Huge rewards for new-found love of literature
Receiving awards for his skills in mathematics and science characterised Jordan (Khang) Ho’s high school years.
Yet the North Sydney Boys High School student, whose parents only speak Vietnamese at home, wasn’t expecting to come first in English Advanced last year.
“Something changed in the latter half of high school and I was able to appreciate texts more,” Ho said.
Former North Sydney Boys student Jordan Ho achieved an ATAR of 99.95 and is now studying medicine at the University of NSW.Credit: Kate Geraghty
While accustomed to the “practise, practise” nature of maths and science study, English presented different challenges.
“Think about the exam as an argument. Make sure you build up your points and perspectives, develop your argument and frame it as that. It is not just about practising an equation,” he said.
“Make sure you get feedback from your teachers and peers to get different perspectives on your work.”
Ho encouraged students to remember that good writing skills are valuable in every career.
Now studying medicine at UNSW with plans to go into a specialty area, he said students do best when they keep an end goal in sight.
“Having a clear view of what your goals are gives strong motivation to push through times when you are questioning yourself and teetering on the edge of burn out,” Ho said.
“Dream big because even if you don’t get there, it means you will still perform well.”
Ho’s tips for HSC English Advanced
Be surrounded by supporters: “Surround yourself with friends and people who you feel you can really relax around outside of study.”
Find your own voice: “Express your own opinion, get involved and motivated, not just because the teacher is telling you what to do but because you want to.”
Make your argument clear: “Don’t hyper-focus on critical theories and convoluted concepts. Try to write with clarity and purpose.”
Bump star kept her aim in the frame
Safia Arain can’t actually remember the exact ATAR she achieved in her HSC – which was “over 90”.
But as the popular Bump and House of Gods actor said: “That goes to show, sometimes the number is not that important.”
English Advanced was Safia Arain’s favourite HSC subject.
Remembering Year 12 at Pymble Ladies’ College, Arain recalled a fun year which almost passed too quickly: “It’s the year of ‘the lasts’ – last school classes, last assemblies – so it’s exciting.”
Despite having her eyes set firmly on acting, English Advanced was Arain’s favourite HSC subject.
“Understanding a text was really key to me as an actor. Having that base understanding of how rich a text can be, that’s really cool,” she said.
Arain in House of Gods.
Success as an actor is now well established for Arain, but not before many knock-backs from drama schools. Following a gap year travelling and working overseas, came an opportunity which “felt really right” – to undertake the Advanced Diploma of Screen Acting at Screenwise.
“My parents definitely wanted me to go to uni and do acting on the side because that rationally makes a bit more sense. But it was my life and I trusted myself and my own journey,” she said.
For the HSC Class of 2024, Arain stressed the importance of keeping things in perspective.
“At school I just worried about what was within my control and doing that to the best of my ability,” she said. “Only control what you can control and just enjoy the year! Why shouldn’t it be the best year ever?”
Arain’s tips for HSC English Advanced
Memorise concepts: “I was not going to pre-write essays and memorise them. I thought it was smarter to do one hour of productive work rather than five. So I memorised the concepts, so I could flesh them out and remembered the best quotes, so I could apply them to the exam question on the day.”
Consider modern-day relevance of texts: “We studied The Crucible, Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet and I loved looking at the concepts and asking how relevant they are today and finding those links. I connect to the characters in stories, so I was really interested in what the ideas were – considering how relevant they are today.”
Keep your end goal in sight: “These big study years can be really daunting and scary and I don’t think students need to buy into that. It’s not actually helpful or productive. I had no idea the path I would take but I always knew that acting was where I wanted to end up. I just visualised my end goal and the pathway just naturally appeared.”
HSC marker advice: English Standard
Lucinda Macdonald, English teacher, Canobolas Rural Technology High School
English is a subject that can help all students develop their understanding of key issues and effectively express their thoughts and feelings, through written and spoken language.
I love teaching English Standard as it enables students to engage deeply with texts, concepts and ideas, that help them to think about the world they live in and their place in it. A lovely aspect of the current Stage 6 syllabus is the strong emphasis on student voice, which extends into the HSC exams.
Lucinda Macdonald says it’s important to practise answers under exam conditions.
My advice is to practise responses under exam conditions as much as possible and seek feedback from peers and teachers to refine your writing and approach. This will enable you to be agile in responding to different questions during the real thing.
A HSC marker’s top dos and don’ts
- Actively respond to the question. Use the key terms in the question and deliberately apply the verb to guide your response.
- Use your unique voice to guide your response and to showcase your personal engagement with the text. Use your informed opinions and perspectives and let these shine through in your critical and creative compositions.
- Integrate analysis of the text in terms of its structural features and language devices in your response and support your assertions with evidence from the text.
- Don’t write a response about your text that appears to be generic or says what you know without addressing the question. Instead answer the question that is asked.
- Don’t provide a generalised retelling of the text. By analysing the text in your answer you will answer the question and not just retell the story.