Methods work needed and prioritisation?

[TheAspiringDoc]

Hey! Could I please have some advice on this.

I have hand issues with writing, so basically I don't write (I might've written 5 pages worth total in the last month?).
I'm doing 3/4 methods this year, and have always been pretty good at maths (AMC prize/HD/D, do spec), so I'm wondering if I can get away with doing little written practise?
My school is trying to make me do every single question in the textbook, but I doubt I'll do even 30% of them.
Generally I like to handwrite notes for my subjects - is that the best way I should invest what little writing I can do, or is it better I do checkpoints Questions, or chapter reviews etc?

Although I don't intend to do much written practise, I'll still be aiming high for methods.

Thanks in advance

[Quantum44]

Honestly if you’re doing spesh you probably don’t need to do that many practice textbook questions as long as you do enough to have a solid understanding of the course. Chapter reviews and checkpoints are definitely the way to go if you want to study as efficiently as possible to get through the course and revise before SACs. I don’t think writing notes for maths subjects is at all useful.

However your hand issues could be problematic later in the year as doing lots of practice exams is the recommended path for getting high scores in methods.

[TheAspiringDoc]

^^thanks Quantum!

If you recommend not doing notes, then how do you retain all the techniques and definitions?

[Quantum44]

^^thanks Quantum!

If you recommend not doing notes, then how do you retain all the techniques and definitions?

You don’t need to really know any definitions for maths as far as I’m aware, since they are never going to ask you to give written answers (except perhaps proofs). As for techniques, you just learn how to do all problems by practicing them. For example, you can’t really write notes on how to do integration by recognition, but if you’ve done it 10 times you’ll know how to do it quickly and confidently for all standard variations of the problem.

[Lear]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, I just wanted to ask quantum a question. I've finished the majority of the textbook chapter questions for methods, would I be better off in class spending time on checkpoints/chapter reviews/past sacs or revisiting chapter questions for practice?

[Quantum44]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, I just wanted to ask quantum a question. I've finished the majority of the textbook chapter questions for methods, would I be better off in class spending time on checkpoints/chapter reviews/past sacs or revisiting chapter questions for practice?

Firstly, well done for having done so much of the methods textbook in the summer holidays. Having such a strong work ethic from the outset of year 12 certainly bodes well for the rest of the year. I think it’s helpful to consider questions on three levels:

1. Textbook questions - essential to understand basic concepts of each topic
2. Chapter review questions - generally good for consolidation but can be well off the mark in some cases
3. Exam questions - includes checkpoints questions, generally your SACs are pitched at this levels

Bearing this in mind, I’d avoid looking at textbook questions any more and do a brief review and consolidation of each topic through doing selected chapter review questions. Try to pick out the good ones as some questions can be completely irrelevant. When you get to SAC time, it is obviously best to move up a level and do checkpoints/past SACs. However since you are so on top of methods, I’d be wary of doing checkpoints as they will ruin the past exams for you (assuming you want to dedicate a fair portion of the year for practice exams).

[Lear]

In that case, would you recommend first completing relevant chapter reviews from both textbooks (maths quest and Cambridge) and then commerical papers? I haven't done a VCAA exam which had commerical papers available and therefore am not experienced in the  accuracy of commerical papers. I have also considered leaving VCAA papers for the end but am concerned commercial papers may not be as good as past papers. Maybe there are certain companies that are well known for good methods papers?

[Quantum44]

In that case, would you recommend first completing relevant chapter reviews from both textbooks (maths quest and Cambridge) and then commerical papers? I haven't done a VCAA exam which had commerical papers available and therefore am not experienced in the  accuracy of commerical papers. I have also considered leaving VCAA papers for the end but am concerned commercial papers may not be as good as past papers. Maybe there are certain companies that are well known for good methods papers?

I think moving on with the chapter reviews is definitely the best approach at this stage. As for exams, I’d recommend starting with 2006-2012 VCAA past exams to get a good feel for the level of knowledge required at the end of the year, then move on with commercial exams, saving the best for last (2013-2017 VCAA past exams) in the last few weeks before the exam.

In terms of commercial exams, I’d say:

Kilbaha: Very difficult, well written questions, enhances problem solving skills, some exam 2 questions are insane
MAV: Similar difficultly to kilbaha, perhaps a tad more accessible, good practice for advanced students
NEAP: Again similar in difficulty and quality to those above
Heffernan: IMO the best exam company, well written and average difficulty similar to VCAA
TSSM: Average difficulty but question quality can miss the mark
Insight: Similar to TSSM, I’d probably avoid both if possible

[Lear]

Great information.
Thank you so much Quantum!