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Subject Advice

By Elina Banerji, Anishka Kumar, Charlotte Pelling, and Leah Allan



Hi everyone! Going through subject selection was obviously overwhelming, so we thought that hearing some extra advice/tips and information for different subjects from Year 11s could help. Of course, feel free to pick whatever subjects you want, as these are just our opinions. Good luck with your subject selection, we hope this helps!


Note: not all subjects and all levels of subjects are written about, as the subjects written about are only the ones undertaken by the writers of this article. This does not mean that other subjects/levels of subjects are not recommended, and for more information on them, feel free to chat with teachers or read the handbook.


Social Sciences:


Legal Studies

Legal Studies in Year 11 has been very enjoyable so far, and is definitely one of my favourite subjects. The first topic, ‘The Legal System’, is really similar to the legal topic in Year 10 Commerce, so if you enjoyed that, then you would like Legal Studies. Legal Studies involves lots of memorising facts and concepts, so if you struggle with this, you should keep that in the back of your mind. As in all subjects, you definitely need to stay on top of making summary notes and be efficient in organisation. Otherwise, it is a really enjoyable and rewarding subject and you learn so much about our legal system and how you can apply this knowledge out of school. I would highly recommend it. In the HSC, you need to write two essays for your exams, so if you enjoy writing essays, then you will definitely enjoy this subject. If anyone was wondering (this is subject to change) the 1st assessment is an in-class test and the 2nd assessment is an in-class essay.


Business Studies

Business studies is an enjoyable subject and you learn a lot about how businesses work and the function of our economy. Like legal studies, it's a lot of memorising concepts and terms, so make sure you stay on top of making notes and flashcards. The amount of work at the beginning can be a bit overwhelming, but as long as you keep up it's fine. Overall, it's fairly relaxed and the concepts aren’t too difficult as long as you make an effort to keep up. I would recommend it if you are interested in the economy and business functions. This year, the first assessment was an in-class test and the 2nd assessment was a hand in business report where you make your own business where you sell biscuits.


Geography

Geography is a really enjoyable subject! The topics we have studied thus far are ‘People, Patterns and Processes’ and ‘Place and Cultural Change’, which focus more on the humanity side of Geo. Despite this, it isn’t super abstract as the subject is well structured, the topic is really interesting and you get to go on an excursion to Marrickville! Currently, we are doing ‘Earth's Natural Systems’ which focuses more on the environmental and science-based side of Geo, therefore you can learn about both sides of the subject. On top of this, throughout the end of Term 1 to the start of Term 3, we get given a ‘Geographic Investigation Project’ which is essentially a big assignment that you work on over this time. For this assignment, you choose a specific choice of study and conduct primary and secondary research, and create a report/video/website about this choice of study. While this sounds quite daunting, it isn’t bad at all, especially if you pick a topic that you are interested in. You also get over 20 lessons of class time to work on it, which is great! Overall, I have really enjoyed it so far and I am excited to continue with it throughout next year, as this subject has a number of excursions and it isn’t too content-heavy.


Economics

Economics is a really interesting subject. The topics that we learn about are things that you don’t realise are going on in your everyday life. For example, now we’re learning about the Federal Budget. Every year a budget comes out, but only now after doing Economics that I understand what it is and the impacts it has on Australia and our everyday lives. Economics can be challenging as there is lots of terminology, some maths involved, graphs and very new topics, but it can be very rewarding when you apply yourself to it and go above and beyond to learn more about it. If you did Commerce in Year 10 you should have a really good foundation for Year 11 Economics, however, if you didn’t do Year 10 Commerce, don’t worry, as the course starts from the beginning, so no prior knowledge is needed. The main tests are essays and short answer responses and in Year 11 you do a test with multiple choice, short answer and an extended response, an essay and your prelim exam. In the Economics HSC, essays are 35 minutes long so all essays that you do in Year 11 will be within 35 minutes to prepare. This is quite a step up from Year 10 and can be challenging, however, it does help your essay writing for other subjects, and can be achievable if you push yourself. Overall, economics is a really enjoyable subject and if you’re interested, give it a try.


