Squirt Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Hey This is my first year of NCEA. I'm going to try and go for an excellence endorsement, as I already have NCEA 1 with merit. I plan to start studying next term in the first few weeks. I have 7 weeks until mocks, then two weeks at school, then holidays(2 weeks) then another 2 weeks then study leave(2/3 weeks?). I was wondering how to make study notes? I would ask my sister but she didn't study When she did lvl 1 :facepalm: I was thinking of doing flash cards, and rewriting external notes in a new book. I'm taking accounting, maths, economics, information technology(don't worry no externals :thup: ) English and science. Mocks are in September about half way through. Maths-algebra, statistics, graphing and some other topic we haven't covered yet. Accounting-business financial statement with GST, and two other topics I'll find these out soon Economics-supply, demand and equilibriums Science-acids and bases, forces, genetics and physics English-3 essays Any tips or help would be great! Thanks in advance Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emaytiti Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I went through all my notes and re-wrote the important stuff into a new book. I also got revision books off trade me and went through those. For science I made flash cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Cheers That reminds me to get some study books, especially accounting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 with flash cards make then colorful like the memo cubes. and keep the information on it clear and simple, and keep the questions really clear with no ambiguity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Ahh that's a good idea, think I will start my flashcard making this holidays will have to colour code them for subject and sub topic. Oh and just a question does anyone take I.T? We have to do this stupid thing on a technological system and it's subsystems! It's so boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 My fave study method is to practise with old exams (although this works best for university as lecturers tend to repeat similar questions year after year) and I'm not sure if you can get old NCEA ones? Then you get an idea of the type of questions that will be asked and if you can't do something, look it up in your school books and teach yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 My favourite study tips: - Practice old exams - Go through and highlight important notes and re-write them in a fresh exercise book - And also write really important stuff (formulas, dates, names etc.) really big on A4 bright coloured paper and put them all over bedroom walls&roof to read before bed etc. :smln: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Okay will have a look at some old exam papers! I like the idea of having "posters" in my room maybe on the ceiling as I stare at it when bored Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 review the material you've learned, go over past exams and practice exams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I would ask my daughter, she's Y13 but I don't think she could assist you. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 For me (currently lvl 2 NCEA) i do old exam papers, go over my notes from the year and re-right all the important equations reactions etc.. Oh and the study book/guide things are quite helpful, they have all the information laid out clearly and simply. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I'm no Merit or Excellence student, I'm just too lazy. But make sure you ask for the exam criteria when doing something in class, it clearly outlines what needs to be written/done. Rarely the teacher gives one out but I find reading exactly what they're looking for helps me understand exactly what I need to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice222 Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 I didn't read all the posts, but back when I was doing NCEA, bookstores sold some card like pamphlets for subjects like calc, physics, chem etc that were actually really helpful. They basically summarize and condense all the main formulas. I haven't checked but they might still be around, and they're cheaper than a textbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Oh yeah, I've seen them. Like a pamphlet and it pulls out. I'll get the colleges office to see if they have any. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 When I was still in high school, I used to love listening to the radio while studying. When I went to uni, I suddenly found that I HATED any music in the background when studying lol. So, it's probably best to turn the music off anyway, so your brain is focused on the material rather than tapping to the beat or bursting out in song. As for note-taking, I used to dig up every sheet/ hand-out/ homework/ notebook I had accumulated over the year and highlight the key stuff. From there, I would copy all these key sentences (by hand - it helps you remember better) onto a fresh piece of paper. These exam notes should be as concise as you can get them so that you can view it before going into the exam without taking too long. I used to condense a whole semester's work into about 2 sides of paper. Then again, I'm a History/ Classics major so this style might not suit your needs entirely. But, I survived 3 years of NCEA and 3 years of uni with these techniques. Thousands and thousands of words committed to paper over exams past, so I guess that something must have worked lol. (Oh, and my favourite pre-exam ritual is to read through my notes ONE LAST TIME and then just chuck them in the bin before going for the exam. No turning back! ..Just make sure you have your exam dates right lol!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks :thup: whenever I go out to buy books to copy my notes into I end up buying stuff at the pet shop :facepalm: . I could also see me chucking out my notes on the wrong day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I'm in my last year of a BCA and law degree at uni, and passed NCEA with the equilvent of excellence, back in the day. The most important thing for me is to have a structure. So for English, say, you want to separate out all the different parts (standards? papers?) like poetry, novels, film, then break it down into each film you studied. From there, you want to break down into themes, characters etc - try to do each film/poem/novel on a separate sheet of paper, and colour code it. Once you've done that for each part, make a summary sheet for film, then finally 1 study sheet for all of English, which just has the main points on it. By the time you've broken it down them summarised it, you shouldn't have a problem with memory. Doing notes on paper (I usually use A4 paper and these pens, but A3 is good if you have big writing or really need more space). I also colour-coded the paper they were on, but maybe I went too far :lol: The important thing is finding links, which is where colour-coding is great. Things like formulas, I wrote onto flash cards, also colour-coded - carry them everywhere. Practice exams are helpful to a) find out what you don't know and b) practice what you've learned and reinforce it. I recommend doing 1 practice exam before you start studying to figure out where you need extra work, then spend most of your time doing them right towards the end of your study period. This way of studying does take a reasonable amount of time, but it's very logical and it's the only way I've managed to get through university with the marks I have. If you have any Qs about this method, I'm happy to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hey thanks for those, the things with practice exams now, is that there's lots of new ones, or thats what I'm told. English is probaly my weakest subject. We use the structure statement, explanation, example, development. I'm just not the best at writing essays. Will try the techniques you have said. Colour coding for me is a must(being a visual leaner). I'm sure I'll have alot more questions as studying starts to kick in a bit more. Thanks Matt :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 English is probaly my weakest subject. We use the structure statement, explanation, example, development. yep thats pretty much all you need for lvl 1. Oh and don't forget to relate back to the essay question at the end of each paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Yeah, the development bit let me down in our practice essays. I don't plan on getting any endorsement in English this year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I don't plan on getting any endorsement in English this year.... Me Neither :-? But going for excellence in Bio and Graphics or what ever its called now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Haha I'll get maths with excellence, I'm hoping to get an over all excellence,but in maths , accounting, economics and hopefully science I'll get excellence. I'm still a way off only got 18 excellence so far but 35+ merits :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 i was 3 merits credits off last year.. so guttered :facepalm: Getting a M certificate that is But this year im well on my way to getting an Excellence endorsement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Aww gutted, my sisters mate was 1 off getting excellence in L2... That wouldve sucked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc254 Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 NCEA is a joke, if you have half a brain you will fly through. Its designed so that you cant fail really with all the Unit standards and resits you get. Its a large shock moving onto uni when you get one go and they really dont care if you pass/fail. However my trick with the following topics and i was the student that did nothing for they year then kicked behind in the exams. English. Book, do it on a movie aswell e.g. lord of the rings I had a mate who did fight club three years in a row and 3 E;s Poem try something really simple and remember three quotes, one for each body Paragraphs. If you forget them, make them up? Who marks your exams 99% of the time may not have seen that poem, could be a Geography teacher that gets your exam paper. Geog/hist Learn your case studies, remember numbers/dates/times piece of cake Bio. little bit harder as generally if you don't know the term or definition you cant answer it Math Easy just answer the problem, if you cant do it wing it. just make sure you answer every question and you generally cant go wrong. NCEA is really easy and not for another 4 months so you should be fine. Generally you can learn everything you need to know in a few days but ideally not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.