In Year 10, English was my weakest and least favourite subject. It was my lowest-ranked subject, and I sat pretty much at the median of the grade. Having immigrated to Australia as a child, I didn’t think I had it in me to excel in a subject that wasn’t my native language. English felt way beyond my comfort zone. What’s worse was that I neglected the subject because I thought I couldn’t improve.
However, as someone who was a high achiever in my other subjects, the gap in English stood out and I decided I needed to do something about it.
I started English tutoring at the beginning of Year 11, with weak foundations, self-doubt, and poor mindset. But I was determined to improve. Luckily, I was also placed into the class of the best English teacher in our grade. The combination of regular tutoring, classroom support and hard work, changed everything.
I began to see real progress. By the end of Year 11, I’d jumped from the middle of the grade to Rank 1, and I stayed in the top 5 throughout Year 12.
For anyone starting English tutoring early, I envy you, because building strong foundations early will pave your path for success. For those coming in later? That was me too. And it’s never too late to catch up. With sufficient effort, what you perceive as a miracle in marks could become a reality.
I wanted to share with you the strategies I put in place to climb from the middle ranks to the top.
Before you start highlighting quotes or writing essays, make sure you fully understand the syllabus. NESA outlines what you’re expected to demonstrate in each module, and that should shape every response you write.
With each module come different outcomes. Make sure you master the why behind each module before you hyperanalyse your texts, as your essays must reflect the expectations of the module!
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that tutoring and school are two separate worlds, but the truth is that the best results come when your tutor’s guidance works with your teacher’s expectations, not against them.
One challenge I faced in Year 12 was learning how to balance the feedback I received from both my tutor and my teacher. At times, the advice seemed different not because one was “right” or “wrong,” but because each was coming from a different angle. My tutor was focused on helping me develop sophisticated, polished responses, while my teacher was preparing me for the exact marking criteria that would apply to my assessments.
It took me some time (and a humbling 85% after a streak of 95–100%) to realise an important lesson: your teacher is the one marking your assessments. No matter how strong or well-written your essay might be, it has to align with what they are looking for.
That doesn’t mean tutoring isn’t valuable, it’s actually quite the opposite. A great tutor doesn’t just teach you how to write better essays; they help you adapt your work to meet your school’s marking criteria. Your tutor should be flexible, responsive, and aware that their job is to support what your teacher is expecting, not replace it.
The key is finding that balance. Use your tutor’s feedback to refine your arguments, improve clarity, and deepen your analysis but always filter it through your teacher’s expectations. Your tutor is your guide and mentor, helping you stand out within the boundaries of your school’s marking rubric.
When both sides work together combining your effort, your teacher’s criteria, and your tutor’s support, that’s when the real progress happens.
With HSC Trials coming up, you should be familiar with the format: two papers across two days. Paper 1 covers the Common Module (short answers and extended response). Paper 2 covers Modules A, B, and C.
Every writer will have their biggest strengths and weaknesses. For me, I knew my weakest area was short answers. After scoring 10/20 during a practice task in class, I took that as a sign to target my biggest weakness.
Rather than brushing it off, I went all in to improve this section. I scoured past HSC and trial papers, attempting as many short answers as I could, seeking feedback from both my tutors and teachers on how to improve.
Knowing your weaknesses will be your greatest strength. You don’t need to be good at everything immediately, but you do need to be honest about where you are struggling and attack it head-on. Although we may be inclined to leave the things we are worse at to the side and focus on the easy things, remember each section is worth a fifth of the total marks, and every mark counts.
You might be wondering, with so many quotes, how am I going to prepare for all these modules? One thing that kept me organised was my quote banks. Separating into each module, I built a document with these columns:
By colour coding each categories in practice essays, I was able to clearly see the balance within my sentences during reviews.
Find what strategies are most effective to you for memorisation. For me, I recorded myself reading analysis and listened to it on public transport. Practice writing sessions, both with and without notes enabled me to fully understand and absorb the quotes into my brain.
A common struggle for many will be adapting prepared essays (if you have them) to the wide range of questions possible. Collate a bank of HSC questions for each module, and use this to practice your thesis and topic sentence writing. It’s important that your essays are answering the HSC question–and that your arguments support that.
Do not only be aware of the quotes you have used in your practice essays, as this will restrict you to the themes included in your practice questions only. Prepare additional evidence and analysis and be ready to adapt to any potential HSC questions or anything your teachers will throw at you.
