How to stop sucking in Methods 3/4

[Genshai]

Hi AN !

I absolutely suck at methods and i really don't like it, but its a pre-req for the course I want. I need a 25 ss, but honestly I don't know if I can even get that. Covid /really/ messed up my methods mojo, but I can't do anything about the past now. So, I guess I'm wondering if you have any exam prep tips for someone in this situation? What exam score would get me a 25?

Thanks in advance !!

[The Cat In The Hat]

Hi AN !

I absolutely suck at methods and i really don't like it, but its a pre-req for the course I want. I need a 25 ss, but honestly I don't know if I can even get that. Covid /really/ messed up my methods mojo, but I can't do anything about the past now. So, I guess I'm wondering if you have any exam prep tips for someone in this situation? What exam score would get me a 25?

Thanks in advance !!

First things first: if it's a prereq, and you don't like it, what's the chance you'll also not like whatever course you want to do?

What I find useful myself is making my own bound book: it forces me to summarise things the way I would understand them. Also, then if you need to use it in the exam, you should know more about where to find stuff. I did this for the U3 SAC. I found mapping out the functions on my CAS (and researching some I didn't know) useful, as even though I barely used my bound book, even having gone through that more, I knew 'oh I can do this with the CAS' or 'oh I need to change it somehow' or something. So that would be my first suggestion.

Also: practise practise practise. That's the biggest one. Make sure you understand how and not just follow steps. Lots of practise.

Hope this helps. I'm also only a year 12 student though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[AngelWings]

First things first: if it's a prereq, and you don't like it, what's the chance you'll also not like whatever course you want to do?

I would be cautious in saying this. Sometimes the Methods prerequisite is a bit of a culling tool and the institute simply wants to know that you’ve got some math/ problem solving/ STEM capability to begin with, whereas other times it’s actually necessary to know how to solve an integral or calculate the probability of X occurring. It depends on the course itself how relevant it will be. I would be careful when generalising that the one Genshai or anyone else wants is one where liking Methods = liking their desired  course. (For some irony, there’s a quite a lot of healthcare workers/ biology graduates who would say  that Methods was their least favourite/ worst subject in VCE but did it because it’s a prerequisite, then subsequently loved/ did well in their uni studies which had little relevance to Methods.)

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

First things first: if it's a prereq, and you don't like it, what's the chance you'll also not like whatever course you want to do?

Methods is a pre-req for many things who have no maths whatsoever. It’s not like chem where if it’s a pre-req there’s definitely at least SOME science of some sort so it’s questionable whether you’ll like the course. But yes as the user said above it’s more like a quick sieve for the uni.

[ThunderDragon]

Hey I'm in a similar situation to Genshai.

Aiming for a 25 - 30 range for Methods for prereq. There's roughly 2.5 - 3 months until the Methods exams and on a scale of 1 - 10 in terms of how well I understand the content, I would rate it at around a 2. However due to the limited time and the fact that this is a bottom 2 subject and therefore I don't exactly need to get above a 30, should I start doing practice exams and learn the content through that way or should I basically just start learning the content before doing prac exams?
Also, if i just have a good grasp on Calculus and Probability, how far will that get me in the exams?

[eloisegrace]

Hey I'm in a similar situation to Genshai.

Aiming for a 25 - 30 range for Methods for prereq. There's roughly 2.5 - 3 months until the Methods exams and on a scale of 1 - 10 in terms of how well I understand the content, I would rate it at around a 2. However due to the limited time and the fact that this is a bottom 2 subject and therefore I don't exactly need to get above a 30, should I start doing practice exams and learn the content through that way or should I basically just start learning the content before doing prac exams?
Also, if i just have a good grasp on Calculus and Probability, how far will that get me in the exams?

I would personally try learning through exam questions unless you have absolutely no clue about the content. Learning through questions and comparing your answers to the solutions will help you improve your exam taking skills and put you in very good stead for a 25-30 ss! I hope this helps ThunderDragon and Genshai