Welcome to what is generally considered the big year 12 ‘grind time’. However, studying is not all about smashing through practice exams after practice exams. The most important thing to do is get organized!
Table of Content:
- Make a Foolproof Study Planner
- Make the most out of Practice Exams
- Keep Practicing Leading into Exams
- Self Care is still Important even During Exams
- FAQs
Make a Foolproof Study Planner
Making a study planner running all the way until the end of exams helps structure all your upcoming work.
- Start from the exams, and work backwards to plan what you’ll do each day so you can do the most relevant practice papers closest to the exams.
- Every Sunday night, pencil in what you want to achieve each day, and then consolidate your plan for the week ahead.
- First, populate it with your enjoyable activities, and then fit the questions and exams you have to do around the enjoyable activities.
- Remember to space exams out so you don’t overload yourselves.
- I recommend doing 3 exams spread across a day. This way, you spend 5-6 hours doing papers, and 2 hours on marking. This gives you enough time to do activities you enjoy, socialize and also just relax without worrying about procrastinating.
No one can study for 30 days straight (I certainly didn’t), so planning your study this way ensures you do not burn out.
If you need a simple template, here is the study plan I used:
Your planner does not need to be beautiful, or insanely detailed if you do not need it to be. But if you want to make it pretty, or if that motivates you more, then go for it!
Make the most out of Practice Exams
I think the best way to app
roach practice exams is to:
- Start working on them in SEGMENTS, for example doing a multiple choice section or half of the written answers.
- This way, you can address topics that you're weaker in by finding questions specific to them.
- After doing those questions, actively mark the work you've done. This is more than just ticking and crossing, we want to identify incorrect answers as one of the three options below:
- Dumb mistakes (make a list of these, and then identify common mistakes, such as incorrect significant figures or using the wrong formula)
- Conceptual error (work on these by doing related questions from your textbook, the KIS Academics site or other resources)
- I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IS HAPPENING (talk about these with a teacher or tutor, and then see if you can repeat the question without looking at the answers, and improve your mark
Do that Officeworks trip you’ve been waiting for all year, and ensure you have all the pens, highlighters and other stationeries that you need. My pro tip is to buy small coloured tabs, which can be used in marking your exams.
- Flagging different issues with a different colour tab to give you a visual of how your study is progressing, and it also helps you find the areas you need to work on quickly.
Do not get disheartened if your marks don’t improve every practice paper; remember different companies and years vary in difficulty. By the end of the 30 days, you can look back to your first papers, and hopefully notice an improvement!
Keep Practicing Leading into Exams
As exams approach, make sure to keep that practice consistent! Make sure to still be diligently and actively marking papers. For subjects that are more subjective in their marking, you can send them to your tutors or teachers for feedback! You can also use KIS Academics' assignment marking service!
Continue organising social engagements and extra recreational activities in your free time. It is important to still carve time out for yourself so that you do not burn out, and also prevent unintentional procrastination.
Self Care is still Important even During Exams
You’re almost at the end of the road now! Keep a consistent routine throughout exam time, especially with the times you go to bed and wake up. Eat well, try and go outside for at least 30 minutes a day, and look after yourself throughout this period.
The night before an exam, revise your notes for the subject. But whatever you do, DO NOT DO A PRACTISE EXAM!!!! The biggest mistake you can make is doing a practice exam when stressed, making silly errors and decreasing your confidence going into the exam. If you’ve followed all the above tips and stayed on top of your study, everything will be okay!
Conclusion
Best of luck for exams everyone!!! Remember to stay calm, study hard, and most importantly come up with a really good plan to help you stay on top of it all. ♥️
For more ATAR tips and resources, check these KIS Academics articles out:
Manoj Arachige
Manoj Arachige
Manoj Arachige
FAQs
How do I come up with a Study Plan?
- Set clear goals: Write down your ATAR goal (e.g., 90+) and the ATAR cut-offs for your preferred uni courses.
- Schedule study times: Block dedicated slots around classes, extra-curriculars, and life. Consistency is more important than extremely long hours.
- Map out important dates: Add assessment, exam, and university application deadlines to your planner/calendar to keep yourself accountable.
- Balance subjects: Devote extra time to your weakest subjects until they catch up with your strengths, then divide study time more evenly.
- Review and adjust: Track what works, switch up techniques and plans if necessary.
What is the right mindset to get a 90+ ATAR?
- Focus on self-confidence, learning from mistakes, and seeing every challenge as an opportunity to grow.
- Don’t compare yourself with others. Just focus on your own progress, and maintain resilience even after setbacks.
- Prioritise mental and physical wellbeing: regular sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and balanced breaks are essential!
How much should I study?
- There’s no magic number, but successful 90+ scorers typically study 1–4 hours each day (including after school and on weekends), with focused, high-quality sessions. The important thing is consistency!
- Effective routines include short morning/evening reviews, longer weekend sessions, and use of the Pomodoro technique to avoid burnout.
Written by Tamsyn Lovass who completed a Chemistry degree with Honours at the Australian National University.
Want more personalised study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor from KIS Academics can make the biggest difference! Check out what other students have to say about their KIS Academics tutors:
What Our Students & Parents Say
600+ Five-Star reviews across all our tutoring programs — hear why below !👇