Throughout highschool I was known to have extremely neat handwriting. But when it came time to speedrun all those essays within 40 minutes, my once neat handwriting became chicken scratch. A sentence that was always in the feedback of my exams was “your essay is illegible.”
It doesn’t matter how sophisticated and impressive your essay is if the marker is unable to read what you have written. Practice mastering both speed and legibility in the weeks coming up to trials and the HSC. It will make a difference.
In the final months before Trials, I ramped things up.
The importance of timed sessions cannot be stressed enough. You could form the most beautiful arguments for your essays, but you’ll only be able to achieve half the marks if only half the essay is on the examination paper. Remember, the marker will only be able to award what they see!
This is how I prepared for my exams:
This built my confidence and made writing under pressure feel normal. It also helped me get used to adapting to unfamiliar questions–don’t just choose questions that you think will be easy to answer.
With so many essays, it will be almost impossible to cram English Advanced. Make sure to repeat and refine. That will make all the difference.
English can and will be draining. There will be days when nothing sticks, or you’ll find yourself struggling. There will be nights of endless “White Monster”, when you’ll want to stay up trying to edit your essays, and trying to memorise them, but this could end up being the worst thing you could be doing to yourself.
Making sure you have adequate rest to start every day refreshed to be able to smash out productive sessions is extremely important. Since 7-8 hours of sleep seems like a far dream during exam season, aim to get at least 6 hours of sleep to be rejuvenated!
You’ll find days that you won’t be able to study and that’s okay. The important thing is that you don’t take too many rest days and slack off. Always get back on track.
Build a study routine that works for you. Where are you most effective studying, how do you memorise the best? Be consistent with how you carry out your study sessions to train your brain to associate these efforts. Once you get into the rhythm, consistency will be key to doing well in English!
During the HSC period, after finishing Paper 1, I went to the library to prepare for Paper 2. I open up my notes and *blank*. I couldn’t recall a single quote. I wasn’t able to put a single thought onto paper.
Panic set in.
Reread after reread, nothing entered my brain. So I did the only thing I could think of: I took a break. Going outside the library for some fresh air, I took some time to myself to rest and reset.
On the way back, eventually things started to return. I was able to continue preparing like I had previously,
That’s the lesson. There’s no need to over stress. Don’t burn yourself out. Take your time to reset. If you push and push yourself, some of you will eventually crash into a brick wall. I’m not trying to jinx you, but it’s important you don’t stop doing the things you love that help balance the heavy academics.
Whether that be gym, sport, gaming or simply hanging out with friends. Don’t stop doing these completely when exams come around! Whenever you feel tired, take some time for yourself, reach out, do the things that you enjoy. It will be that supports you through this tough time.
I didn’t start high school as a top English student. But I ended it with a 94 in HSC English Advanced. Every improvement was earned, every new draft, every rewrite, one step at a time.
If you’re feeling behind right now, that’s okay. What matters is that you keep showing up. Keep writing. Keep learning. Keep going.
Good luck with Trials, HSC, or wherever you’re at right now. Stay consistent. You’ve got this.
We provide specialised English tutoring for students in Years 7 to 12, helping them build strong foundational skills, master the NSW English syllabus, and excel in HSC English.
Yes, all our lessons are carefully aligned with the NSW English syllabus. ensuring students are fully prepared for school assessments, exams, and HSC English requirements.
We start with an Introductory Lesson to assess each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning style. Our English tutors then design personalised lesson plans aligned with the NSW English syllabus to ensure targeted learning.
All our classes are one-on-one. This allows us to accommodate different learning preferences, ensuring each student receives the attention and support they need.
Absolutely. Our tutors are experienced in guiding students through preparing for specific assessments, exams and assignments, providing targeted feedback and strategies to help them succeed.
Yes, we provide weekly content, comprehensive resources, including practice materials, worksheets, and model responses, to help students consolidate their learning and practice independently.
Typically, each session is 90 minutes. Our termly courses are at least once a week, but the frequency can be tailored based on their needs and academic goals.
Yes, we offer both in-person and online tutoring to accommodate different preferences and ensure flexibility in learning.
Yes, we offer new students an Introductory Lesson with no obligation to continue. This allows new students to experience our teaching approach, meet their tutor, and decide if our personalised English tutoring is the right fit for their learning needs.
You can contact us either through our email at tutor@goldstandardacademy.com or call us at 0481 336 988
