How to Prepare for HSC English Trial Exams

1The final sprint before trials

Trials are fast approaching in Term 3 week 3 so what do you need to do in the final sprint before these exams?

2Finalise your Common Module, Mod A & B essays

First of all, finalise all of your Common Module, Mod A and B essays, ensure that you have cut them down so that you can comfortably write them under exam while inserting keywords of the question. See this earlier blog post on how exactly you should answer the exam question.

3Prepare a creative, discursive and reflection for Mod C

For Mod C, ideally you would prepare a full creative and discursive along with a reflection for each. Plan out how much you'd write if the question is asking for a 20 mark creative/discursive and how much you'd write if the question is asking for a 10 mark or 12 mark creative/discursive and 9-10 mark reflection. The question can specify a specific text type so make sure you've got both a creative and discursive prepared. Ideally you'd have a persuasive prepared as well or you can convert your discursive into a persuasive on exam day if they do specify a persuasive.

4Practice short answer papers to a 45-minute limit

Practice short answer exams until you are confident that you can finish the unseen text exam under 45 minutes. Always think back to the keywords of the human experience syllabus description if you are stuck on a question in the short answers as often, it will link to some part of the syllabus.

5Do as many full-length practice papers as possible

Now you need to do as many full length practice papers as possible. At JP English for Term 3 weekly group lessons, we provide students with 6 full length mock trial papers so you can fine tune your exam technique. Additionally, we've got a separate HSC mock trial program which provides video lessons by state rankers to dissect what exactly you need to include for each module, along with 2 full length mock papers that get marked by our high achieving team.

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