KEEP calm and trust your knowledge.
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Kym Armstrong, director of students and Year 12 English teacher at Trinity Anglican College delivered some concise advice for students preparing for their first major exam on Monday.
HSC students across NSW will sit their English exams this Monday and Tuesday, while their VCE counterparts south of the Border still have plenty of time to prepare – their English exams aren’t scheduled until November 1.
Ms Armstrong said keeping a cool head in the exam room was crucial.
“There are three main things I would say to students,” Ms Armstrong said.
“The first thing is to trust yourself, trust that you know what you need to know and it will come out in the paper.
“The second is to keep your cool – even if it seems like the questions are difficult when you look at them, every student is looking at the very same questions.
“Lastly, just get started and give it your best shot.”
The HSC exam comprises two papers, with students given just over 90 minutes to complete each paper.
Ms Armstrong said taking the time to compose yourself when faced with an unexpected question would be an important skill in the silence of the exam room.
“Keeping your cool is really important, sometimes if a student faces a difficult question and they’re thrown by it, it can prevent them from demonstrating what they actually know,” she said.
“If you’ve done all the preparation you can trust yourself – you'll have done all that thinking beforehand.
“Centre yourself, calm yourself, use that reading time at the start of the exam to really read through the question.”
Another key point Ms Armstrong raised was to remember what examiners are actually looking for in exam answers and essays.
“The students have done the work, so a good way to prepare is to go back to the syllabus rubricks, and think ‘if I had a question this particular element, how do I take what I know and mould it to that question?'” she said.
“Another point I would make would be to manage your time as well as you can.”
HSC exams are scheduled to be completed by November 7.
The final exams for VCE students will finish on November 22.
HSC and VCE results and overall ATAR scores will be available on Friday, December 15.