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3 (more!) Google Hacks for Research and Referencing

It seems everyone loves a good Google hack.

After last week’s video with the ninja trick to finding the date for referencing websites, I’ve had some super-appreciative feedback, so I’m gonna share more…

Here are my top three non-technical Google-Hacks that I think could be super-useful to your teen.

 

So I’ve had a ton of feedback basically loving last week’s video all about the ninja trick to finding the date for referencing websites, plus I’ve had a few suggestions of other tips and tricks.

I have to admit, I knew of all of them, BUT the more technical ones I always forget,

so in case it’s the same for you,

I’ve come up with my top three that I think could be super-useful to your teen.

Ok, so Google hack number 3 is

(we’re doing this countdown style-ee here, okay) 😉

*start the music chart countdown backing track*

(3)

Adding the subject or topic in the search box in addition to the key word that your teen is searching.

This is because just searching for the name of the person, place, event or concept often gives too wide a variety of results, which then just leads to hours upon hours of trawling a ton of websites and results including many which are totally irrelevant.

The example I always give for this is adding in the subject when researching the definition of ‘depression’ – because of course you’re going to want verrrry different results depending on whether you are researching this word for History, Business Studies, Economics, Biology or HPE, or even for an atmospheric depression in Geography or Science.

Just adding in the subject or topic is going to give much more focused results.

Onto Google Hack number 2:

(2)

Putting quote marks around the word or phrase that is a must-have search term and in the order/exact phrase you have typed.

Often Google gives results that have a sneaky little greyed out bit of text below that shows the part of the search that isn’t included in that result… which, can sometimes be the main thing you really wanted it to find!

So using our previous example, if I was researching the dates for the great depression for history, I might actually include the words –

history date

and then type

“the great depression”

with quote marks before the word the and after the word depression.

This means that the words ‘The Great Depression’ as a whole phrase must appear in any search results. So no more wasted time clicking on results only to realise they don’t actually have the key info or topic I was after.

And – drumroll please – here is my fave google hack for students.

Well, it’s not really a hack – more of a ‘I can’t believe how many students don’t know about this whole other thing’ kinda thing.

But Google Hack number 1 – is ….

(1)

Google Scholar.

This gem of a search engine searches all academic papers and publications, like scientific journals, peer reviewed articles and academically acclaimed books, websites and other publications.

So your teen can say goodbye to good-old Wikipedia

‘Urgh.’ I can tell you that no teacher ever wants to see Wikipedia in a reference list beyond Y7, maaayyyybe Year 8. At a push.

and they can say hello to more sophisticated, more reliable and credible sources for their research.

This is at scholar.google.com

Or, of course, you can just type in Google Scholar into Google!!! *There’s gotta be a meme or other joke-y-joke of google-ing for Google out there, right?*

But extra tip – make sure you’re in google scholar.com, rather than .com.au – which is where it’ll take you if you search it from google.com.au.

You staying with me here?!

So, there are my top 3 Google hacks for your teen – to save them a ton of time AND give them better QUALITY academic sources and references.

I’d love to hear your feedback on these 3 Google hacks – which one will be most useful to your teen and why – tell me in the comments below, and then while you’re there, go ahead and give this a like or a share 🙂

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week.

Katie

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Ninja Trick for Source Referencing

It can be a total nightmare trying to work out the date of publication for websites.

 

Until now!

 

Check out this ninja trick that a brilliant, computer-savvy student told me about just a few days ago!

(Yep, I tried and tested it, and it really works!)

 

 

You’re looking for that thing you put in a ‘safe place’ ?

Once you realise it’s not where you think it should or could be, well then it could be A.N.Y-where.

After looking for a good half hour or more, you still don’t find it and you either turn the house upside down

(if it’s REALLY important- like when my sister’s best friend couldn’t find her passport the night before they were due to fly to New York for a ‘big-zero-birthday’ trip)

or you give up.

 

It’s the same when your teen comes to referencing and bibliographies, particularly for websites.

 

Ok – starting with an obvious statement here, but stick with me.

