Should I share study notes?

It doesn’t seem like the biggest deal but now that PIP surveys are done, requests for notes are like one of the top three posts in the 2017 HSC Discussion facebook group 🤔 🤔 🤔 … apparently. So we thought it’s time to open that can of worms and really look into the pros and cons of sharing and borrowing notes. Before you hit send on that file or that cry for help, here are the three big things to consider about note sharing:

1. Collaboration is good

If you are asking ‘Should I share notes?’, the basic answer is yes. Working with your classmates is absolutely worth the time and effort for three big reasons.

• You aren’t competing against them as much any more

Before Trials, your assessments were all about sorting your class into a rank which basically meant you were in direct competition with the others. Obviously, you're still technically competing against each other but it’s completely statewide now which means you don’t need to be as concerned about the people in your class.

• You can learn a lot from other students

It’s really helpful to work with others because they can give you tips, information and resources that you just wouldn’t have come up with on your own. Your classmates are seriously nearly as much of an asset as your teachers.

• The better your classmates do, the better your assessment mark

Not only are you not directly competing against your class, you assessment marks actually depend on how well your whole class does in the HSC exams. That basically means you want your class to do well to give yourself a better chance of having a great assessment mark. Check out that logic here.

2. Borrowing notes can cut off one of the best study methods

Now, while we’re all for working together, it’s worth pointing out that sharing notes is not always the best option. See, if you borrow notes from someone else, you might be saving yourself the time and effort of writing them but unfortunately… that’s one of the best ways to understand and memorise the information. See, writing great notes is this big, huge process of sussing out the information from your textbook, your class notes, our videos etc, and making sense of it in your mind. Now that's good quality study 💯 .

So a great option might be to write your own set of notes and compare it with a friends to see if you missed anything or if they had made some amazing connection you hadn’t seen yet. Share and compare away, just don’t forget how note-writing can be a super effective means of quality study.

3. There are more effective ways to collaborate

So you might want to share/borrow notes to save time but if you’re trying to capitalise on other people’s smartness then you’re on the right path 👌 . In fact, there are actually even better ways to take advantage of the smart people around you.

Notes are great for the actual content - for just memorising the things you need to know. But the HSC tests more than that. Those wizards at NESA want to see how well you understand the complex ideas, whether you can apply what you learn and whether you can come up with an original perspective. That’s all the higher order stuff that will push you to top marks and high bands.

So, this is where classmates can come in handy. Sharing external resources, class discussions, Q&A sessions and constructive conversations are all means to developing arguments and deepening your understanding. That’s how you can really take advantage of all the smart people around you 🙌 .

Remember

Time to completely throw away all those selfish, competitive feelings. Start working with your class and if that means sharing notes, then go for it. Just remember that even though there isn’t a massive issue in sharing notes (as long as you don’t blatantly plagiarise someone else’s whole answer), it’s not really the best way to collaborate and TBH, it can actually cut you off from a seriously effective way of studying. Share away but be smart about it 👀 .