I'm in trouble...

[ShaunB442]

Hi...
I am looking for advice as to what steps I should take to (significantly) improve my 4u maths marks. I'm doing well for 3u, my teacher says I'm on track for hsc mark of around 45/50, and I'm doing very well in my other 6 units (likely B6 for all), however, my 4u marks are absolutely shocking. I'm ranked last in the cohort (school ranks around 100th) -- my average is 44% compared to the 64% average of the cohort and as such my HSC mark is projected for around 65-70...

I don't consider myself to be a genius by any means, but I'm certainly better than an E2 / low E3... -- I've always done quite well at school. I work moderately hard across my top 8 units, however I'm always pushing 4u to the side, constantly neglecting it or not touching it for a few days when I get stuck on a question.

4U Trials are in 40 days (exactly) and I need to know where to start, and what methods and strategies I can be implementing to do well. Should I go through my textbook over the next two weeks and then do past papers for the three weeks after that; should I start past papers today; should I study the textbook for all 40 days? Any tips, tricks, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and good luck to everyone with their studies.

[RuiAce]

(Firstly, let's ignore the school rank factor. Last place at my school aced 3U and struggled with 4U, but got 82 anyway.)

This is just the reality of taking on such a demanding course. Concepts are not meant to be obvious and only a few people will understand everything on the fly. You're gonna get stuck all the time with 4U concepts and questions and then just not feel like doing anything.

That's the typical part. What matters is how you handle it.

Let's start by considering just how many past papers have you attempted thus far in preparation for each assessment task to date. For something like internals, maybe not much is really needed (2 is a good number). The exception so far would be the half-yearly exams, where 4 or 6 would've been a good number. You should ask yourself if you genuinely gave it a shot at these papers, not whether or not you've managed to complete the entire thing. How long did you actually spend trying to do a question? The later the question appears in the paper, the more time should be devoted to it. (Difficulty in maths paper questions is usually in ascending order.)

And now that you're at the trials, you decide for yourself how many you should do (because obviously you have to study for all the other subjects as well). I will not give you a number because that's just adding unnecessary pressure.

Now, consider how you approach past papers. Are you commencing open book BEFORE closed book? Do you push yourself to a point where you're genuinely stuck before you give up? And when you're stuck, are you brave enough to actually check AND copy the answers? An important part of studying for maths is to actually write down what the answers are and not just read them. Short reason why: Writing forces the brain to retain methods and processes more.

And the important thing is to actually force yourself into it. Nobody likes to do it, but it's absolutely necessary. Employ strategies such as studying at libraries and limited use of technology to force yourself to do questions. Print out past paper questions and answers if necessary - there are tons of past papers at sites such as THSC which you should be well aware of. The important thing is to force yourself, because if you can't do that then nothing else follows.

(There's a small section on exam tips at my lecture. Might help a little.)

[ShaunB442]

(Firstly, let's ignore the school rank factor. Last place at my school aced 3U and struggled with 4U, but got 82 anyway.)

This is just the reality of taking on such a demanding course. Concepts are not meant to be obvious and only a few people will understand everything on the fly. You're gonna get stuck all the time with 4U concepts and questions and then just not feel like doing anything.

That's the typical part. What matters is how you handle it.

Let's start by considering just how many past papers have you attempted thus far in preparation for each assessment task to date. For something like internals, maybe not much is really needed (2 is a good number). The exception so far would be the half-yearly exams, where 4 or 6 would've been a good number. You should ask yourself if you genuinely gave it a shot at these papers, not whether or not you've managed to complete the entire thing. How long did you actually spend trying to do a question? The later the question appears in the paper, the more time should be devoted to it. (Difficulty in maths paper questions is usually in ascending order.)

And now that you're at the trials, you decide for yourself how many you should do (because obviously you have to study for all the other subjects as well). I will not give you a number because that's just adding unnecessary pressure.

Now, consider how you approach past papers. Are you commencing open book BEFORE closed book? Do you push yourself to a point where you're genuinely stuck before you give up? And when you're stuck, are you brave enough to actually check AND copy the answers? An important part of studying for maths is to actually write down what the answers are and not just read them. Short reason why: Writing forces the brain to retain methods and processes more.

And the important thing is to actually force yourself into it. Nobody likes to do it, but it's absolutely necessary. Employ strategies such as studying at libraries and limited use of technology to force yourself to do questions. Print out past paper questions and answers if necessary - there are tons of past papers at sites such as THSC which you should be well aware of. The important thing is to force yourself, because if you can't do that then nothing else follows.

(There's a small section on exam tips at my lecture. Might help a little.)

Thanks so much Rui! I've read many posts of yours over the months and all have been very insightful. I will be sure to implement these strategies. Thanks