Are you ready – here it comes…

Students are using websites more than ever to research essays, reports and assignments.

Shock-horror!

Thank you Captain Obvious!

 

But here’s the problem:

It can be a total nightmare trying to work out the date of publication of websites.

Journal articles and scientific papers – simple – it’s stated on the front page at the top. Easy!

Books – it’s like a page or two inside the cover. Simple – done.

Even blog articles usually have a date with them.

 

But trying to find the ‘date of publication’ of a website – toooootal nightmare!

Because not only does a website very rarely have a date it was published displays,

but technically you really need the date it was last updated, because of COURSE, the beauty of websites over books is that they can easily be updated.

 

So… I have a small but mighty trick for your teen.

And it sounds super-techy – but I promise you, it really isn’t.

Granted, a clever and tech-y student told me this trick, BUT I tried it and it worked straight away for me – so anyone can do this, okay!! 🙂

 

Now, quick heads up.

As far as I know, this only works in Chrome, so if your teen uses Safari or Explorer or Firefox, they’ll need to download Google Chrome.

 

Then 

> STEP 1
– go to the webpage where their source or quote is.

And then…

> STEP 2 – Whilst on that page, type the following text into the web address bar. (And yes, I’ll type it into the blog so that you can totally cheat and copy-paste it.) You have to type in:

javascript:alert(document.lastmodified)

 

Now, it doesn’t work for EVERY webpage.

In my experience, probably 60-70%.

But hey, that’s pretty good.

And if a student has 10 online sources and it saves them 10 mins of searching around for the date of the webpage for 6 or 7 of them, then yikes – that’s over an hour of wasted time SAVED!

And, that makes me so happy!

I love me a bit of time efficiency!

 

And #BonusTrick that your teen can do too:

I emailed myself that text, so that now, instead of having to remember it, I can just go to that email and copy-paste it straight in.

You’re welcome 😉

 

If you or your teen has any other tips and tricks like this, definitely feel free to share them with me on email or comment below this blog post.

Not only will I love you forever, but I also promise to share them with our community of parents and students too (so they’ll love you too) 🙂

 

Hope that helps save a ton of time and bother searching for a webpage date for referencing and bibliographies in future.

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

 

 

 

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When Procrastination is Productive!

I’m all for being organised and on top of things.
But there are SOME situations and certain tasks for students where a specific and purposeful decision to leave something to the last minute *can* actually mean improved efficiency AND a better outcome and result.

 

Which camp is your teen in?

Are they in the ‘Leave it to the last minute – I work better under pressure’camp?

Or are they in the ‘Get it done as soon as they get it’camp?

 

Although I know there are examples of some super-successful people coming up with their best work under pressure, I personally prefer to feel in control and reduce my stress levels as much as possible.

* Raises hand for the second camp*

 

BUT… Ahhh, there’s a but! 😉

BUT… there are SOME situations where I’ve made a specific and purposeful decision to leave something to the last minute because experience has told me that it works better that way and actually saves me time and effort.

And there are certain types of tasks and situations where this could be the case for students too:

 

1)  Anything where they have to present.
(For me, that could be an in-school workshop or an online webinar).

In other words, anything where I’ll be able to perform betterif the information and content is fresh in my head.

If I’ve just finished the powerpoint or just written the content or schedule, then it’s going to be top of mind for me and therefore I’ll be a lot more confident inpresentingand have everything on the tip of my tongue.

The topic or concepts are already rolling around in my head and so examples or analogies will be easy to pull out as I’m asked questions or when I need to expand on something.

This means I’m not just relying on my powerpoint or notes.
(Never a good look in a presentation – for me or your teen!)

I’m less robotic and can really get into the event a lot more as well, making it a lot more engaging for the parents or students.

 

Overall, I can focus on making the delivery really amazing, rather than having to try to remember or think so much about what I’m saying.

 

The same goes for these blog videos!

I started off, years ago, planning the topics I wanted to talk about much further in advance than I do today! But then it meant that I had to read back over my notes and remind myself of what it was I was going to talk about before I started the camera rolling.

