Year 12 Methods

Last updated Aug 6, 2023 Edit Source

Please see the Mascochism Tango by Tom Lehrer for further information.

In this page, there will be prep material for every single test, investigation and exam I took in 2023. They will be organised as follows

1. A PDF summary on the content in question for investigation/exam.
   • Explained with aid of examples from past papers/exams.
   • Breakdowns of question-types and how to approach various types.
2. Past Papers
   • List of past papers to try. (Hope you kept your hastily downloaded copy of WACE dungeon.)
   • Common errors in the topic, and how to avoid them.
   • SCSA MARKING KEY BEHAVIOURS
3. Original Past Papers (written by Yours Truly)
   • Complete with SCSA-like marking key behaviours.

I know your time is short, so here is brief advice for ATMAM in general. In each test-section, I cover the common errors in greater depth, and how to avoid them. However, in general I’d like to stress some rather large pointers.

1. READ!

   • Yes, I know. It’s very common to go,

   Oh I just made some silly reading mistakes. Can’t be helped.

   It sorta can be helped (ish). First underline key info. Don’t be complacent and skim read. If you note down common things you misread, you can get better at avoiding them.

2. Marking Key Behaviours

   • Marking Key behaviours become very, very strict in Year 12. In particular, PMOD uses SCSA Marking Key so you must study WACE 2022-style questions, and note their behaviours. Non-optional.
   • Style of Questions: SCSA tries to standardise the kind of questions they will put in their assessments. Mr White happily follows these styles. Know the MKB of each style of question.

3. Final touches - We often screw up at the very last details.

   • The most most common of these are forgetting units, getting wrong units. or the dreaded +C
     • Advice: Write a massive U on a question with units, and highlight/underline the unit needed. The 2nd bit is equally important. m/s or cm/s makes a big difference.

4. Dealing with your calculator - Classpad Tips

   • Rule 1 of 1

   Your classpad is more useful than you think

   • Stage 1: Proficiency in Classpad functions. See Charlie Watson’s excellent website to get started.
   • Stage 2: eActivity bonanza. We can automate many styles of questions that appear in WACE. See each test-section, which has a tutorial for a new Classpad e-activity that I personally used for that test/investigation.

5. Efficiency

   • Time pressure can become a deciding factor. Investigation 2 of 2023 was a good example.
   • Stage 1: Working Out. When you understand the marking key behaviours you can get the exact right amount of working out to earn full marks. Moreover, when you grasp the style of question - which I hope each summary helps achieve - you can get straight to writing.
   • Stage 2: Calculator Use. Become familliar with using your Classpad whenever doing a calculator assumed test, and if using eActivities, get to know them well, well before the exam.

6. Study Habits

   • In general, I’d recommend finishing off a topic 2-3 weeks before it is covered in class. That way, you can get right onto doing past-papers.
     • Don’t need to put off doing papers if you don’t feel 100% confident.
     • Tip: Sacrifice one practice paper to look through questions and marking key behaviours carefully.
   • When you do past papers, don’t just note down your score and move on. I recommend compiling an errors sheet with all of your errors per paper. If notes are allowed, then stick it on your notes.
   • Don’t write lengthy notes with just test content…it’s not an effective strategy.
     • Exams allow 2 double-sided pages of notes. You should have the content so familliar from past papers that at least one double-sided page should just be errors/questions you struggled with or marking key behaviours from past exams. If you have a notes page, write down definitions and maybe the most key formulae only.

The files in each summary section is not necessarily up to date. I am continually working and reviewing the content. I write my work on Overleaf, and upload the PDFs here, but it takes time. If you want to see the latest version, go onto this link, where all the summaries are being compiled into a “textbook-like” document.

You will need an overleaf account.

By the time I have finished creating all these summaries, original past papers and advice I think I’ll have close to a book. Hopefully I’ll get to publish one?