Sciences:


Biology

Biology in Year 11 so far has been really fun. The Year 11 course focuses on building core foundational knowledge for what we learn in Year 12. In Term 1, our ecology-focused unit covered a lot of the nature side of biology, where we learnt about ecosystems and how we interact. Even if you’re more into the human side of Biology, it is still super interesting to learn how the world around us works. Our current topic is more about the human side of Biology, which you would typically think of. ‘Cells as the basis of life’ is a really interesting topic where we learn all about cells and their importance, structure and function. This builds on concepts from Year 10, but explores cells in a much deeper way. This topic has a lot of practicals to consolidate our learning and to demonstrate the processes happening within both animal and plant cells. A lot of biology is also skills-based, with graphs and tables - but if you aren’t amazing at these yet, these skills are built on within the course. Biology can be quite content-heavy, though if you find a way that works for you to understand the content, it can be a really fun and rewarding subject. In Year 12, a lot more human biology is covered which I’m really excited to learn about. Overall, I love Biology!


Chemistry

Chemistry this year has been a really fun subject which I recommend for anyone who loves science. The first topic ‘Properties of Matter’ builds off a lot of concepts learnt in Year 10 but in a much more detailed way that explores new content. This topic has a lot of practical applications which involve learning about atoms and molecules, and this can be applied to the real world. Although there has been a lot of new content, I really enjoyed learning about different types of bonds and molecules. Our current topic is ‘Quantitative and Reactive Chemistry’ which is centred around a lot of equations of reactions and learning new skills to calculate different equations. We have participated in a lot of pracs this term, which has allowed us to apply our skills and knowledge in the lab. The classes are typically on the smaller side, which allows a great learning environment where you get to know everyone in your class. Chemistry can be quite challenging at times. The content we learn is quite hard to wrap your head around and can be fast-paced, so it is important to collaborate with others to ensure you understand. Overall, Chemistry is a great subject that you should definitely consider doing if you love Science!


Physics

I really like Physics and recommend it to anyone who finds it even a bit interesting. It’s a bit like maths, but I find it is more applicable to real-life situations. It's so interesting to learn about things you normally wouldn’t think about, such as everyday movement, energy and waves. It’s very cool because you wouldn’t expect there to be so much maths and physics behind everything you do. This said, it is very challenging - not exactly because of the maths but more because of the content. All of the content is very new and it can get complicated and hard to wrap your head around. You will need to apply yourself and dedicate time to consolidate your knowledge as there are many topics and equations etc that you need to be able to apply to questions. Maths-wise, if you know how to do trigonomics and equations -you’re pretty much all good to go. There is a bit of a myth around physics that you have to be amazing at maths, which isn’t true since no matter how good you are at maths, Physics is more focused on being able to apply it to different situations and questions. Of course, a great maths foundation would be advantageous for physics, but it isn’t crucial. Physics pretty much is applied maths, meaning that even if you’re good at maths but don’t like maths, you wouldn’t find Physics as enjoyable. For anyone who enjoyed the Physics topic in Year 10, I 100% recommend doing Physics or at least giving it a go for the first few weeks of Year 11 or Launch, as it is extremely rewarding once you get the hang of it. The classes typically have 10-14 students, so you get to know everyone and have a really connected and close group, not only between the students but the teacher as well. Overall, Physics isn’t for the weak, however, if you apply yourself and give it your best try, it can become one of your favourite and best courses.