 

What I quickly found though, is that if I leave it til the day or day before I want to film to plan what to talk about, then it’s fresh in my head and I don’t end up spending additional time recapping my notes or going back over my ideas and thoughts.

So I actually SAVE time, AND do a better job of the delivery.(I hope!) 😉

 

So, for students, if there’s a task where they have to present or act out or deliver a speech, then as long as they still give themselves time for editing, improvements and proofreading, then it might be better for them to actually construct the powerpoint, or write the final script close to the performance date.

 

2) When there’s more information that will become available before the deadline.

 

When I first started in teaching and was preparing for Parent-Teacher interviews, I’d compile data and notes on students well in advance.

(Because of course Miss Organised over here likes to get things done asap – that should really have become my married name – MRS Organised) 😉

 

But then a couple of parents would end up cancelling – which meant wasted time and effort.

Plus, things would sometimes come up or change in terms of how a student is going in the week or days leading up.
So I had to end up changing my notes or data anyway, doubling up my time and effort.

 

Students might find themselves in this sort of ‘new info becomes available and so changes what I do or don’t need to do’ situation when the teacher is going to continue to drip info, ideas, tips, or content.

I’ve seen this in a couple of my Personal Coaching students where they’ve done what seems like the right thing and gotten started on a report or assignment early, only to get some additional or new info the next lesson that means they need to change, or take out, or add in something.
This has meant there’s been some wasted time or effort, or perhaps a difficult choice in whether to continue with what they’ve got, or make a pivot in order to get the grade they want or need.

 

So rather than default to whatever ‘camp’ your teen usually sit in, have them make a conscious and calculated decision about their homework and assignment tasks.

 

When is it going to be beneficial to get ahead?

When might it actually make more sense to leave it a little longer before they start working on it?

 

>> Let me know in the comments!… Which camp does your teen usually sit in and how is that working for them? I’d love to hear your feedback 🙂

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

Katie

 

 

 

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This is a ‘Gold Mine’ for your teen!

QUOTE: ‘All results of official exams and assessments must be consistent, dependable and replicable.’

This basically means that ANY trained, official marker should come out with the same result for a given written answer, as every other trained marker.

There’s something that makes this happen, it’s available for all to see, and your teen can use it to their (huge!) advantage!

Alright-y! This is part 3 of what has kinda evolved into a 3 part mini series of blogs where I’m sharing the nitty-gritty of how exams, coursework and assessments are actually put together.

As QLD aligns with other states and joins the ATAR ranking system, I’m taking full advantage of the opportunity to get in on the training that the QCAA is making available to all registered teachers 🙂

I want to make sure that I’m across as much of Australia’s national assessment system as possible – so that not only can I be at the top of MY game when coaching students and updating and improving my programs and training, but also so that I can pass on all the up to date info to YOU; so that parents and students across the whole of Australia really understand what goes on behind the scenes of exams and coursework assessments.

#knowledgeispower in this case!

Before we dig in, let’s have a quick recap.

On the last 2 videos we covered the fact that there are three attributes of any formal assessment task.

Those three attributes are: VALIDITY, ACCESSIBILITY and RELIABILITY.
And by formal assessment we’re talking about any external or internal exam or coursework task that counts towards students’ final grades with the exam board.

If you missed the previous videos, you can go back to Part 1 (Validity) HERE,

and Part 2 (Accessibility) HERE 🙂

 

OK, let’s dig into ‘Reliability’…

This means that the results of an assessment must be consistent, dependable and replicable. Which means that the mark schemes and rubrics for assessments are rigorous and rigid. Which means that ANY official marker trained in a marking guide, would come out with the same result for a particular exam answer or completed assignment task as every other trained marker.

And that, my friend, is why I repeatedly talk about the importance of your teen getting to grips with mark schemes!

So that they understand how mark schemes are structured,

how marks are allocated and

how their work is judged.

