Personal Development Health
and Physical Education
HSC Enrichment Day
2014
Exam Technique
In this session we will look at preparing for
the PDHPE HSC exam including:
• Exam structure
• Strategies for answering multiple choice
questions
• Tips for writing short answer/extended
responses
• Planning your answers
Exam Structure
•
Section I: Core 1 and 2 content (60 marks)
Part A: Multiple choice
• There will be objective response questions to the value of 20
marks
Part B: Short answer questions
• There will be approximately six short answer questions
•
Section II: Options (40 marks)
• There will be two questions for each of the five options
• Answer both questions for the two options you have studied.
• Answer only the options you have studied.
Time Allocation
• The PDHPE exam is 3 hours plus 5 minutes reading time
• Section 1:
– Part A:
– Part B:
40 minutes (multiple choice)
1 hour and 10 minutes
(Short answer questions)
• Section 2:
– Options : 1 hour and 10 minutes
(short answer/extended response)
Multiple Choice Questions
•
•
•
Read each question carefully
Be systematic
Make 3 “passes”
Pass 1
–
answer all the questions for which the answers come
easily i.e. the ‘sure things’
–
eliminate as many options as you can from other
questions.
Pass 2
–
figure out the “best” of the rest of the answer options.
Pass 3
–
take an educated guess.
Activity 2a & b
Breaking Down Questions
Use the acronym SELL
Syllabus content
- Identify the syllabus content needed to answer the question.
Explain using the key word and examples how this syllabus
content
Links to the question.
Look over the question again to make sure you have covered
everything
Activity 3a
Question Breakdown Continued
Explain how an elite athlete uses psychology to
improve performance in competition. (5 marks)
What to include in a response
• Identify psychological strategies to enhance motivation and
manage anxiety
• Make the relationship between psychology and improved
performance evident.
• Use relevant examples specific to elite athletes and
psychology strategies
Practice Question Breakdown
1. Read the question
1. Identify the marks allocated
2. Underline the syllabus points so you know WHAT the
question is asking you about
3. Circle the key words so you know HOW to answer the
question
4. Read the question again for links / key hints
Activity 4
More Practice
Use SELL
Develop a plan
Write a response
(PEEL)
1. Outline reasons for growth of complementary and
alternative health products and services. (3 marks)
2. Assess the impact of a growing and ageing population for
improving Australia’s health. (8 marks)
3. Describe how recovery strategies can affect performance.
(6 marks)
4. Analyse how the principles of training can be applied to
both aerobic and resistance training. (5 marks)
Activity 5
Support Networks
 Teacher/tutor
 HSC Advice line 13 11 12
 Stuvac study groups
 Textbook/study guides/past papers
 BOSTES site – coping with stress
 HSC online PDHPE forums
 BOSTES sample answers, 2010-2013 past exam papers
Marking the HSC
• Marking guidelines.
• Pilot marking/real marking.
• Script marking.
• Discrepancies.
• Positive marking.