Arts:


Drama

Drama is a really fun and interesting subject that involves both theory and practical work. Whilst Drama is super fun, it is important to note that it takes more hard work than you would think. Every drama performance you engage in requires you to do equally a lot of theoretical work, such as constructing a logbook, rationales and plenty of research. Drama is also a great subject as it can be a good (and much-needed) break from many other subjects such as Maths, Legal or Biology that are much more content-heavy, as most lessons are just in the drama space creating performances. Drama is really helpful as it can build confidence and communication skills, it's also a great way to make stronger connections with people you usually might not talk to. I highly recommend choosing drama if you are passionate about or interested in anything performing arts or are even the slightest bit creative! This is subject to change but the first assessment tasks this year were a duologue and essay, the second was an individual project (your choice of a monologue or a range of other theoretical options) and we are currently working towards creating a large performance for a Showcase Evening in Term 3!!!


Histories:


Ancient History

Ancient History is so fun! I love it and I’m sure you will too if you enjoy learning about other cultures and societies from many years ago. Ancient isn’t very content-heavy, as it is a humanities subject, so you don’t need to rote learn all these concepts like in Legal and other subjects. Instead, you use and develop critical thinking skills regarding the societies you are studying and make judgements in the form of essays and other tasks. Ancient is a subject that involves a lot of note-taking and essay writing, so if you don’t think that's your thing, this subject may not be for you. It's not very hard to keep up with the content, you just need to make sure you’re focused in class and get everything down! The topics we have covered in Ancient so far are Cleopatra, Celtic Society and New Kingdom Egypt, and the assignments we have done so far are a Historical Investigation task (you get to research an archeological site of your choosing and submit an essay for it) and an essay on the Celts.


Modern History

Modern History is a really interesting subject but can also be challenging. The first topic you do is the ‘Rise and Fall of the Romanov Dynasty’ (the reigning family of Russia), and then you do World War 1 and Decolonisation in Term 2. For me, I enjoy Modern as I feel like the concepts you learn are interesting and relevant, and it helps me in other subjects, like English Advanced. This noted, I do think that Modern can sometimes be very political at times, so it can be a bit difficult to understand, but if you put in the work, it helps so much. This goes for all humanities/histories but it can sometimes be a bit hard to revise and study for Modern, because it is not necessarily a memorisation-based subject like some of the Social Sciences, instead leaning towards critical thinking and analysis. Even though these skills are really beneficial, it also takes a lot of work to refine them and studying for Modern is not always easy - you can’t just rely on notes and flashcards, you also need to do extra research/readings and practice. For me, I try to keep on top of the content by engaging with follow-through work (e.g. readings, homework questions) that allows me to better engage with the content. Sometimes I find it hard to make time to do Modern study/revision during the term, as often I don’t necessarily know what I need to know, as most histories aren’t as syllabus-based as some other classes, but require you to extend yourself beyond the syllabus. This is obviously very challenging but if you work hard, it has many benefits. Some people also find this really good because not being restricted to the syllabus means that you don’t necessarily need to memorise everything or know every concept in depth, just key events and ideas. Doing Modern has helped me so much with research, essay-writing, analysis, and critical thinking, which are skills you need for basically every subject. Also, since the HSC is very essay-based, doing a subject like Modern, where you can refine these skills, is so beneficial. This is subject to change, but the Term 1 Assessment was an in-class 45-minute essay on the Decline of Tsarism in Russia and the Term 2 Assessment is a Historical Investigation, where you submit a 1200-word essay on the decolonisation of a country of your choice.


Maths:


Math Advanced

Maths Advanced is a really fun course that centres around developing skills learnt in Years 9 and 10, but adding some more complexity and learning a bunch of new skills, such as Calculus. If you do maths advanced you will also get given two periods a week (four a fortnight) called ‘STEM studies’ - essentially, these are studies that are dedicated just to doing maths work, whatever it may be, eg. homework, study, assignments, and you will be able to get help from a maths teacher that takes on your STEM study class. This is the only subject that provides you with specialised studies. Maths Advanced is relatively challenging, however, if you do the homework and study regularly it is quite easy to stay on top of. The topics that Maths Advanced has covered in Year 11 so far are Algebraic Techniques, Functions, Trigonometry, Equations and Functions and an Intro to Calculus! I highly recommend Maths Advanced if you like a little bit of a challenge and enjoy maths!