These mark schemes often also have ‘Model Responses’ which are an absolute gold mine in terms of insight and building QWC skills!
(BTW: QWC…that’s quality of written communication – one of the 6 elements of exam technique).  

Because when students can see what a full-mark or A-grade answer really looks like, they can get clear on where, how and why their response did or didn’t get an A.

PLUS – extra little bonus tip here 😉
– these Mark Schemes are often accompanied by the Chief Examiner’s Retrospective; a report all about where students have done well, or less well in previous exam papers.

Again a huuuuuggge treasure trove of info and basically a massive opportunity for learning from other students’ mistakes!

What’s not to love about that?!

 

Again, these are all things that I go into detail on, with heaps of real life examples in my annual Exam Mastery Workshop (EMW for short!).

Giving students skills like:

  • dissecting and even predicting mark schemes (no mind-reader magic needed!)
  • analysing A grade answers and matching every criteria up to the mark scheme
  • and figuring out how to structure extended response and essay answers.

So go check out the EMW if your son or daughter isn’t already enrolled 🙂

 

So, to wrap up this little mini series:

We’ve covered the three attributes of any official assessment or external exam; the nitty-gritty insider info of assessments and exams, with my specific advice and actions for ways your teen can use this info to ensure they’re giving markers what they need to see and can achieve their best possible results (and do it all with a lot less stress and masses more confidence!).

Let me know your thoughts or questions in the comments below, and until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week!

 

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Crucial Clues in Exam Qs and Assignments

Last week we covered the fact that there are three attributes of any formal assessment task:– VALIDITY, ACCESSIBILITY and RELIABILITY and how your teen can use this knowledge of each attribute to their benefit.

So, let’s get into Attribute Number Two … Accessibility AND how your teen can turn this into pro-active action to power-up their performance and results in all formal assessment.

Hey and welcome to Part Two of what has kinda turned into a 3-part mini series of blogs on the nitty-gritty of how exams, coursework and assessments are actually written by teachers and examiners.

Now a super brief recap of things:

  • There are three attributes – VALIDITY, ACCESSIBILITY and RELIABILITY of any formal assessment task.
  • By ‘formal assessment’ we’re talking about any exam set and marked by the state  exam board, or any type of coursework assessment or in-school formal assessment that counts towards your teen’s final grade.

(If you didn’t see Part One (where I discussed VALIDITY), it would be a good idea to go check that out first) 🙂

 

And, what does this have to do with your teen?

Well, if they know exactly what exam boards and curriculum authorities are assessing against or measuring up to, then students can make sure they are giving the markers everything they need to see, to be able to award marks and tick off the success criteria in the mark scheme!

 

So, let’s get into Attribute Number TWO – Accessibility

Accessibility  means that the exam or assessment must be clear and user-friendly for every and any student.

It ensures that no student or group of students is disadvantaged in being able to access an assessment either in understanding the instructions or in being able to provide the required outcome.

 

 

What pro-active actions can students take based on this info?

Students MUST read every piece of information on a task sheet or exam paper.

Often students skim over  a source or some introductory info, or the STEM of a question…(if your teen isn’t sure what we mean by STEM, then the parts and structure of exam Qs is something that I explain in detail in the 10 Week Grade Transformation Program AND in the Exam Mastery Workshop 🙂 )

…But the STEM is important – because often there will be info in there that’s designed to make the question or task accessible.

For example, this could be:

  • where a rule or formula is actually provided for students to use.
  • It could be a definition of an unusual word that is used. Or
  • a background to a method that needs to be used,
  • or some descriptive detail that accompanies a source or text extract.

 

EVERY word on EVERY page of an exam paper or assignment task sheet is there for a reason and has VERY carefully been considered and scrutinised (certainly by at least three exam board representatives for external exams).

If you think your son or daughter could benefit from attending my online Exam Mastery Workshop, then you can check it out HERE. 

And look out for next week’s blog where I’ll share Attribute Number 3 along with advice and actions on how to make this info useful and actionable for your teen in their next exam or assessment.

So until then, let’s make this week a fantastic week!

