So, you’ve just received your HSC trial results and you’re feeling disappointed with your marks?
While it can feel incredibly discouraging, rest assured that you still have time to turn your marks around and improve on your studying strategies ahead of the HSC.
In this video, Chloe discusses how she improved her HSC Modern History Trials result from 58% to an overall HSC mark of 86%. With an incredible 28% turn-around, Chloe’s new-found confidence in her abilities and incorporation of personalised study strategies saw her have a massive improvement in her results.
Stuck in a similar situation? Keep reading to find out how you can also turn-around your Trials marks!
Modern History at the Beginning of Year 12
Preparing for the HSC
Chloe’s 5 Tips for Improving Your HSC Modern History Marks
Modern History at the Beginning of Year 12
When Chloe received a 58% in her Modern History Trials, it came as a kick in the guts after she had put in so much effort into her preparation. As her favourite subject, Chloe had been sure that she would be fine and was shocked to see that her mark didn’t reflect her expectations.
Resisting the impulse to chuck her exam in the bin and never see it again, Chloe turned her attention to working towards improving her marks in time for HSC with the support of Jess, her Art of Smart tutor.
Preparing for the HSC
Rather than tackling this difficult challenge on her own, Chloe sought out the support of Jess by sending her the feedback from her Trials exams. Working together, the pair went through the feedback and broke down each section of the exam to see which areas went well and which areas needed improvement.
Instead of simply dwelling on areas of weakness, Chloe also made sure to pinpoint which parts she got right to help her bounce back from her mark and build up her confidence for her next exam!
Chloe’s 5 Tips for Improving Your HSC Modern History Marks
Tip #1: Try tutoring
Chloe worked with her Art of Smart tutor, Jess, during Year 12 for English and Modern History. By going through her feedback with Jess, Chloe was able to mark out what the key points of improvements were and how they could be implemented into her future essays.
To her surprise, Chloe learned that she didn’t have enough depth within her essays and worked with Jess to develop study techniques to incorporate more content into her notes.
As well as providing Chloe with lots of study tips and tricks, Jess and Chloe shared a passion for learning the Arab Israeli component!
Our Hills District Modern History Tutors can support you with tailored tutoring at our Castle Hills Campus, online or in your own home.
Tip #2: Refer to the syllabus
To effectively apply the feedback from her Trials exams, Chloe compared her exam responses with the Modern History syllabus to highlight which areas required additional work. Chloe was able to directly connect her performance with the syllabus to dot points to track which content needed further revision and ensure that there weren’t any missing gaps by the time she was ready to take her final HSC exams
Tip #3: Focus on areas of improvement
While acknowledging areas of strength is essential for boosting your confidence and sustaining your motivation, focussing on weaknesses during your lead-up to the HSC is essential to manage your time.
Rather than restarting all her content, Chloe created notes based on the areas that she didn’t feel confident in so she could focus on fixing those gaps. Chloe mentions that she hadn’t prepared enough for her Russian essay, so this technique helped to improve her knowledge and understanding of weak points!
Tip #4: Create palm cards
Chloe’s note-taking method of choice was to create palm cards that she could study from every week. Chloe would write an essay question at the front of the card, and write key dates, statistics, and people on the back.
While Chloe would study her palm cards individually in her spare time, palm cards are a great tool for visual and auditory learners, especially those who learn best when being quizzed by a friend or family member!
Tip #5: Make essay plans
Modern History is a very content heavy subject that requires a lot of essays, so practising past exams is a number one priority for any HSC student.
In the weeks leading up to the HSC, Chloe aimed to write one practice essay per week under time conditions with an open book, sending them to her Art of Smart tutor Jess for feedback. However, in the days before her exam, Chloe spent her time making essay plans to create a concise summary of the key points on one page.
Considering that students are recommended to spend 45 minutes per essay, essay plans are an excellent way to work through multiple different questions in a quick timespan. Chloe says that an essay plan took her around 5-10 minutes to complete, which means that you can be refreshed on the entirety of the Modern History syllabus before you know it!
Check out some of these practice questions for HSC Modern History: ‘Power and Authority in the Modern World’!
Looking for some extra help to ace HSC Modern History?
We pride ourselves on our inspirational HSC Modern History 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!
Ashley Sullivan is a Senior Content Writer for Art of Smart Education and is currently undertaking a double degree in Communications (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Laws at UTS. Ashley is an editor for UTS Vertigo. She is a film, fashion, and fiction enthusiast who enjoys learning about philosophy, psychology, and unsolved mysteries in her spare time.
