My VCE exams in Year 11 were tough. Whether they were the mid-year or end-of-year exams, there’s so much study to do, so little time to do it and I wasn’t even shown how to study for exams.
Nevertheless, it’s important to use these exams as a learning experience for Year 12. Remember, the better you do now, the better you will be placed for getting a great ATAR!
I’ve put together 6 simple tips that will make year 11 exams a little easier, based on trends I’ve observed from 95+ ATAR students!
Step #1: Create a Study List
Step #2: Write Your Study NotesÂ
Step #3: Identify and focus on your weaknessesÂ
Step #4: Stay Calm
Step #5: Use Your Study Design
Step #6: Get a Study Buddy
Step #1: Create a Study List
I always thought staying organised was the biggest hack to VCE. Not many students seemed to do it. But for me, it made study so much simpler.
I’ve noticed that the best students start by listing everything they need to catch up on — no detail is too small! Write down all the tasks you need to tackle so you can clearly see what’s pending and what you’re falling behind on.
If you aren’t sure how to make a study list, our VCE study dashboards are a great example of how to do so!
Next, think about the specific goals you have for each subject. What do you want to accomplish?
Maybe you want to gain confidence in applying math equations, or you want to craft strong theses for each of your English modules. Whatever your goals are, ensure that your tasks are aligned with helping you reach them.
This is the crucial first step in planning your comeback and regaining control of your study.
Step #2: Write Your Study Notes
Ahhh, study notes. We love them, we hate them. For me, I knew that if I didn’t get on to starting my notes early, I’d be falling behind and struggling to compile them.
What we really should be doing, is compiling constant study notes throughout the year.
Tip: It’s best to constantly work on your study notes and do dot point summaries after every school day on what you’ve covered.
Want a structure for your notes, try go through each dot point of the study design and make notes on them!
Writing your own study notes means that you are processing information and learning content, which will make your memory recall better when you have to study!
I know some people can’t seem to get around to it, or they just don’t understand how to properly write notes and/or study! What I’ve done in the past, is download other people’s study notes.
In doing this, it gives me a completely different perspective on the same content being studied. I believe that it is always good to gain a different idea, as you may understand something in another persons words.
Just work out what is best for you, whether that be writing your own notes, having someone else’s or both – and find your groove!
Flashcards
They’re a blessing in disguise! A really good way to quickly cover all the content for your VCE exams.
Compile a set of flashcards for each topic of each subject to accompany your study notes. Take those cards everywhere with you!
Please note that flashcards don’t work for every subject. For example, you’d be better off practicing problems in a subject like maths.
You have no idea how handy they can be in the strangest of places. Waiting at the doctors? Bring out the flashcards. Waiting at the bus station? Bring out the flashcards. At a boring party? Bring out the flashcards!
Flashcards are an extremely handy and easy way to refresh your knowledge.
Some people learn best socially, which is an excellent use for the flashcards. Some people also learn better with pictures and images, so illustrate your flashcards and notes with images that will make you remember the content.
Everybody learns differently, so it’s important that you soon find what best works for you.
Typing notes
Typing your notes can save a lot of time and often be more effective than handwriting notes!
When you’re in class trying to take notes, you won’t even have to worry about how fast your teacher might be going through the content because you’ll be able to type it all down rather than writing it!
Typed notes are also much easier to keep organised and can be constantly edited. You can create a new set of notes per topic but keep them all in one document.
It also gives you the option of printing them out later as you have a digital copy – there’s always the risk of losing your notes if you’ve only got one set of handwritten notes!
Once you print out your notes you can still write over them, highlight them, underline them or whatever works for you to study.
Hand writing notes can be an effective way of understanding complex material, your brain has to think a lot more when hand writing, which helps you learn!
Step #3: Identify and focus on your weaknessesÂ
When studying for your Year 11 Exams, don’t just stick with a linear approach!
I get it, generally our first step when studying for exams is to go back to topic one, and start revising through all of your topics in order. One, by one, by one.Â
Honestly, this can actually be a huge waste of time.