Katie

 

 

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Pulling Back the Curtain on how Exams are Written

Okay, now this week’s blog is slightly more nerdy than most ?

I’m going to be getting into the nitty-gritty of official assessment tasks and exams and take you behind-the-scenes of creating them.

So if you’ve ever wondered how exams, coursework and assessments are actually put together, then this week’s blog is for you 🙂

 

I’ve recently been through the Curriculum Authority Training course for Assessments and it was-  well – pretty full on!

More detailed and more rigorous than I was expecting – which is definitely a GOOD thing, and meant it was suuuuuper-interesting … (to me at least, as someone who totally geeks out on all things exams and assessment!).

So I thought I’d share some of the key points with you.

(Don’t worry, I really will just keep it to the key points that are actually useful to know for you and your teen! No ‘point 5, subsection a-part-ii’ type of stuff, I promise!!) 😉

 

Now, I started off planning to go over this in just one video, but as I started to go through things, even with plenty of summarising and simplifying, it started to get stupidly long and maybe a bit tough to digest. So I’m breaking it down over 3 weeks as blogs, so look out for parts 2 and 3 to come!

 

Soooo… after many hours of study and discussion with other teachers, examiners and curriculum representatives, here’s what forms the foundation for EVERY formal assessment –in EVERY state in Australia – whether this is internal (e.g. an assignment or task set in school that counts towards the teacher assessment component), or external (e.g. the final exams set and marked by the exam board).

 

The foundation is the 3 attributes:

  • Validity,
  • Accessibility and
  • Reliability

 

These are what teachers, the writers of exam papers for exam boards and the assessment moderators and verifiers are all working to.

And this week I’ll explain the concept of VALIDITY.

 

A VALID task or exam Q means that it accurately measures what it is intended to measure or test in terms of subject content and the syllabus dot points.

So this is where subject knowledge and an excellent understanding of the concepts and case studies is required.

If you’ve heard me use the formula:

Knowledge + Application = Success

then you’ll see that this Validity attribute fits into the knowledge part.

(And if you haven’t heard me explain this formula before, then you definitely need to come along to a future webinar when I next run one!).

Therefore, here’s what I advise all students to do when studying and in particular, revising.

  • Don’t just go through the lesson notes.

Instead go to the official syllabus (if your teen is a member of the Grade Transformation Zone then they’ll have direct links in there to the syllabus documents for their particular state and exam board – yay!) and plan their notes and revision around *those* key content lists and dot points.

Because teachers or examiners can test students on ANYTHING from within the syllabus. And different schools and teachers may put different emphasis or spend different amounts of time on different aspects, depending on the structure of the lessons or time available to cover everything in the term.

For example, I remember years ago, on a GCSE Geography paper in the UK, there was a 3 mark Q early in the paper that really expanded on something that we’d teach as a simple introductory 2 minute kinda fact. Eek… Yep, it caught quite a few students out unfortunately 🙁

 

So, quick recap:

Validity is one of the 3 essential attributes of any formal internal or external assessment.

This means that it is clearly tied to the syllabus content and accurately measures that skills or knowledge.

Therefore my advice is for all students to use the official syllabus dot points not just their notes or a term handout planner for their study notes and revision.

Look out for part 2 of these attributes and what they mean for your teen’s exams and assessments next week, and until then, let’s make this a fantastic week!

 

Katie

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Working SMARTER in homework and assignments

Has your teen ever gone over and above in their assignments or homework tasks?  Perhaps adding an extra case study in a research project, using some amazing home-crafted props to add some pizazz to a presentation, or simply making a beautiful, front cover for a project, (laminated of course)! ?

What was the payoff and the result?

Was it worth it?

Because there are times and places for this sort of extra effort.

Sometimes it can pay off, sometimes it won’t.

So how do you know which situation is which?

 

Well, as a general rule, in tests and exams, this is not the time to do this. Every question has been given a clear and strict mark scheme as it’s been written, and every mark will have been accounted for in the specific directions and wording in every question.

