Hi guys!
I am struggling to study for Specialist Maths and want to know what is the best way to study for SAC's; I know this sounds cliche but seriously don't know what to exactly do. The Spec. SAC is an application SAC, so should I practise Exam 2 style questions, practise SAC's (BTW my teacher doesn't give out past SAC's for some reason) or just continue with textbook questions (Cambridge textbook). I'm hoping that someone who has experienced Spec. Maths can guide me to what should I do. How did you high achieving student who completed Unit 3/4 Spec. do to get a high study score. Thanks.
Hey there! Glad to see you've reached out for help. In addition to my advice below, please do see your teacher for their advice since they obviously know you as a learner better than I do.
Indeed, practice is probably the best way to improve at maths. In preparing for assessments, try to become a member of this cycle: \[\begin{matrix}\text{practice}&\longrightarrow & \text{check}\\
\uparrow & \ & \downarrow\\
\text{implement}& \longleftarrow & \text{correct}\end{matrix}\]
Practice. Then,
check your work against solutions and/or a teacher.
Correct any issues you have by asking questions. Then,
implement your new knowledge in responses.
Repeat.
Since your upcoming assessment is an application SAC, you should probably do Exam 2 extended response questions relevant to the topic(s). There are plenty of questions out there, especially in past exams. I would be very surprised if you ran out of questions to do before your SAC. Personally, I didn't do a single question from the textbook the entire year. They are skills questions that you generally won't see on SACs and/or the exams. If you find you need to work on a certain area, then by all means, do them to build your understanding and confidence.
As for preparing for assessments, that's probably the most general advice I can give to students of all levels. Depending on your ability and what you're aiming for, the advice I can give varies drastically. (Every student is also different).
Personally, I really only had two goals the entire year.
1) Understand all concepts at a very high level, and
2) Understand the inner workings and motivation(s) behind every question.
Does this mean you should have the same goals as me? Absolutely not. They're mine. Make your own