Hey guys, here is my first article for the month of September. This article relates to the school holidays and how to start exam preparation (this was going to be my next article, but that will not be out until the middle of the holidays, so it would be a tad redundant).
Firstly, the exam is at 11:45 am on Friday November 16, so for many of you, this will be your final exam. However, it is pivotal that you remain focused and motivated until, “pens down,” in your final exam. If you do not know when your exams are, the timetable can be found here: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/timetable.aspx.
Next, I would like to discuss the upcoming school holidays. The term 3-4 school holidays are a bit different to the other school holidays. These school holidays will be more demanding in terms of the work that you should be doing as the exams are around the corner. Rather than a chance to take a few days off and take a break, these holidays are more of an opportunity to start with practice exams and finalise revision of the year’s work. Over this, “break,” you will need to work significantly harder than in previous holidays and use the time to your advantage to make sure you are as prepared as possible for November 16 (and your other exams too). However, you also need to manage your workload to ensure that you do not burn yourself out completely.
Additionally, most schools also run trial exams during these holidays. These exams are a terrific opportunity for you to sit an exam under exam conditions and to give you a feeling of what the exam room will feel like come November. As well as a simulation of exam conditions, which helps your mental preparation, the ability to find out where gaps may lie in your knowledge or skill may lie. For that reason, I did minimal, but by no means zero, study for them. For English Language more specifically, it is also a very good opportunity to test your time management skills with a completely foreign paper (which the exam will be) as the English Language exam is not an easy one to finish. I will do a full article just on the English Language exam soon.
I would also like to briefly discuss exam preparation. Preparation for your end of year exam is a very personal thing and the way that you feel most comfortable preparing will most likely be different to your friends. However, practice exams are probably the most important part of your preparation as they help you to refine your knowledge and skills, especially under timed conditions. For English Language, practice exams are particularly useful for essays as they enable you to see the types of questions that you could receive in the exam, as well as helping you to write under timed conditions.
Anyway, I hope this article has helped you and I will have another one in a couple of weeks.
If you loved this article, you will LOVE all of our other articles, such as: How To Take Notes To Maximise Success, 2U Maths Tips from a Past Student (98 in 2U Maths)! and Tips on Studying for Exams – Learnmate Tutoring.
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