In extended tasks, assignments, projects and coursework, these are a little more flexible and there is the possibility of added extras or special effort gaining credit, extra marks or at least some form of informal recognition like a positive comment from, and a great impression made on the teacher.

 

Now, when it comes to these sorts of extended or open-ended tasks, the lower the year group, the more these sorts of extra efforts will be rewarded.

It’s certainly the case that a great first impression can put the teacher or marker in a more generous frame of mind. Even with a marking rubric teachers are still human

(yep, really) 😉

And of course they want to nurture and encourage that effort and work ethic by having it pay off for your teen.

Plus, more officially, some of these ideas and added extras will actually count towards the success criteria. For example: Props in a presentation would likely count towards the delivery of the presentation being engaging and original. Additional independent research could mean that the level of detail or breadth of research is regarded as higher quality.

 

However, as your teen moves up through the years and into the senior years, things get more formal with mark schemes and so added extras not on the task sheet or marking criteria won’t make up for problems like a lack of in depth analysis or sophisticated evaluation.

Teachers as well as examiners are looking for academic performance in years 11 and 12 (and year 10 really too). All assessments in the senior years will have been matched with the exam board or curriculum criteria and all submissions need to stand up to being scrutinized by outside moderators, so there’s no opportunity for teachers to give any extra discretionary marks or credit anywhere.

 

As you’ll know if you’ve followed me for a while now, I’m all about sticking to the mark sheme, BUT if your teen really is keen to go over and above in a task, then I’d say that in Years 7 to 9, as long as it’s staying within the realms of the task AND not going off on a tangent AND doesn’t involve spending hours of extra time or effort, then go for it 🙂

It could make a good impression on the teacher which can have positive knock-on and long-term effects, but can also produce a better mark or grade if it’s related to the criteria in some way, and of course will give your teen a confidence boost from the positive comments and teacher recognition.

 

However, in Year 10 onwards, I’d hold back on any added extras not mentioned in the instructions or criteria, and put that time and effort into making the elements specifically required as deep, complete and detailed as possible.

They should spend their time and brain power extending their explanations.

Or, perhaps theycan they make a clearer link to their background research to enhance their analysis.

Can they craft a more sophisticated or engaging opening?

These are the sorts of improvements that are going to move them up through the grade descriptors AND will make a great impression on the teacher or exam marker. 😉

 

Don’t forget to leave me a comment below this video, let me know your thoughts and your teen’s experiences around this 🙂

Until next week, let’s make this a fan-TAS-tic week 🙂

Katie

 

 

 

 

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Competing with Classmates

I vividly remember being sat in a History class and listening to a classmate read out her response to a question that we’d all just been sat quietly answering.

My overriding thought was:

“How does she *write* like that?”

Accompanied by thoughts of

“I can’t write like that.” and

“Well, that just isn’t me – I *don’t* write like that”.

But, if I’d realised back then that I just needed to know and enact some simple yet effective strategies and I could’ve definitely written as well as or even better than Suzanne – ‘A-Grade’ – Baker! 😉

It’s wierd the things we remember right?

For example, I can vividly remember being sat in a History class and listening to a class mate read out her response to a question that we’d all just been sat quietly writing out answers to.

Now this occurred over 20 years ago now and yet I can still remember where I was sat in class and I can remember the other students’ name even though she wasn’t a particularly close friend of mine.

(It was Suzanne Baker, if you’re wondering) 😉

But what I remember MOST of all were the feelings I felt and what I was thinking .

My overriding thought was:

“How does she *write* like that?”

Accompanied by thoughts of

“I can’t write like that.”

and

“well, that just isn’t me. I *don’t* write like that”.

Interestingly  I WASN’T thinking – “I wonder how I can write like that?”.

It’s kinda crazy, the limits we put on ourselves isn’t it? 🙁

 

So , there I was, feeling a little in awe, (and a little bit nervous in case the teacher were to pick on me next to read out mine – which didn’t happen, thank goodness!)

but on reflection, what’s most interesting now is that – I was, well,  just… resigned.

Resigned to the fact that, that just wasn’t me.

