Balancing your study time

Not all HSC subjects were created equal… So why do we keep studying like they are?

If you’re wondering why you keep bombing your English assessments but always get a good mark for Bio, even though you spend the same time on each subject, you’re probably falling victim to the trap that is ‘equal study.’

Myth #1: More study = more marks

So the first myth to bust in this article is that more time spent equals better marks. The curve towards better marks looks more like this:

To move from a 50 to a 60 requires a bit more effort, but to move from a 90 to a 100 requires a whole lot of effort. Think about it, getting some basic skills that will improve you a lot is not so hard but perfecting something takes forever! But we’ll come back to this.

Myth #2: Study for each subject equally

It seems to make sense at first, each subject is worth the same why wouldn’t I study for it the same? Sure, ok but let's look at an example.

Let’s say you’re a naturally talented science student and you love maths and science – but you’re not too great at essay subjects.

You’ve picked Modern History, Legal Studies, English Advanced, 2U Maths and Chemistry as your subjects. You always do the same amount of study for each subject.

So when exams come around, because you’re a machine at Chem and Maths you get a 95 for each of those in trials. But for Modern, Legal and English you get 75. So just for a guide, I’ve put these marks into an ATAR calculator. Your ATAR so far is 82.85. You’re probably pretty happy with that, I mean you got 95 for Chem and Maths that’s pretty sweet.

But let’s go back and say you know you’re bad at essays. So instead of doing equal study, you smash out heaps of essays for your weaker 3 subjects, and leave less time for Chem and Maths. No extra study time overall, you just use that time for different things.

So let's say for the extra work you did, you bump those 75s up to 85s. Remember my chart? It’s a lot easier to spend a little more time and bump a 75 to an 85!

But let's say your Chem and Maths marks drop to 90. But it’s not a massive loss because you can’t just magically forget all the stuff you learnt for the last exams, you’re still naturally talented for those two subjects. The drop sucks, but let's check out your ATAR now.

Woah! It’s bumped up to 91.1!! That’s a jump of over 8 ATAR points!!

So how do you achieve that kind of bonus? Well it’s all about analysing your subjects and your marks in them.

Its different for each person, but here’s our basic guide:

1. Deal with the heartbreaker

Everyone has one heartbreaking subject that they never seem to be quite good enough at. If you’re like me, it’s probably English. The key in the HSC is not to let these subjects drag you down. Think about the curve, if you’re not doing so well in one subject your time is much better spent improving your weaknesses.

If I’m spending 8 hours a week and getting a 95 in Geography, it’s not going to hurt me too much to drop down to 5 hours and settle for a 90. Bumping English up from 3 hours to 6 hours is going to equal a major marks improvement! It can be as simple as just spending a few extra hours working out the perfect English essay to memorise, or practicing adapting that might make all the difference.

2. Don’t ditch your shining star

Just like everyone has a heartbreaker, you probably also have a subject you’re quietly pretty good at. Don’t ditch this subject in the name of improving, especially if you love the subject. Always prioritise your worst subject, but then make your shining star subject second! It’s not going to hurt to get a ripper mark you’re proud of – especially if you like the subject and it might count for bonus points or you need it for your degree. So like above, I wouldn’t completely ditch Geography entirely! Just make a little concession to boost your other marks!

3. Consider the nature of the subject

Let’s be real, as much as people can argue that PDHPE still takes as long as English Advanced, once you get into the nitty gritty of each subject that’s just not true. Sure it takes a while to learn the content and memorise your syllabus, but it’s nowhere near as much work as preparing for three Modules. Some subjects are easier, have less content or shorter exams than others. For example spending hours memorising maths formulas is nowhere near as effective as doing past papers. Not everything is equal. Make sure you know what type of study each subject needs before you go about doing it.

4. Skill up!

If you’re not one of those people with a particular stand out or bad subject, or if you are but the rest of your subjects in the middle are average the best thing you can do is to focus on skilling up. Usually if your not strong at a subject it’s because you’re battling with a certain skill. That skill normally comes up in a number of different subjects.

For example if you’re bad at essay writing, then you’re likely to be not awesome at History, English or Legal Studies where there is a lot of essay writing. On the other hand, if equations are freaking you out, that’s probably affecting your Chem and Physics, not just your Maths.

The point is, you should be ‘skilling up’ on your lack of skills not necessarily the specifics of each subject. E.g. if you’re lacking essay writing skills, studying Hamlet in more detail isn’t going to help you as much as fixing your sentence structures. This way you can make improvements across many subjects at once.

So now that you know that you need to change up the amount of time you study, make a list of your subjects and have a real think about your marks and how much time you need. Once you’ve done that, order them by priority, go from there when you’re making your study timetable and you’re one step closer to boosting your ATAR!