Dear the QCS students of 2016, a letter
Dear QCS students of 2016,
Welcome to hell. Everything is going to be fine. I know you are currently dreading your upcoming QCS (Queensland Core Skills) exam which will take place in September this year, as I was once like you. I too had studied for two years during our weekly QCS class, where we prepared for our standardised government end-of-grade-12 test that would help give us our final mark for grade 12, our OP mark. I too have banged my head against my desk as I tried to decide how the character in this cartoon was most feeling, tried to understand what this poem was most likely saying, trying to figure out that massive "time-bomb" question of doom that was specifically designed to eat up my valuable time with lots of numbers, charts and rather vague and confusing questions.
So allow me to give you some advice, as someone who has taken the test and has survived. Because right now is probably about the time you're starting to freak out, and that's not a good idea. (That's right, I am a kind and helpful person.) First of all, you should have been paying attention in class. I know the teacher was scary and the homework was boring and pointless and you'd rather lose your arm in a lightsaber fight, but you should have been paying attention because they did actually teach you something in those classes.
Advice number two. Get some sleep. QCS was like the Kursed in Thor 2: Dark World. It will suck you dry and leave nothing but smoky, gasping pathetic creatures lying dead on the floor. Get some sleep and counter-act its evil.
Advice number three. Bring the right equipment, because you'd be stupid not to.
Advice number four. When you walk into the gym/hall/whatever on your first morning of QCS, you will be confronted with the writing test. You will be horroried to find that you have no idea what to do with your central idea or stimuli. How are you supposed to make these random ideas into a central part of your 600ish word essay/short story/diary entry/article/whatever? My advice? Squash that rising panic down. You've trained for this, soldier! You'll come up with an idea, but not if you panic.
Advice number five. Play ping pong at lunch. Eat something nutricious. Hit a ping pong onto the roof then laugh about it with your friends (you didn't hear that from me, by the way). Have fun, and don't even think about the upcoming short response test.
Advice number six. Don't stress too much. QCS isn't the end of the world.
Sincerely,
Victoria Jackson
So allow me to give you some advice, as someone who has taken the test and has survived. Because right now is probably about the time you're starting to freak out, and that's not a good idea. (That's right, I am a kind and helpful person.) First of all, you should have been paying attention in class. I know the teacher was scary and the homework was boring and pointless and you'd rather lose your arm in a lightsaber fight, but you should have been paying attention because they did actually teach you something in those classes.
Advice number two. Get some sleep. QCS was like the Kursed in Thor 2: Dark World. It will suck you dry and leave nothing but smoky, gasping pathetic creatures lying dead on the floor. Get some sleep and counter-act its evil.
Advice number three. Bring the right equipment, because you'd be stupid not to.
Advice number four. When you walk into the gym/hall/whatever on your first morning of QCS, you will be confronted with the writing test. You will be horroried to find that you have no idea what to do with your central idea or stimuli. How are you supposed to make these random ideas into a central part of your 600ish word essay/short story/diary entry/article/whatever? My advice? Squash that rising panic down. You've trained for this, soldier! You'll come up with an idea, but not if you panic.
Advice number five. Play ping pong at lunch. Eat something nutricious. Hit a ping pong onto the roof then laugh about it with your friends (you didn't hear that from me, by the way). Have fun, and don't even think about the upcoming short response test.
Advice number six. Don't stress too much. QCS isn't the end of the world.
Sincerely,
Victoria Jackson
Ha ha ha, that is awesome advice! ha ha ha, I would also add to make sure you dont eat too much food in the mornings before the test (like have a massive breakfast at home and then have the amazing breakfast at school) as you may cause yourself to enter a food coma, which isn't a bad thing normally but when you are trying to figure out what on earth to write about for 600words a food coma can be a bit distracting... so definitely eat lots and enough food but don't get too excited (I may or may not be talking from experience) ha ha ha :) And ping pong definitely helps! ha ha ha, lots of fun ;)
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog!
Thank you! I figured M might be able to use it at some point. Yeah, maybe having two breakfasts might not be a good idea? Although food comas are fun. LOVED PING PONG. Thanks for commenting! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
DeleteI have no idea how important this is in (Australia? Canada?) but I guess I will think about this when I'm doing my Leaving cert.
ReplyDeleteAustralia :) I think most of it can be applied to most exams. Like don't freak out, get some sleep, bring the right equipment. Good luck with your exam!
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