• Follow the syllabus - You will always be examined on what’s in the syllabus, so familiarise yourself with this to ensure that you are fully prepared.
• Make the most of your resources - Your teachers are there to help and assist you.
• A good strategy is to practice writing essays and answering questions.Make sure you get feedback so you can improve.
• The Internet and Library are essential resources for your sucess. Maximise your use of resources and you will succeed.
• Create a study environment with limited distractions. Have good lighting, fresh air and folders to organise your notes.
• Discover your learning style - Find the best method of learning that suits you. Some people are visual learners, auditory learners or kinaesthetic learners). Once you know your learning style, master it and save yourself time.
• Practice! Practice! Practice! - This will not only get you familiar with exam papers and content but will also improve your writing skills. Practice under exam conditions - time yourself and start your practice exam. This will train you to answer questions under a time limit without any help so that you have a fair idea of how you will go in your exam.
• Use memory tools for complex lists - A good way of breaking things down is by using tools such as:

                • Acrostics (eg - Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit)

                • Acronyms (eg - ROYGBIV (colours of rainbow))

                • Tree Diagrams

                • Visual Associations and Humour

                • First Letters of List of Points - This is useful as it keeps your memory flowing.

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• You need to be passionate about your subject to excel in that field in the future

HSC Science Tips

• Knowing the syllabus is critical.Often HSC Science exam questions are simply syllabus dot points re-worded!

• Write your own study notes. Use the syllabus to guide you through your study.

• Practice, practice, practice. But be wary –some textbook questions extend way beyond the syllabus requirements so should only be used as challenge questions

• Be ready to link syllabus points together –HSC Science exams are now leaning towards asking questions that link different ideas from different modules. So do not separate modules in your head; understand that everything is part of a bigger picture.

• Know your pracs by thoroughly studying the right-hand column of your syllabus! Students often forget to revise their pracs, focusing more on theory and content. But many of the questions in the HSC are actually based on first and second hand investigations

• Revise your science basic skills like report writing, drawing and interpreting graphs and general comprehension skills. Almost every single Science exam assumes your knowledge of such skills.

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