Traffic light approach brings science success
Despite having a natural curiosity and a “great teacher”, Zali Reynolds needed to apply some clever techniques to achieve top results in her HSC.
The 2023 Dux of the Central Coast’s Northlakes High School took a strategic approach to break down the syllabus – particularly for her two science courses – and focus on areas she didn’t understand.
Zali Reynolds receiving her excellence in science award.
“I chose Biology and Investigating Science for the HSC because I’m a really curious person and Science satisfied that. I also had a really great Science teacher, Mr Mason, who was like a role model,” she said.
“A really awesome resource that he gave us was a simple Word document with the syllabus content listed as dot points. He told us to read through each dot point and highlight it in green if you understand it, in yellow if you need more work on it or red if you completely don’t understand it.”
Reynolds identified areas where she struggled and tackled past exam papers to help her improve. To use her time well, she focused on long-answer questions at the end of the exams, then questions about topics she had highlighted yellow or red.
A proud Wiradjuri woman, Reynolds credits her success at school to staff of the Aboriginal engagement programs in both primary and high school. “Ever since then I’ve felt like I really wanted to do well,” she said.
A top tip from Reynolds is to watch videos of Biology teachers explaining topics from the syllabus that you’re struggling with.Credit: Janie Barrett
Now a Bachelor of Advanced Science student at Newcastle University with an interest in the field of medicine and health, Reynolds loves the broad-based science course that allows her to keep her options open.
Along with Maths Advanced and English Advanced, Reynolds completed a Certificate III Allied Health Assistance as part of her HSC and is using that qualification to support herself while at uni.
“I’m now employed as a fully-fledged allied health assistant at Wyong Hospital and working three days per week,” she said.
Reynolds was offered early entry to her course at Newcastle University but doesn’t believe this impacted her HSC preparation. “Honestly the early offer didn’t change how I studied at all because I had a goal to be Dux of the school, go to uni and hopefully become a doctor and that drove me to keep up the hard work.”
Reynolds’ tips for HSC Biology students
- “Watch videos of Biology teachers explaining topics from the syllabus that you’re struggling with.”
- “Use the past exam papers to practise the topics that you find difficult.”
- “Match your preparation to your goal.”
HSC marker advice: Biology
Marijke Verschuuren, science teacher, Coffs Harbour High School
Marijke Verschuuren.
Teaching Biology is exciting because it can unfold like a captivating story for students. Each biological process has a starting point leading to an end point, making it easy to follow and relevant. Understanding these processes is crucial for tackling the examination questions effectively.
Students may encounter stimulus material that they haven’t explicitly studied prior to the exam. For those questions, they will need to apply their knowledge of biological processes to the scenario, adapt this biological knowledge to the given scenario, and address the question’s key terms. Simply restating general processes is not sufficient when the question provides a specific example.
Mastering the skill of interpreting data and graphs is crucial because the Biology exam often includes multiple-choice and short answer questions which require students to analyse the data provided and effectively incorporate this into their answers. This is also a skill that moves beyond the Biology classroom into the real world.
To prepare for your exam it is valuable to complete several past papers and to compare your answers with the sample responses and marking guidelines.
Credit: Janie Barrett
A marker’s top dos and don’ts
- Use the specific information or data directly from the stimulus material provided to support your response to the question. This might be the text, diagram, flow chart, table, or graph.
- Respond to the key term/s of the questions, taking time to understand the requirement and intent of each question.
- Use specific scientific terminology and biological terms.
- Don’t only provide general information or restated information from the question. Instead, clearly link your answer to the scenario of the question.
- Don’t respond to questions by merely stating a pre-prepared definition or explanation of a term or process. Instead, you should apply the appropriate definition, term, or process relevant to the specific question to formulate your response.
- Don’t use informal language or colloquial terms.
Read our other HSC Study Guide 2024 stories
Check out Campus, our higher education hub, including an interactive course search tool