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Matthew Winfred
Inaburra School, Year 11 (2017)
I have two main hobbies: music and tennis. I play 3 instruments (guitar, saxophone and piano) which I find the best way to spend my free time. I also have a passion for Mathematics.
99.95
Year 11:
Year 12:
Mathematics – This subject has been my favourite for the entire year. I have always had a passion for Mathematics and I have really enjoyed the challenges the Extension 2 Course have brought. It has been truly fun to learn new concepts and apply logical reasoning to solve unique problems.
Physics – The content for Physics has been extremely intriguing, which has made it significantly easier to study and engage with. I have particularly enjoyed learning the Cosmic Engine/Space units as they have been new experiences I haven’t been exposed to before.
Chemistry – Like Physics, Chemistry’s content has gotten me genuinely interested with learning it. I have really enjoyed the logical reasoning component of the subject, and have found writing the short-answers questions engaging and unique.
English Advanced – Although English is one of my better subjects rank-wise, it has been one of the most difficult ones to stay motivated in.
Personally, it has been the subject which has been the hardest to cope with, especially with the need to constantly produce work that answers given questions/stimuli. I have tried to overcome this by starting my English tasks a lot earlier and creating multiple essays such that I can be more adaptive to given questions in exam scenarios.
This year, most of my holiday was spent attending Matrix Holiday Accelerated Courses, with any other time spent mostly on consolidating the concepts I learned in these lessons and preparing for the next term’s work-load of subjects ahead of my cohort.
As an accelerated mathematics student (taking 4U maths within my preliminary year), I found taking the Matrix Mathematics Extension 2 Holiday Accelerated Course as a great way of gaining an experience with exam skills and questions before faced with them during my school term. These structured lessons also helped me to stay motivated and on task throughout the duration of the holidays.
I also maintained a study schedule that organised my time based on priorities I wanted to achieve within allocated time frames. Every day, I would spend some time in the morning to reassess these miniature ‘goals of the day’ to see what I wanted to accomplish, whilst also making sure that I wasn’t overloading myself with too much work. I also tried to maintain a healthy balance between study and exercise by going on morning jogs.
Nevertheless, most of my study during this period consisted of completing past papers for my subjects and exposing myself to as many questions I could find. This helped me maintain confidence in my abilities for the upcoming term.
Term Rhythm
During the Innaburra term, I attended Physics, Chemistry, and English Advanced classes at Matrix. The Matrix teachers I had throughout the term were really helpful in teaching me new concepts, consolidating my learning and inspiring me to stay motivated.
Despite this, my term timetable had a similar structure to that of the holidays. After every school day, I would spend half an hour to consolidate what I had learned at school and ‘add’ any information that were gaps in my subject notes. This ensured that I was consistently revising the content I was learning. This time frame also gave me the opportunity to plan my priorities for the afternoon.
With many extracurricular activities, I had to organise my time effectively to avoid falling behind. Friday Afternoons were usually dedicated to doing the matrix homework for my subjects and preparing myself for the quizzes of the corresponding subjects.
My biggest distraction would be going online and procrastinating over an endless cycle of social media links. This was an issue which I had at the beginning of the year and constantly made it difficult for me to get ahead.
I combated this by being stricter on myself regarding my timetable and making sure that I did what was required for the entire duration of time I had allocated. I also avoided the use of social media and gave my parents the passwords to all my social accounts to minimise distraction.
I partake in a variety of different extra-curricular activities:
Overall, I believe that extracurricular activities are a great way of maintaining a healthy balance between work and rest. It will keep your brain sharp and on point for when you need it, and expose you to new experiences with different people.
My preparation for exams starts well before they occur. Throughout the term and the holidays, I always make notes and revise them consistently to both refine their content and consolidate my learning. I believe that this is the best way to retain knowledge in the long term.
Specifically, for Mathematics, I find revising the concepts that will be tested as an important first step. It is essential that you actually ‘understand’ the work and are not just remembering formulas with no idea how to apply them. At the end of the day, your maths exam won’t likely have the exact same questions you have done before, so it’s important that you learn the methods of how to tackle the tricky questions that you come across (this will come naturally with more practice).
The Matrix Course Theory Books are great resources that will give you a structural basis for your understanding and expose you to new methods that will help you in exam questions. Your Matrix Workshop Tutors also have great experience, and will tell you what you should expect to pop up within the exam, and help you prepare accordingly, especially if you have Steven and Jonathan!
