7 Simple Steps to Acing HSC Extension 1 Maths
Extension 1 Maths for me was, in one word, the most satisfying subject I took. Satisfying not only when I saw the E4 (Band 6) and 99.10 ATAR on results day, but also satisfying throughout the whole process of studying for and taking the exam.
But maths didn’t always feel this way - my relationship with Maths wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows (which is why achieving a good mark was so satisfying!). I remember being the very last person in my class to understand what differentiating was only a couple of years back. Strangely enough though, this was exactly what made it feel so good when I started to improve, and doing Maths questions started to feel more easy and autonomous.
This sort of autonomy is crucial, not only for acing your HSC exam, but also for several university degrees—software engineering for example, which I have now gone on to study.
So how exactly do we achieve this autonomy? Here are 7 simple steps to get you started.
1. Note-taking should only be done in class
Have you ever met a friend who says something like “Yeah, I studied Maths for 15 hours over the weekend, how about you?” and it turns out that they were actually writing notes for 14 of those 15 hours?
Or maybe you’re that friend…
My hot take is that taking notes and rewriting them with nice highlighters and patterned Washi tape is NOT an effective form of study. Sorry, but decorating more does not mean you will retain more.
As with many subjects, improving in Maths is largely from drilling application, which means practice questions are king.
So, if not making study notes, what instead should our study time be spent doing?
2. Practice papers are king
Like I alluded to earlier, practice questions under timed conditions should be your ride-or-die if you want to improve in Maths. Determined to see an improvement in my Maths marks, I was doing past papers like there was no tomorrow, every time there was an exam coming up.
This is the key to that autonomy we were talking about. Eventually, you start to recognise patterns. Patterns in the types of questions that come up; patterns in the structure of the exams; patterns in how the paper wants you to think.
A super important point here is that you must be doing practice papers from different years,. This is because there tends to be patterns in question styles over the years. For instance, if you complete HSC Trial Papers from 2024, you will notice that all of them resemble the actual HSC Exam paper from 2023.
This way, when your HSC exam comes along, and, inevitably, the exam style is slightly different from the previous year, you won’t be too caught off guard.
With that being said, the syllabus changed starting from 2020, so if you see a question you’ve never seen before, that might be because it’s from the old syllabus. Ask your teacher or tutor to confirm!
3. Focus on building speed and accuracy
Once you get comfortable with doing practice exams, your next focus should be on completing them as fast and perfectly as possible. Here are some steps to building that skill up:
Make note of how long you spend on multiple-choice, and doing each section from Q11-14. For example, if you spend 20 minutes on multiple-choice, try and slowly reduce it down to 15 minutes, then 12, etc.
Use your reading time wisely - review and strategise for harder questions. This is where your skills of “noticing patterns” from before, becomes very handy.
Check your work carefully - no silly mistakes!
4. Teaching others is a form of revision
I’m sure you’ve heard this before. “If you really want to master something, teach it”. The protégé effect. “When one teaches, two learn”. However it’s spun, there’s a reason re-teaching is such common advice. And as HSC students, you’re in the perfect position to employ this technique.
Take over a classroom with a whiteboard, explain a tricky question to them step-by-step, and allow them to grill you with extensive “why’s” and “how’s”. If you stumble when explaining, that suggests an area of content you need to revise, and vice versa.
5. Textbook questions should be complementary, not the main goal
Going to the textbook for questions can sometimes be an effective way to brush up on a topic, but shouldn’t be the main type of question you do. (As we’ve already discussed, past exam questions are by far the best option).
The key here, is to combine textbook practice WITH past papers.
I’d suggest the following workflow:
Complete a practice exam
Mark it and identify your errors
Identify what topics your errors had come from
go to the textbook to refine your skills in that topic
repeat until you consistently score 100% in all questions pertaining to that topic
6. Don’t forget to take care of yourself
“The more you put in, the more you get out” holds only to a certain extent, and that’s my hot take.
This might surprise you, but my point here is to caution you against overstudying (yes that’s a thing).
Here’s the thing: sleep is always more important than a late-night cram. Sleeping is literally designed for us to establish new neural pathways - without “sleeping on it”, our brains would really struggle to retain any new information.
For me, I needed 9 hours of sleep a night, non-negotiable. That might be different for you, but TLDR, never sacrifice sleep just to squeeze out a couple more hours. It never pays off.
7. Consider getting tutoring
Now, we get it. This article is from a tutoring company. There’s a bit of a conflict of interest. But as someone who personally didn’t ever get tutoring throughout my 13 years of schooling, I’m here to give an unbiased perspective: tutoring is not necessary, but drastically enhances the preparation process.
Each of the tips we’ve talked about here is more easily put into practice with a tutor to guide you. Here’s what I mean:
If you get stuck on a question - ask your tutor to clarify content with you.
If you need practice questions - ask your tutor. Sydney Scholars students have access to a a whole wealth of resources.
If you need someone to “teach” the content to - tutors teach for their job, so they’ll know for certain if what you’re re-teaching is accurate.
Concluding words of advice
I could go on for all the other tips, but we’ll wrap it up here.
Long story short, it’s perfectly possible to do really well in Extension 1 Maths even if you aren’t the most mathematically-inclined person on the planet. All it takes is a lot of hard work, smarter studying techniques, and a mountain-load of practice questions.
If you’re still feeling a little stuck about the HSC, feel free to reach out to our team here at Sydney Scholars. Our tutors are more than just tutors, they’re also mentors to guide you through the rough road that is high school.
