In Further Maths, all assessments allow you to bring in your summary book: a bound reference with as much detail as you can fit in it, covering as much as the course as you would like, to help you get the right answer quickly. I’m often asked what should and should not be included in students’ summary books, so hopefully this article can clear that all up.
VCAA Guidelines
The first piece of advice, and certainly the most important, is that there are strict guidelines set by VCAA that your summary book must adhere to. To read those guidelines you can go to the VCAA website. If you enter the exam and your summary book does not meet these guidelines, it will be confiscated. A scary situation, so make sure that you take the necessary steps to ensure you meet the guidelines (your teacher will know them back to front, so make sure to get them to check your summary book, preferably as early as possible).
Strategy
Your summary book should be added to progressively throughout the year; it is important to not leave the creation of your summary book until the weeks before the exam. Writing your summaries as you go ensures that you aren’t forgetting to include any of the content, but also helps to consolidate the learning you do in class. Leaving your summary book to the last minute almost guarantees that your stress levels will be much higher than they need to be, and places you at risk of not having a summary book to bring into the exam.
On that note, please don’t bring your textbook into the exam as your summary book. Whilst technically permitted, your textbook will be more of a burden to you than a help. There’s a heap of unnecessary content in there which you’ll have to navigate in order to actually get the information you need, and you miss out on the consolidation and relearning that is involved in creating and revising a summary book.
Content
As for what should go into your summary book, this varies from person to person. Your summaries should cover all of the content of the course, but should do so in a concise manner. You don’t want to have to search for the answer in your exam – it should be easy to find, so make sure there isn’t unnecessary detail in your summaries. Making sure that you are ordering your summaries logically also helps (do this in the chronological order of the course).
I structured my summary book by writing my summaries on the left pages and leaving the right pages blank for examples. As I completed SACs and practice exams, or even just difficult parts of the textbook, I cut out examples of questions and their samples answers and put them on the page to the right of the corresponding course content. This helps to ensure that you’re able to recall the structure of the answers to tough content. Finally, if you struggle with your calculator, put short explanations of the calculator process for tougher questions; this will save you heaps of time in the exam.
In short, your summary book should be a concise resource that meets the VCAA guidelines, covers the entirety of the study design with examples, calculator explanations and as much or as little detail as you need. If you’re looking for guidance as to what content you should and shouldn’t include, our Further Maths Complete Course Notes cover all of the necessary content in about as much detail as you should need, and would be a great start for your summary book!
Brady is the Head Tutor for Further Maths at TuteSmart. You can find more information on the program here.
