Tips for students approaching difficult questions
A common mistake I see, especially in Year 11 and 12, is students giving up as soon as they see a difficult question. If they don't immediately know the answer or what to do, they assume they can't do it and are already in a bad mindset or leave it completely blank.
The reality is that HSC questions are usually designed to reward method and not just the final answer. So even if a student can't finish the question, there are usually marks available for setting up the problem, identifying any correct formula, drawing a diagram, writing a balanced equation or showing the next logical step. And a lot of times the student definitely knows how to do some steps, which will get them some marks instead of 0.
Another habit that helps is slowing down and reading the question carefully and underlining key parts. Many students lose marks because they rush and miss important information, overlook a key word like hence or justify, or answer something different to what was actually asked.
When faced with a difficult question, student could ask themself:
- What topic is this from?
- What information has the question given me?
- What is it actually asking me to find?
- Is there a formula, equation or concept that relates to this?
Also, sometimes solving just one small step is enough to make it click in student's mind how to solve the rest of the question.
Even if you still can't reach the final answer, writing down your reasoning and working gives yourself the best chance of earning method marks. Leaving a question blank guarantees zero.
One thing I encourage my students to remember is that exams are not about getting every question perfect. They're about collecting as many marks as possible, and especially if they arent a band 6 student they should go hunting for as many marks as they can on band 5-6 questions. As even most difficult questions you can get rewarded with a few marks from working out / initial steps.
