It's almost exam time... and I'm freaking out.

[whitecatdisguised]

So I know all you have to do is do practice exams for maths, over and over again. Practise, practise.
I want a 40+ in Further, but my SAC marks aren't really that great. This means I need to achieve exam marks of mid-range A+ on both exams to get above 40 (approximately).
But the exams are drawing near... the results I'm getting from these practise exams aren't pleasing, and almost discouraging.

Whenever I go through the answers with my tutor, everything makes sense.
However when I attempt the questions myself, I go blank. Totally blank, and I end up leaving those questions.
I haven't been improving in time, nor knowledge... and I'm starting to freak out...
If anyone has any advice that could help me, seriously, I will be grateful.

[lolaser]

I think with further people get too caught up in the idea that doing a million practice exams will iron out the problems. Practice exams are good for finding areas in which you struggle or get caught up by the tricks that VCAA will use in each section. I would strongly recommend that you do two MC and two Extended Response exams. Then pull out every question you got wrong and see if there is any pattern. If there is an area you consistenly make mistakes on, revise it a lot, look through the tricks that they can pull in that section.

Also, if you find an area which you make mistakes in, take some of the questions you got wrong and put clear and concise correct workings and answers for these questions. That way if you get them in future practice exams or the real exam, you will have a reference point.

Once you understand the further course, it becomes more about your ability to pick out tricks rather than actually do the mathematics. On this note, next time you do an exam, make a note to highlight the keywords of each question. This will minimize your errors.

Hope it helps.