the only thing moving me is the sheer anxiety and stress of failing.
Stressing and fearing will not help you move forward, nor will it keep you at the same spot. It will just take you back even more. When you're stressing, you'll realise that every time you revise a topic and move forward, you'll forget about the other topics.
Firstly, work on your mentality before your maths skills. Don't ever think that you can never learn, cuz when you think about it, maths is just a bunch of rules that a human being came up with (well, discovered, cuz they were always there) So think of it this way, if a human being understood the maths concept, why can't you? I guarantee you that you are more than capable of acing maths
you just need to put in the effort. One thing all of the "class toppers" students share is that they know how much effort they put to get them to where they are now.
Now lemme tell you how I studied for my unit 3 exam in
just a week (from last Wednesday till today
)
1- Snap out of regret, anxiety, fear, depression, hatred and all these negative feelings. Your brain should now be occupied with numbers and only numbers, so you don't have time to waste on negativity!
2- Tell yourself that you can do it. Because you can! I realised that the only way for me to solve a complex unfamiliar level question is if I believed in myself and said "This can't be as bad as it looks...I think I can do it" and don't be scared of numbers!
3- If you feel tired, go to sleep. Your brain will not handle calculating numbers when you haven't given it the rest it needs. It's like a phone, charge it first, and then use it
Now that we finished with the psychological side of maths, let's move to the physical side of it (man, maths really is a big deal when you think about it
)
1- Write down a list of all the topics of unit three. Highlight the things you feel ok with, and the things you think will take you long in different colours. Then work yourself from there step by step
2- Based on the amount of days you have, make a timetable!!! I cannot stress how important it is to organise your time! You have 15 days (which seems pretty efficient to me) to cover the amount of topics you need, so create a time table and
stick to it. Your time table could be that you spend one day for each chapter (assuming that you are revising and not learning the content for the first time). Each day, divide your time into firstly getting familiar with the rules (For example, familiarise your self with the integration laws and make sure to understand them). After that, start with the simple stuff, and then gradually build on if you are aiming to reach the complex levels.
"He who wishes to climb a ladder, must do so starting from the bottom step"
3- When you do questions, make sure you have a little note book where you record down formulas, examples and any mistakes you make. It doesn't need to be a fully worked notebook, just write down steps when tackling a question. Also, every time you make a big mistake which you think you might also make on the exam, write it down. Make sure the notes make sense when you want to read over them again.
4-Break down the question before you jump into solving it. First, identify what the question is asking. Then, decide which formula fits. After that, decide where the numbers go. Then you calculate the answer and make sure your it is in simplest form and rationalised, and if needed, add a concluding sentence to your answer (it's a good habit to get into which will help you lots on the external).
5- Practice the same question more than once. Even tho you just finished doing it, go through it again. Make sure you get the answer correct this time as well. If you didn't get the right answer again, go over the same question over and over until you feel ok with it
6- Remember, YouTube is there for you. You also got atar notes, just post you questions clearly in here and get the help you need. There are so many helpful YouTube videos out there if you know what you are struggling with. If you need,
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-3WfCmSdHBtiKaQdZYO1uzXuLfNCtpMt this is a link to a google drive folder that contains practice exams and unit 3 materials (QCAA style tho, but the questions are still the same I think?
7- Make sure the area you study at is organised and clean. Seeing how tidy you room or study area is will send chill signals to your brain and make you feel relaxed !
Stick to your timetable, get some breaks when you need to and make sure you don't burn yourself out. Remember, there is only one answer to a question but the steps to get to that answer may vary
On exam night, try to take things easy, however don't distract yourself with anything other than maths! Keep your brain in the "maths and numbers" zone. Do one question from each chapter only. If there a question bothering you, try to see how they got the answer even if you don't get it. Familiarising your eyes with numbers can help you lots in the future. Get enough sleep (aim for
at least 6 hours, though 8 hours are preferred)
On exam day, do not do any practicing in the morning. You should feel pretty confident by now (but also nervous, cuz we're all humans and we all get nervous) but keep reminding yourself that as long as you put into the effort, your hard work will pay off at the end. Instead, read over the notes you took when you were revising. Skim through the notes, see the mistakes you made and make sure to avoid them. Have a light meal, drink water (not too much tho, you won't wanna regret it during the exam) and up you go! The happier you feel about the exam, surprisingly the better you will perform at it !! So play things cool
Hope you exam goes well! I did mine today and let me say, the feeling of finally stepping out of the exam room after all the effort you put in feels ~ a m a z i n g ~
Best of luck![/list][/list]