I simply accepted that I didn’t have the confidence or skills to write in such a sophisticated, high quality way. I figured it was just some sort of natural gift.

Of course, I know NOW (after over a decade of teaching and national and state exam marking, including specifically FOR Y12 state writing tests (which I never would’ve believed I’d be doing if you’d asked me back then!))  with absolute certainty, that it isn’t about who you are or how much of a natural you are at writing.

What it IS about, is essentially putting on a bit of a show or performance for the marker, by putting into action a set of specific techniques, some simple strategies and tricks, so that you can craft amazing responses in whatever genre or style a task demands.

 

For example, in an analytical essay:

Students should be using longer compound and complex sentences, using fully expanded wording and technical vocabulary that gives a formal and official feel and will give the impression of a confident competent student who really knows their subject and how to convey it clearly.

But then for a blog, a feature article or a persuasive speech:

A more casual writing style is needed, which is achieved by using more colloquial language and contracted words (like it’s instead of it is). Plus it’d be good to use a few short, sharp sentences, perhaps sprinkled with a bit of purposeful repetition as well for impact 🙂

 

The point is, students need to write in the way the task and criteria demand and there are simple tips, tricks and techniques to do that. 

They don’t need to be a natural writer or a wizard with words and they certainly don’t need to slave over grammar books or read novels cover to cover to catapult the standard of their writing.

If I’d realised this back then, aaaaaaannnd known these key strategies (and of course, how to enact them and when to use them), I could’ve definitely written as well as or even better than Suzanne Baker 🙂

 

And if you’d love your teen to have aaaaaaalllllll the steps, strategies, tips techniques and tricks to writing like an A-grader, then CLICK HERE to check out my ‘Write Like and A-Grader’ Training.

It’s where I give your teen everything they need – all the tools, explanations, tutoring and examples of how to apply them, so that they become one of those students who can write with confidence and sophistication (and has those skills for.ever.)!

 

 

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2 Things to Focus on

How can your teen best level-up to meet the demands of their current year?

I’ve had a few emails come in since my video where I pulled back the curtain on Term 1 results and shared the fact that it’s not uncommon for students to drop back a little in terms of results and grades from where they were at the end of last year – Parents asking for advice about how students can best level-up to meet the demands of their current year.

So I want to share with you 2 key focus points for your teen to level-up their study and meet the greater demands of their current year level.

 

Here are 2 key focus points for your teen to level-up their study and meet the greater demands of their current year level

Because – ‘What got them here, won’t get them there’.

Meaning, what got your teen a C grade in Year 9 for example, WON’T get them a C grade in Year 10.

Likewise, working the same hours and putting in the same effort as they did in Year 10, won’t get your teen the same results in Year 11. And so on.

Here goes!…

Focus Point One:  Producing work of a higher QUALITY.

One way to do this is to improve their QWC – quality of written communication. This is a large focus of my Write Like an A-Grader training, with elements such as creating more sophisticated sentence structures, using more technical and a wider range of vocabulary, and strategic proofreading and editing.

 

Focus Point Two:  Producing work at a higher COGNITIVE SKILL level.

And if you want more info on what I mean by that, then be sure to come to one of my future webinars, where I explain command words, Blooms Taxonomy and how it all relates to assignments, exams and marking criteria, in detail – because this is such a crucial element to students’ achievement – but one that very few students or parents are fully aware of.

But for now, I can tell you that to produce work that engages and displays higher cognitive skills, your teen needs to not only respond accordingly to any high level commands, but they also need to create opportunities to work at that level.

That might be when they choose a topic for an investigation, when writing their own thesis statement, or when selecting a genre for a piece of extended writing. They should be looking for ways to operate at the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels rather than keep themselves stuck in description and basic explanation mode.

 

If your teen can put into practice just a few of the many techniques and strategies that go into these 2 focus areas then they’ll be making progress towards meeting the demands of their target grades of their current year level 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Efficient editing ( = more time for fun and relaxation)

Does your teen sometimes end up spending waaaayyyyy too much time on their assignments and essays?

