Video Transcription

How To Study the Month Before Your HSC Exams

What’s up, guys? It’s Rowan here from Art of Smart TV. 50%—that’s what your HSC exams are worth. And regardless of how well or poorly you did in your internal trials and assessments, the reality is, you’ve got 50% coming up, and it’s right around the corner. So what do you do? What are you doing in the lead-up to your HSC exams? In this video, I’m going to share exactly what you need to do in the 30 days before your HSC exams to make sure you’re prepped and ready.

We’re going to cover some cool stuff, like the KSS protocol, wall charting, feedback loops, and more. Let’s dive in and find out what you need to do in the next 30 days to nail your HSC exams.

Step 1: Conduct a post-trials post-mortem.
If you want to change your results from trials to the HSC, you need to change what you were doing. If you don’t change, you’ll get the same results. So, we’re going to make some changes, but that takes intention.
Here’s what I want you to do: sit down and write down the worst subject you did during your trials. Got it? Great. Now, ask yourself, what did you do well leading up to that exam? What did work? Keep doing that—this is your “K” for Keep.
Next, ask yourself, what didn’t work? Did you cram last minute? Did you freak out in the exam? These are things to stop doing—this is your “S” for Stop.
Finally, ask yourself, what could you do differently? What will you change in your approach for the HSC exams? These are things to start doing—this is your “S” for Start.
Write these things down for your worst subject, and then do it for your other subjects. Keep, Stop, Start!

Step 2: Use the feedback from your trials.
You probably got your trial exam papers back and went through a review with your teacher. But did that actually change your behavior for future exams? Probably not.
Think of it like this: if you missed a shot in basketball, your coach might tell you why, but you wouldn’t improve unless you practice shooting with the correct form. Same with your trials. Go back, retake your mistakes, and do them from scratch until you get them right. Rebuild the habit!

Step 3: Identify your weak areas.
Between now and the HSC, the goal is to fix everything you got wrong in your trials. If you avoid your weak areas, you’ll keep making the same mistakes.
Be honest with yourself and focus on these weak areas. Go over your trials, look at teacher feedback, and identify the mistakes. Write them down as a hit list for each subject—what are your weak areas, and what do you need to work on in the next 30 days?

Step 4: Create a wall chart.
A wall chart is just a simple to-do list broken up into time. You’ve got four weeks until your HSC exams, so let’s map out your plan.
For each subject, write down what you need to do each week. Week 1 could be organizing your notes, Week 2 could be doing practice papers, Week 3 could focus on using feedback from past papers, and Week 4 could be reviewing everything and doing practice exams under timed conditions.
The key is to be specific. Don’t just say “do practice papers”—say how many and which ones. Put this on your wall so you can track progress. When you complete something, cross it off. This visual progress helps you stay on track.

Step 5: Pretend you’re still at school.
When school ends and you’ve got a month before the HSC exams, there’s a tendency to sleep in, relax, and waste the day. But this leads to bad habits.
The simplest thing you can do in the 30 days before your exams is to pretend you’re still at school. Start studying when the school bell would ring, take breaks when you would at school, and stop studying when the school day ends. This gives you structure, and after study, you can chill and relax, which is so important for maintaining energy.

If you think six hours of study isn’t enough, remember that quality matters. Eight hours of solid study is plenty, and it’ll help you avoid burnout.

There you have it—five critical steps you need to nail in the 30 days leading up to your HSC to maximize your results. If you have any questions about preparing for your HSC exams, leave a comment below, and myself or the team at Art of Smart would love to help. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button. We post videos every week to help you with your HSC prep.
See you next week!

Video by Art of Smart