How do you find the time to do practice exams? (1 Viewer)

[nuvardex]

For my last year, I'm trying to make a commitment to doing some practice exams before the revision period. With my content heavy subjects, along with a major, however, I am finding it very challenging to find the time.


This is the general schedule that I run off to remain organised. I feel like I could manipulate it in a way to tackle certain sections of an exam per day, but again, I can't find the time. Whether you've graduated, or are coming up to your last year as well, how do you find the time?

 

[fnsndgfg]

There are 24 hours in a day, if you try hard enough you can almost always find the time. For me, it was more about finding the motivation to find the time

 

[nuvardex]

There are 24 hours in a day, if you try hard enough you can almost always find the time. For me, it was more about finding the motivation to find the time

Yeah, good point. Did you ever do parts of practice exams at lunch or recess, or, did you just set some time aside when you got home?

 

[fnsndgfg]

Yeah, good point. Did you ever do parts of practice exams at lunch or recess, or, did you just set some time aside when you got home?

It really depends on what type of person you how hard you're willing to work, I think there are some good YT videos on it. Personally, I would just stay up late until I got what I wanted done, but everyone's different. Like are you struggling to find time because of co curricular's, or do you have a massive commute because if it's not something like that than I believe it's just down to motivation

 

[nuvardex]

It really depends on what type of person you how hard you're willing to work, I think there are some good YT videos on it. Personally, I would just stay up late until I got what I wanted done, but everyone's different. Like are you struggling to find time because of co curricular's, or do you have a massive commute because if it's not something like that than I believe it's just down to motivation

My commute is about an hour to school per day via the train. I tend to get work done on my laptop though, but it's usually adding to my notes. My method of note taking (listen in class, plot down points after reading from the textbook, make flashcards out of key points) takes ages.

 

[nourished.]

My commute is about an hour to school per day via the train. I tend to get work done on my laptop though, but it's usually adding to my notes. My method of note taking (listen in class, plot down points after reading from the textbook, make flashcards out of key points) takes ages.

Here's a pro tip: after every big dotpoint in the syllabus, pick a commonly asked 4-5 mark question and write an exemplar response that you'll then just add to your notes. So, rather than separating theory and practice into different study session, you're doing both in the same session.

 

[icycledough]

Honestly, I should first say that your work ethic seems to be very strong, based on the quality of your academic to-do calendar. I think it's all about prioritization; the HSC is about bringing weaker subjects up, not trying to work on already strong subjects to only raise marks by a bit. So for me, English was my weakest subject, so I made a conscientious effort to spend a lot of my time on this subject, whereas with maths, I didn't have to spend as much time on it. Also keep in mind that the concept of 'study' doesn't have to only mean completing an exam; it can be doing textbook questions, watching Youtube videos or Khan Academy videos to consolidate your understanding of specific topics, making flashcards for different topics, etc.

 

[moriamsdubu]

i honestly didn't do many whole practice papers (hot take lol), i just found them inefficient and huge causes for procrastination. i also did two major works.
for my majors, i made sure i was consistently working on them as well as my logbook/diary (as you can get marked on these internally depending on the subject) i literally found whatever time i could to come into school to work on them, there was actually a period of a few weeks where i was going to my visual arts classroom every morning before school for an hour just so i could work on my VA major. this is probably something you should discuss with your teacher. being able to work on my major whilst having my teacher there was really beneficial as having their feedback while you're working really streamlines the process imo. as well as this, take advantage of your time in class when working on your major, don't use it to procrastinate or talk to your friends, if you do that you'll end up like a lot of people, a few days out from submission, totally lost and nowhere near completion.

as for practice papers, i usually did individual sections timed, with a weighted pen (my english teacher told us to start doing this at the start of y11 lol) or i'd do essay plans so i wouldn't be sitting at my desk for 3+ hours. for example, for ancient history i did a lot of essay plans for questions that were between 10-25 marks, or i'd do a 45 minute section, in 40 minutes. i did this a bit through the year, but especially in the lead up to exams, and i ended up having like 15+ minutes at the end of my ancient hsc to edit my entire paper because i trained myself to complete sections in less time than allocated

for english advanced, i chose my quotes and themes very early on in the year, wrote a 'staple' essay (basically just a broad essay that could be moulded to questions), then wrote practice essays throughout the year based on the 'staple essay' using practice questions, and once it got closer to exams i focused on doing essay plans just to help me with the skill of adapting my themes and quotes to questions. my essay plans for english were typically an intro, 3 paragraph ideas + quotes and short analysis, and a conclusion.

i wouldn't really recommend working at recess or lunch, i only really did that if i had an exam the next day or something. use that time to relax, the last thing you want to do is burn out before trials and then not be able to make it through the rest of the year.

this is just what worked for me, so if you feel like doing whole practice papers then by all means go for it, i just personally found it to be really inefficient and tiring to sit down a few times a week, for 3+ hours to do an entire paper lmao. i honestly think it's way more beneficial to your cognitive performance to study in a way that is sustainable, rather than try to do that 'grindset' 10+ hours a day shit LOL. regardless, i hope i could be of some help!!

 

[Saint Dev]

i wouldn't really recommend working at recess or lunch, i only really did that if i had an exam the next day or something. use that time to relax, the last thing you want to do is burn out before trials and then not be able to make it through the rest of the year.

^ Just don't burn out and you'll be fine. The HSC is all about getting as close to that line as possible but not touching it (this doesn't have to be a crap experience if you maintain a work-life balance). Since you've got time I would try and experiment with your study schedule and practice papers so you can find your boundaries. Of course, you cannot predict everything - some periods will just suck - but you'll perform better if you learn what works for you. Additionally, make sure you find something that allows you to switch off and keep exercising; it doesn't look like you do economics but increasing your 'aggregate supply' and productivity will pay dividends.

I'll probably regret not having a schedule like that and I applaud your work ethic but as someone else said, maintaining motivation will likely be the hardest part long-term. Peaking in Year 11 isn't what you want to do.