Want to find out how you can turn your Chemistry marks around and ace your HSC Chemistry exams? Well, we’ve sat down with Henry who is living proof that it is possible to do so.
From scoring 28% in his end of Year 11 Chemistry exams to scoring 85% in the HSC exams and an overall mark of 83% in the subject (Band 5), he tells us what changes he made and how tutoring helped him!
Let’s take a closer look at how Henry improved his marks and aced his HSC Chemistry exams!
Tip #1: Reorganise Your Schedule
Tip #2: Relearning Content to Actually Understand It
Tip #3: Know When to Seek Help
Tip #4: You Have to Put in the Work if You Want to See Changes
Tip #5: Logging of Mistakes and Redoing Them
Tip #6: Preparing for HSC Chemistry Exams
Tip #1: Reorganise Your Schedule
Henry was disappointed with his end of Year 11 Chemistry exam results. It made him realise something big needed to change and part of that was his schedule.
Henry told us that it wasn’t until the start of Year 12 that he realised how much he could achieve in a day. “I really started to realise within myself, okay, I can actually do this much in a day if I focus and get it all done — I can do this,” he said.
Henry mentioned “focussing intensely in the moment” and “really diving into it” meant he was able to get a lot done during his study sessions.
Now, Henry had to work hard and spend time to improve his results while at the same time, squeezing in over 36 hours of rowing training.
So, as you can see, it is possible to turn your marks around and manage your commitments!
Tip #2: Relearning Content to Actually Understand It
The content you learn in Year 11 is assumed knowledge for Year 12 and you can be tested on that knowledge in the HSC! So, it’s really important that you go back and continue to revise that content.
The other important part is that you actually need to understand the content which might mean you have to fully relearn it.
That was the case for Henry who was not only disappointed with his Year 11 result but also didn’t understand a lot of what he had actually been taught in Year 11 which made Year 12 even more challenging.
“If you don’t go back, and if you don’t learn it, then it will come back to bite you no matter what,” Henry told us. “I think it does take the person personally looking at themselves and going — okay, no, I didn’t understand that I need to go back, I need to refocus, I need to get help for that, and relearn that,” he added.
Henry knows it can be daunting to admit that you don’t understand something from Year 11 in the middle of Year 12, however, he told us that “having those painful moments where you have to go back and relearn them is 100% worth it in the end”.
Imagine how good you’ll feel if that question comes up in the exam which you practised and practised because it used to be something you found hard and now you can answer it with confidence (actually understand it!)?!
It does pay off and Henry knows it, “There are definitely questions that came up in the HSC and I’m looking at it laughing because I’ve made mistakes on this type of question so many times, but I’ve done it 10 times and I’ve redone it so that now I’m good for it.“
Struggling with Module 5? Check out our study guide for HSC Equilibrium and Acid Reactions to improve your notes!
You can also find the other module guides below:
Tip #3: Know When to Seek Help
At the end of Year 11, Henry signed up for Chemistry tutoring because he knew he needed some extra support with getting back on track and understanding the content.
Henry said his Chemistry tutor, Adrian helped him so much.
“I said to him, my mark is terrible but I’m willing to put in the effort to relearn that throughout the whole of this year if you’re with me and he just committed 100% of the way and taught me everything,” Henry explained.
Henry attended both group and one on one sessions which really worked for him because the group sessions helped him stay on top of all the new Year 12 content and during the one on one sessions, he was able to revisit the Year 11 content he didn’t understand.
“Basically it was just redoing Year 11 in a sense, and we’d go back and be like, okay, we’re gonna learn this and then the next week we would do this and we filled the gaps slowly,” he said. Our experienced Chemistry tutors near you can provide the same support Henry received, don’t delay in reaching out for support!
Tip #4: You Have to Put in the Work if You Want to See Changes
As with most things in life, if you want to see improvements, you have to put the effort in. Henry had to work hard with Adrian to catch up to speed and actually understand the content he was relearning.
“Being late to the game in Chem, I was very much, okay, I need to put in this effort to really understand this so that I can move forward with other content and I think that was 100% the main part of me changing my mark — knowing it until I understood it, not until I did a certain amount of questions,” Henry said.
He told us that sometimes he would be working with Adrian on one part for 2-3 weeks because he couldn’t get his head around it even though he was putting in the hours.
Although he said “it was rewarding” when he finally got it, it was challenging for him to have those conversations about not understanding the content.
Henry knew that if he wanted to be at the same level as the other kids in his class, he had to do more work to get to their level.
“So if it means that I’ve got to do 10 more extra problems for a topic, or whatever it is, then I got to do 10 or 20 more questions for that topic — that’s just how it is for me, for me to get the same level of understanding as them,” he said.
Tip #5: Logging of Mistakes and Redoing Them
Henry used four different notebooks, one for each module where he recorded every question that he got wrong so he could keep a log of all his mistakes and learn from them.
Henry redid and redid the questions and if he got it wrong, he would take it to Adrian to get some extra help to understand how to answer the question.
We all know the saying: ‘you learn from your mistakes’ and that’s what Henry did!
Tip #6: Preparing for HSC Chemistry Exams
“I was doing a lot of Trial papers, and intensely going through those Trial papers, even if it’s a small multiple choice question that I thought I might know or even if it’s something small, where you say, oh, that was a silly error,” Henry said.
Be sure to check out this master list of all the Chemistry past papers and all our Chemistry Resources!
So good luck preparing for your HSC Chemistry Exams — make sure you’re doing lots of practice questions, revising the content regularly and learning from your mistakes.
Check out How to Study the Night Before Any HSC Exam to make sure you’re feeling prepared, calm and collected!
And that’s it!
That’s how Henry managed to turn around his marks and ace HSC Chemistry! In fact, it was a 57% mark turnaround — that’s pretty impressive!
“Going back over the content and redoing it and relearning it was what ultimately got me over the line in my marks because it was the accumulation of small little things,” Henry said.
So, don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes and really dig deep to actually understand the content so you can ace HSC Chemistry.
Looking for some extra help to ace HSC Chemistry?
We pride ourselves on our inspirational HSC Chemistry coaches and mentors!
We offer tutoring and mentoring for Years K-12 in a variety of subjects, with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or at one of our state of the art campuses in Hornsby or the Hills!
To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentor get in touch today!
Give us a ring on 1300 267 888, email us at [email protected] or check us out on TikTok!
Tanna Nankivell is a Senior Content Writer at Art of Smart Education and is currently in Germany completing a year of study for her double degree in Communications (Journalism) and Bachelor of Arts (International Studies). She has had articles published on Central News – the UTS Journalism Lab and wrote a feature piece for Time Out Sydney during her internship. Tanna has a love for travel and the great outdoors, you’ll either find her on the snowfields or in the ocean, teaching aqua aerobics or creating short films.