This week, after an email from a dad concerned about the amount of time his daughter spends editing, re-drafting and sometimes re-writing whole chunks of her assignments, I’m sharing with you the 3 pillars that underpin the whole reviewing and editing process.

*NEW!*
If you prefer to read rather than watch, scroll down for the written version 🙂

 

 

I recently had an email from a dad, concerned about the amount of time his daughter spends on her assignments, in particular, going back over, changing, editing and re-editing her assignments after receiving feedback and in the final days before submission.

 

And I totally get it. For many dedicated students there is an element of perfectionism at play here, as well as of course, wanting the achieve the best result they can.

This is why my official taglines are to help students get happy, smart and successful and to have them achieve their best possible success AND enjoy the journey along the way. With a lot of emphasis on that AND 😉

That’s what these blog videos are all about and why my 10 Week Program and other Write Like and A-Grader training are centred around making study as EFFICIENT and STREAMLINED as possible for teens today.

So that they do actually have time for other interests and hobbies, to just sit and relax at home, to hang out friends and even do things just for fun.

Now, being efficient in reviewing and improving any piece of work is so much easier when students have a system to follow. Otherwise any changes or edits end up being haphazard and yet more re-reads are needed after each round of edits.

And while I could do a whole video on just each step of the system it’s really more than I can cover in this blog video, so what I’d love to share with you are the 3 pillars that really underpin or rather hold up that whole reviewing and re-drafting process.

Because if your teen can at least be aware of and start to address each of these, then they will not only be producing a higher quality finished product, but they’ll also be on their way to doing it more systematically too.

  1. The first pillar is matching up a piece of work with the success criteria or the marking rubric. Students should be provided with this for most longer or larger tasks completed outside of exam conditions.

Your teen needs to go through and carefully compare their work with the demands of the grade they are targeting and also the grade above – in a shoot for the moon and land among the stars kinda way. Because if they slightly miss something in their target grade, but DO have some elements of the grade above, then that should be enough to have them achieve their target.

They need to check – are they addressing all the criteria and giving enough EVIDENCE in their work that they are meeting them at the required level?

For example – if it says ‘gives a variety of sources or uses a wide range of references’ then they need to consider:

> How many they have (the amount required will increase as students move up year groups and will depend on the subject and task).

> Where did they come from – they need to show a range of different types. Again this will vary depending on the subject and task, but they certainly need to be academically credible and reliable sources,.

> How have they integrated them into their writing and USED them within their assignment. Are they discussed, compared and analysed, or are they just shoe-horned in?

 

2. The second pillar is making improvements to improve their overall communication and writing quality. This might be adjusting the structure, for example re-ordering paragraphs so that the points flow more and have closer linkages.

It might be using more technical vocabulary going to the thesaurus to look for more interesting words. It might be extending an explanation to improve the level of analysis. Or it might be combining or re-writing sentences to make more complex points more coherent in an investigation, or to provide more impact through shorted sentences in a speech or narrative.

 

 

3. The THIRD pillar is making corrections – ensuring there aren’t any simple errors.

Because sloppy mistakes can not only cost students in any marks specifically allocated to their writing quality, or the spelling, punctuation and grammar, but even if there aren’t any criteria specific to this, it is important in terms of the impression it makes on the marker about the type of student they are. That can be the difference as to which side of the fence the marker comes down on in any other decisions about ANY and ALL of the other criteria. So, yes – impressions from spelling, punctuation and grammar are important and so solid proofreading is essential.

 

OK – so quick review :0)

The first pillar of reviewing and editing is matching up their work with the marking criteria.

The second is improving their communication and the quality of their writing,

The third pillar is correcting any slips, errors or mistakes, by proofreading their spelling, punctuation and grammar.

 

Thanks so much for reading!

Until next week, let’s make this a fantastic week! 🙂

Katie

P.S. I’d love to know whether or not this text version is rocking people’s socks. I’d love it if you’d drop me a quick email or FB message and let me know 🙂

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