How to deconstruct an HSC question in ninety seconds

Students lose more marks to misreading than to gaps in knowledge. The fix is a short, deliberate routine performed on every extended response question before any planning begins.

The routine

1. 01Circle the directive verb. Assess, evaluate, discuss, analyse and explain demand different structures. Write the required structure in the margin.
2. 02Underline the subject matter. Be precise about which part of the topic is being examined, and which parts are not.
3. 03Box any limiting words. Words such as 'to what extent', 'in relation to' or 'since 2015' narrow the response and are the most commonly ignored words in the paper.
4. 04Write your judgement in six words. If you cannot state a position in six words, you do not yet have a thesis.
5. 05List four pieces of evidence. One legislation, one case, one media or report, one statistic or example, where the subject allows.

Why it works

The routine forces the position to exist before the writing starts. Students who begin writing without a stated judgement tend to arrive at one somewhere in the third paragraph, which means the first two paragraphs are description the marker cannot reward.

Practise it on past papers until it takes under two minutes. It should feel automatic by the Trial examination.