How to get the most out of your HSC past papers

As any past HSC® Exam student will know, some of the resources that are most crucial to HSC® Exam prep, such as the HSC® Exam past papers, can often be some of the most limited! If you haven’t already realised that problem, you surely will as you get closer and closer to your own exams. The Board of Studies is really stingy with the past exam paper releases: there are only a few available for each subject and with other factors such as syllabus changes and option topics in the mix, it may be that there are even fewer that will end up being useful to you. 

Here I’ve drawn onto my own HSC® Exam prep experience to offer you some tips on how to best take advantage of the scarcity of resources accessible so you can reap the most benefits! (Keep in mind that while using these techniques helped me get the most out of my learning, everyone works differently and it’s important to figure out the way you learn best early on in your studies.)

 

1. Don’t do the exam papers too early on
It might seem counter-intuitive to suggest putting off this part of your HSC® Exam preparation – but there’s a good reason! Doing the paper too early means that you’re going into it without a proper understanding of all the content – which is hopefully not how you’ll eventually sit for your final exams. Once you’ve learned and understood the majority, if not all of the content, you’ll be able to answer the questions to the best of your ability and won’t be tempted to refer to your notes to refresh your memory. By all means do a paper or two, or pick out some questions to do for revision, but I’ve found that if you’re planning on saving some of the papers to do in strict exam conditions (i.e. timed and without notes) it’s much more useful to already have a thorough grasp of the content. Which leads to…

 

2. Take the time and effort to do the papers in exam conditions
It’s often a good (and overlooked) idea to set yourself up as close to exam conditions as possible when practicing past papers. This means putting the notes away and getting into the zone, which will ultimately help you get used to the conditions and atmosphere of the exam hall on HSC® Exam day. 

 

3. Know your syllabus back to front
How does knowing the syllabus dot points help with exam papers? Understanding what the marker wants from a question is half the battle in the HSC® Exam – and you should definitely think about it before even considering formulating your response. It is not uncommon for students to lose marks in their exams, not because they don’t understand the content but because their response doesn’t address what the question is asking. HSC® Exam exam writers and markers tend to focus on one or two syllabus dot points when formulating and marking a question – but the particular dot point being assessed won’t always be evident. If you can recognise the syllabus dot point that the question targets, you are able to write an effective, tailored answer and also avoiding including irrelevant information that will not earn you any marks and only waste your exam time.This technique can be used when answering practice questions as well as in the HSC® Exam exam itself. It’s particularly useful with subjects such as Biology, Ancient History and PDHPE (among many others) where the syllabus is often quite specific and learning outcomes are clearly defined.