After consolidating an understanding of the concepts, most of my exam preparation is completing past papers under timed conditions. Past papers are really helpful in finding areas of improvement and will make you feel a lot more comfortable to be in exam conditions.
Remember, the more practice you have the more confident you will be in the exam.
For Chemistry and Physics, my exam preparation initially consists of refining the notes I have made throughout the term and making sure I have covered all the relevant syllabus dot points in detail. Matrix Course Theory Books are a great way of making sure that you have covered everything in your notes, and their sample responses are really useful outlines of how to model your short answer questions. Similar to Mathematics, after consolidating an understanding, tackling past paper questions and comparing responses to sample answers is really important in improving the quality of your writing.
For preparation in English, practice and hard work are the only ways to be fruitful. Most of my work consists of writing as many essays/creatives I can and refining them to ensure cohesion and relevant textual analysis. I find it extremely useful to start English preparation as early as possible, as this will give plenty of time to develop ideas and improve sophistication. Also, practising to mould concepts to different questions is important when preparing for exams.
First in the state for HSC Mathematics (2016) and HSC Mark of 100 in Mathematics Extension 1 (2016), 2 years accelerated. This was one of my proudest achievements as it rewarded my hard work and dedication throughout this year.
Dux of the Inaburra School with first in all my subjects for Preliminary and first in HSC Mathematics Extension 2 (2017 – 1 year accelerated). This was one of my major goals for the year and it felt really satisfying reaching it.
Elected Inaburra School Prefect for 2018 – undertaking this leadership role has been a great experience that has challenged my own abilities, given me an opportunity to inspire my peers and allowed me to contribute to a meaningful school community.
2017/8 Matrix Scholarship Student – I have been honoured with the opportunity of getting mentoring under this program and the achievement has motivated me to fulfil my academic ventures to the best of my abilities.
My biggest regret in Year 11 was not establishing my study schedule at the beginning of the year. My complacency made it difficult to keep up with the pace earlier on.
I wish someone had told me that to make the most out of Year 11, as it wasn’t the end of the world, and simply a learning experience that was preparing me for the pace of Year 12.
If I could start the year again, I would use the year to experiment on which study methods best suited me. I would also avoid comparing myself to my peers and focus on my own personal improvement in my subjects.
1. Manage your time effectively
Year 11 is a marathon, not a race. Pace yourself throughout and make sure you don’t leave things to the last minute! I recommend starting tasks as early as you can and using the holidays as a way of getting ahead of the competition. Studying last minute before an exam will not improve your results as extensively as a consistent approach. It’s a good idea to start working on a task as soon as you get it, and doing little bits over a longer time.
2. Use your failures as learning experiences
Remember that Year 11 is a year of EXPERIMENTATION, your failures are more useful than your successes. Angry you made a silly mistake? Don’t worry, I’m 100% sure you won’t make the same one again. Remember to use all the feedback you get from your teachers and improve on them for your HSC Year. In the end, that’s what counts.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” – Winston Churchill
3. Stay motivated!
Make sure that you give yourself achievable goals that inspire you to maintain consistency in your study. Having a clearly defined path on where you are heading will help you avoid procrastination and ensure that you don’t become complacent in your work. I recommend that the best way to do this is to have an accountable friend that can ensure that you stay on track (particularly during the holidays).
1. Do NOT compensate sleep for study
Too often do I hear of people “studying until 3am in the morning” the night before a task is due or sleeping at 12:00 the night before an exam to study more. Make sure you avoid doing this! Especially before an exam, cramming that extra hour of study last-minute will not make your efforts suddenly exponentially better.
Your brain will not be as productive if it’s half asleep during the exam, and any study you might’ve done during this time would not have been as effective as it could have been! Instead, choose to organise your time better whilst maintaining at least 8-9 hours of sleep a day. This is critical and making sure the work you are doing is effective, and that you are awake and ready to learn or tackle an exam for the next day.
2. Do NOT hesitate to ask for help
Remember that your teachers, parents and peers are there to provide you with assistance on this journey! Take every opportunity to learn from others and improve on yourself. Learning about other people’s mistakes and avoiding them in your academic ventures will equip you for the challenges Year 12 entails.
3. Do NOT avoid extracurricular activities
Remember that the best way to cope with stress is to have a healthy balance between exercise and study. Organise your time well and make sure you have a hobby that can give you a meaningful break. A 30-minute jog in the morning is a good idea to clear your mind and plan your day.
Written by Guest Author
We have regular contributions to our blog from our Tutor Team and high performing Matrix Students. Come back regularly for these guest posts to learn their study hacks and insights!
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