This is because you might go back to topic one and actually discover that you know it really, really well, and yet because you’re doing this linear approach, you spend more time on it than necessary.Â
Think about it, you could’ve spent that time learning a really difficult topic instead.
So, it’s really critical that you identify topics you aren’t so great with and essentially hone in on these within your study.
When you get your Year 11 Exams, you’ll be ready for these once difficult topics, as you’ve spent lots of time trying to understand them!
So how do you identify the difficult topics? It’s really simple. When you get that end of Year 11 exam notification, go through and examine what topics are going to be tested.
Once you’ve gone through that, I want you to identify within those topics which ones you are worst at. These should be your focus points.
So ask yourself, if I got this in the exam next week, how would I go? Would I do really awesome, or would I really struggle?
If you’d find yourself struggling, you need to identify why and tackle those specific problems head on.
Step #4: Stay Calm
If you’re a person that completely stresses yourself out over exams, I understand! VCE exams are an extremely stressful time, and make us feel a whole range of emotions.
However, don’t let those emotions consume you! Feel for a little bit, accept it, and move forward. If you begin to let your emotions consume you, you will find yourself stuck in a negative cycle that will be hard to come back from.
Mid year exams are only a small percentage of your overall grade. So, if you find you didn’t go as well as you had hoped, that doesn’t matter!
Remember, health comes first. Get a good sleep, eat well and exercise. Look after yourself!
You are in control of your study, your homework, your efforts, everything. You control the effort you put into this set of VCE exams.
Step #5: Use Your Study Design
For all subjects, exam questions come directly from the study design. You’ll want to be looking at each dot point of the areas of study that will be in your exam. This is the best indicator of what you will need to know and be tested on!
The study design isn’t only useful for study, it’s incredibly useful for ensuring you’re on track and up to date. You can simply tick or highlight a syllabus dot point once you’ve covered it in class.
If you or the teacher start to fall behind in class and you miss a dot point, you’ll notice it if you’re using the study design.
Many of my teachers make us highlight whenever we have completed a dot point, just to make sure we have it covered. Do this yourself during class.
Step #6: Get a Study Buddy
Reach out to a friend or find a study buddy—someone who can help keep you accountable!
Staying motivated can be tough, especially when the to-do list feels overwhelming. Having someone by your side to tackle tasks together can make a big difference in staying on track.
When I was in Year 12, I couldn’t stand VCE English. So every week I sat down and studied with a friend of mine who also didn’t enjoy it but still wanted to do well.
Together, we managed to get 45+ study scores in VCE English, so it went alright!
Studying with friends or classmates can make it easier to study, learn difficult subjects or just improve your wellbeing!
Your accountability partner could be someone in a similar situation, working to catch up like you, or even a friend who’s studying the same subjects.
Share your catch-up list with them and discuss what you each want to accomplish that day or week. Whether you study together or independently at home, consider sharing a photo when you check off a task—seeing progress and celebrating small wins can be incredibly motivating!
The Bottom Line
Just do your best. These are your first set of proper VCE exams, it’s ok to not do as well as you want on your first go.
It is important to note that mid year exams don’t even contribute to your ATAR, so they can always be used as a learning experience.
If you don’t get the results you want, make sure to reflect on what went well, what didn’t and try work on them for next time. These exams are a great rehearsal for Year 12, so make the most of them!
Are you looking for some extra help with your Year 11 exams?
We have an incredible team of tutors and mentors!
We can help you master your study designs by taking you through each dot point of every area of study. We’ll also help you ace your upcoming assessments with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or online!
We’ve supported over 8,000 students over the last 11 years, and on average our students score mark improvements of over 20%!
To find out more and get started with an inspirational English tutor and mentor, get in touch today or give us a ring on 1300 267 888!
Max Huyton is the VIC Growth Marketer for Art of Smart and a Laws and Commerce student at Monash University. In his other life, Max spends his time reading and writing whenever he gets the chance and cooking extremely mediocre dishes for friends and family.
