How Simone Went from Failing Essays to a 32% Improvement in HSC Economics
⭐ 32% Mark Improvement in HSC Economics
Simone went from almost failing her first Year 12 assessment to a high Band 5 result in the final HSC exam.
✍️ Developed Essay Writing Skills for Assessments
Simone worked with her tutor to master the fundamentals of essay writing for the Economics course.
🎓Entry to B. Commerce/B. Engineering at UNSW
Simone’s hard work earned her an offer to her dream course, where she decided to continue studying in the field of business!
The Challenge
Simone had never been a fan of writing essays, so she wasn’t surprised to receive a 55% in her first Year 12 Economics assessment. Because of this mark, she was ranked 24th out of 25 students. Simone wasn’t sure it was worth keeping Economics as one of her HSC units. Because she believed that essay writing wasn’t her strong suit, she hadn’t been putting her best efforts into improving her marks. Simone decided to give it another go for her second assessment and reached out to Art of Smart for help!
At the beginning of Economics, Year 11 didn’t go as well as I thought I would. It was a new year and I thought I’d try my hardest. First assessment rolled around and it was two essays. Essays aren’t my strong suit.
Key Problems
😕 Simone hadn’t been taught the tips and tricks on how to write a proper Economics essay
📖 Simone was summarising the textbook to study instead of actively engaging with her notes
🚨 Simone wasn’t doing regular writing practise each week which meant that it was harder for her to improve
Our Approach
Simone joined our HSC Economics Success Program with Art of Smart to improve from her last assessment mark. As other students asked questions in the small group sessions, Simone was able to reflect on her understanding of concepts. Her tutor encouraged regular writing practise and gave feedback on each paragraph she submitted. Simone also started to improve the quality of her study notes. Instead of reading the textbook, she wrote within it to engage with the content.
Her tutor provided sample exam questions and essay prompts for her to practise with. Having a set time to come in and study Economics helped Simone stay accountable and she ended up making many friends!
Focus
- Essay writing
- Avoiding procrastination
- Identifying gaps in understanding
- Studying smarter
Strategies
- Feedback loop with tutor
- Weekly tutoring session
- Collaborative learning with peers
- Annotating textbook
Feedback Loop with Tutor
Weekly Tutoring Session
Collaborative Learning with Peers
Annotating Textbook
The Result
Simone’s hard work earned her an incredible 87% HSC result for Economics. By committing to a weekly group session, she could bounce ideas off her peers and get regular feedback from her tutor.
Because of this result, Simone was able to receive an offer to her dream course at the University of New South Wales in Commerce and Engineering!
32%
Increase in Economics results
Band 5
Final HSC result
25%
Average increase in marks through class tutoring
9/10
Student rating for whether their teacher is approachable and friendly
With Art of Smart, Simone saw a 32% improvement in HSC Economics
In the classes, if there were any questions that I didn’t understand as well as concepts that I didn’t understand or had only heard about once in class, it was good to get clarity on those things. There was also a lot of collaborative learning and bouncing off another, that was really helpful.
Check Out More Success Stories
-
Clara Atkin
63% Improvement in Economics
🏫 Cheltenham Girls High School
🎉 Achieved 93.15 ATAR
💡 Received Entry to B. Communications/B. CII at UTS
-
Abbey-Rose Coules
30% Improvement in English
🏫 Mount St Benedict College
💪 Overcame Procrastination
🎓 Received Entry to B. Science/B. Advanced Studies at USYD
-
Daniel Shi
Learned to Manage Procrastination
🏫 NBSC Manly Campus
🧘♂️ Overcame Procrastinative Tendencies
🔍 Discovered Opportunities For After School
Helping high school students thrive since 2009
We know school isn’t just about getting the grades, it’s about staying happy, healthy and answering the difficult question, “What am I going to do with my life when I finish school, and how do I get there?”