Extension 1

Extension Maths is highly recommended if you enjoy Advanced Maths but not if you don't enjoy it, because it is definitely a big commitment. You would have two Extension and four Advanced lessons per week, but the way that they teach the content is really good, as you will use all six lessons for one of the topics within either Advanced or Extension for as long as needed until you finish the topic. As such, it's not like the extension lessons are used for Extension and the Advanced lessons are used for Advanced, it's spread more evenly. Also, the content you learn in Extension actually helps a lot with Advanced, and although it can be challenging at times, if you work hard, you will actually find it really enjoyable. For me, I always look forward to it because I feel like Extension content is more fun than Advanced content and is a bit different. If you pick it, I recommend trying to keep on top of the workload and revising regularly through interacting with resources that give you more exam-style questions. I feel like the content isn’t necessarily the hard part, but rather the way that the questions are asked in an exam format, so engaging with harder resources helps a lot. I think overall, only pick it if you truly enjoy maths, because if you do Extension, you basically have maths every day of the week, so it can be a lot if you don't enjoy it. Also, keep in mind that if you do Advanced, you have two dedicated STEM studies per week where you get to work with maths teachers and get extra support, but for Extension, your lessons happen at the same time as these studies so you won’t necessarily get the extra support you would if you just did Advanced. This might change, but your first assessment is a Hand-In Assignment on Polynomials and Inequalities with an In-Class Quiz on Functions, and your second assessment is an In-Class Test on Polynomials, Inequalities, and Permutations.


A Few Other Options:


CAFS/Community and Family Studies

CAFS is a good subject where you learn about communities and families. The first topic was ‘Resource Management’, where we learned about well-being, support, resources, specific needs etc. The second topic was ‘Individuals and Groups’, where we looked at leadership, types of groups, conflict and power within groups. Now, we’re doing ‘Families and Communities’. CAFS is a good subject that has been structured well, with workbooks that we use for our classwork. It is a lot of remembering concepts and using acronyms to remember key terms. It is very syllabus-based and requires you to know the syllabus back to front to ensure you can correctly answer short answer questions to the extent that is required. The first assessment was an In-Class Short Answer and Long Response Questions relating to a documentary we watched in class, and the second assessment was a Hand-In Podcast and Written Response.


Hospitality

Hospitality is one of my favourite subjects. It's so fun, the food you make is so good and it's such a chill subject. Compared to other content-heavy stressful subjects, Hospo is very relaxed and the content is easy to understand. The first few topics are Hygiene and Safety, which is not my favourite but it's pretty chill and not very content-heavy. Unlike other subjects, Hospo is a VET course so you’re marked as either competent or incompetent. Recommended for those who love cooking and food.


PDHPE

PDHPE is a great subject with a combination of content that builds on PASS & junior PDHPE. One of the common myths about senior PE is that you have to do PASS as an elective in Years 9 & 10 to do this subject. This is incorrect! PASS can help you with senior PE, however, all students learn the knowledge from the syllabus which crosses over with PASS. The Year 11 PDHPE syllabus is split into 2 core units including Core 1: ‘Better Health for Individuals’ & Core 2: ‘Body in Motion’ as well as 2 optional units that each school decides before the year commences. The range of options include First Aid, Composition & Performance, Fitness Choices, and Outdoor Recreation. Another myth includes that we don’t do any practical lessons. We complete practical lessons that align with the content from the syllabus. For example, completing fitness testing when learning the content for the Body in Motion allows us to apply our knowledge to a practical scenario and investigation. If you have an interest in sports, are currently enjoying junior PDHPE/PASS and see yourself on a pathway with this subject, then I would definitely recommend it.

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