BlogStudyAzhar’s Top Three Tips for HSC Note-Taking!

Azhar’s Top Three Tips for HSC Note-Taking!

Not keeping up with your HSC note-taking? Thinking notes won’t be too useful?

Maybe it’s time to change your thinking and Azhar is here to help.

Read on to find out all the tips and tricks she acquired through the Pathfinder program!

Meet Azhar!
Tip #1: Keep up with your HSC note-taking
Tip #2: Structure your HSC notes according to syllabus dot points
Tip #3: Finish writing your notes before Trials and the HSC

Meet Azhar!

Azhar Hamied

  • Azhar graduated in 2020 from Amity College, Auburn
  • She was one of 70 fantastic NSW Pathfinders in 2020
  • Azhar is currently studying a Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Cognitive Science (Honours) at Macquarie University which she received early entry into!

Tip #1: Keep up with your HSC note-taking

You’ve probably heard it before but… you should really get started on your notes.

Azhar knows firsthand just how helpful your notes can be. 

As an impromptu experiment, if you will, she had kept on top of her notes for Biology and Studies of Religion while falling behind in other subjects.

Can you guess what she did best in?

She attributes her success to her consistency with her note-taking. By actively recalling her content after class, Azhar had remembered it way easier!

Short term pain for long term gains guys.

While simply keeping up with your notes week by week can be difficult, consider doing your notes before the week begins. By doing this, you’re able to direct all your energy in class into simply learning and digesting your teacher’s information.

As a result, you can note down areas you find confusing beforehand and get instant clarification during class time rather than having to bring it up later.

Wanna explore some ways to take notes? Check out our video below and other methods here!

Tip #2: Structure your HSC notes according to syllabus dot points

Guess who your best friend in the HSC is? Surprise, surprise it’s the syllabus!

Azhar had previously made notes but didn’t exactly have a clear structure so she wasn’t getting the results she wanted.

Her mentor, Sarah, consequently introduced the idea of the syllabus as a structure for her notes!

Within the syllabus, there are two main parts — outcomes and then content.

Under content, are the headings ‘students learn about’ and ‘students learn to’. In your notes, they serve two different purposes!

Generally, students are focusing on the ‘students learn about’ section and this is a great way to structure your notes.

You can only be tested on what’s in the syllabus so if your teacher brings up something totally random — don’t worry.

To ensure that you’re noting down relevant content, turn those dot points into your note headings.

If you’re not finding any info for one, seek some out! Better to be safe than sorry.

The Pathfinder program also gave Azhar access to several intensives over the year that helped her manage her time to ensure she made room for study and do it effectively!

Now, this is when the dot points under outcomes and ‘students learn to’ come in for HSC note-taking.

Maybe you haven’t looked at them before, but the best students do. 

As much as the HSC is about what you’ve learned, it tests how well you’ve learned the way NESA wants you to and luckily they tell us this!

Azhar’s mentor, Sarah told her to turn her syllabus dot points into questions.

While turning the dot points under students learn about is a good exercise, the outcomes and ‘students learn to’ dot points will provide verbs that indicate how much you need to know about them.

Taken directly from the Business Studies syllabus under outcomes, you have an instant practice question!

Business Studies Outcome

By doing this, Azhar was able to identify whether she actually remembered what she was writing down and really understood it.

If you catch yourself unable to answer a question — that’s totally fine! 

Making mistakes is a great way to learn (you actually remember things better this way!) and it’s even better when they don’t count!

Tip #3: Finish writing your notes before Trials and the HSC

Here’s a hot tip. Don’t plan to write notes during Trials and the HSC.

By this time, your focus should be on exam techniques and figuring out how to structure your answers.

It’s easy to plan out 10 hour study days for ourselves but actions speak louder than words.

Wondering how you should be studying during Trials? Check out our guide here!

We’re all human beings who need rest and frankly weren’t made for super long grinds at the library.

The HSC is a stressful time so be kind to yourself. If you need some stress management tips — we’ve got you covered here. 

While notes are great to refer to, spending time writing them when you could be studying them is not the most effective way to get the content drilled into your head.

Azhar’s consistent work over the year helped ease the load as the HSC drew near with content stuck in her long term, instead of short term memory!

Remember by this time you would’ve already spent almost a year learning — you know more than you think.

And those were Azhar’s top three tips for HSC note-taking!


Gabrielle Wong is currently the Digital Marketing Assistant at Art of Smart. She is a second year student at the University of Sydney studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies majoring in Media and Communications and Marketing.

 

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