Re: Advice from a graduated HSC student on how to excel in senior year studies(yr 11/
Great information!
Quick question(s) - how did you study for maths?, and also how do you set out your maths homework? , i.e, do you write out the question, divide the page in half to save space, did you have an actual grid book, or was it a standard exercise book. I've often used standard exercise books because I'm usually too lazy to draw a margin lol
The only way you can study for maths is essentially to understand mathematical concepts, apply your understanding by practice questions of increasing difficulty, and checking your answers and working out with those provided by the textbook or with your teacher/tutor. Before each maths exam, I would also do a summary of all the formulas that I would need and all the tips and tricks for each topic and revise over that before the exam.
One very important tip is to avoid exposing yourself to new, difficult questions the day before the exam-you would often be panicked and this would worsen your exam performance because you are not entering the exam with a calm, clear mind.
Well, I had a habit to try to do my maths homework before it was set-so that I had more time for other subjects like English. I used an actual grid book-I found it particularly useful when I am drawing trigonometry graphs, but it is up to you, it doesn't really matter what type of book you use as long as you set out your questions neatly and in a legible manner. I did divide my pages in half, not to save space, because it was the format I was accustomed to. I would write out the question, write my working out, and ticked or crossed my own work by marking my answers with those of the textbook. And if I got a question wrong, I would re-do it several times until I get it right or I could ask my teacher. When I understood the mathematical concepts, I would then do practice trial papers to consolidate my knowledge.
One last important tip I can give you is that you need to ask questions the minute you don't understand something-don't leave any maths lessons without understanding everything about the maths concept conveyed-because maths is a sort of accumulative subject where if you don't understand something and don't clarify it, it can have a snowball effect. I have a habit of writing tips on the silly mistakes I've made or tips to do a certain type of question alongside questions I got wrong and I re-do these questions before the exam and remind myself to avoid making these mistakes.
MATHS is a subject that needs to be practiced on a daily basis, you cannot get away with studying it the day before the actual exam. You need to understand the approach to achieve a solution to the problems, not just knowing how to answer a problem, but knowing the different types of problems you can encounter in any topic and the variation in the solution method to achieve them. Essentially, practice, practice, practice is the key to succeed in Maths.
I hope your laziness is only in not bothering to draw margins, and not in not doing lots of maths problems
) Anyways, glad that the information helped, if you have any more questions, feel free to reply to this thread
All my best wishes for you to ace your senior year studies
(You've got a pretty heavy workload by the sounds of your subjects
)
