think ive lapsed into HSC nostalgia. Good luck

 

[P_Dilemma]

"I am fine, I am fine, I am fine..."

There are 2 months until the HSC. You should know your weaknesses and strengths by now, so focus on improvement, get some smart friends to help you and things will turn out OK.

God bless all of us in our HSC... well, except fo them retarded non-serious ppl.

-P_D

 

[lala2]

Yes, as glitterfairy said, 30% of 50% of your overall mark comes out to a not very big amount overall. It's only good for improving ranks if you have been going crap all year, like I did, but think of it as a opportunity to consolidate your learning as a whole year (rather than a half-assed effort in half-yearlys where you only knew half the syllabus anyway), and as an opportunity to practice your writing styles and thinking (and writing physically) quickly in an exam.

 

[glitterfairy]

hahah glad to know you're feeling better, Dirtydancer!

If it makes you feel better to know, I myself was a little stressed coming up to my Eng Adv Trials exam (nothing on the scale of the 06ers though, I think... my year was a little laid back ). The night before the ACTUAL eng adv exam I was running around in a panic because I still didn't "get" module A 6 practice papers and several frantic phone calls to schoolfriends helped though

When all is said and done, the HSC is still not worth getting worried about. I've said it, and so many other post-HSC people have said it Therefore, it must be true!

all bow down to the glitter logic... ta