My further maths experience (and advice)

[Peanut Butter]

Hi guys!

I know there are plenty of threads over AN with tips and tricks on how to get a high study score in further, but I would just like share my experience as a year 11 student completing further and how I was successful in achieving a 50 (and sometimes it's nice to get a fresh perspective ).

Further being ‘easy’?

To start off with I would just like to say that, regardless of what everyone seems to think, further is not an easy subject. Yes, the mathematical content is easier than methods and specialist, but achieving a high study score is not as easy as everyone seems to think.

As a relatively strong maths student, I walked into further at the start of the year expecting it to be a breeze, however this was not the case at all. Although I seemed to grasp the maths quite easily, a lot of the questions require you to analyse the data and to apply the maths in various situations (rather than just performing straight calculations like I was used to in methods).

If maths isn’t your strongest subject or doesn’t come to you as easily as other concepts do, don’t be disheartened. As I mentioned above, mathematical calculations are small in the whole scheme of further, so as long as you understand the formulas and what they mean you can still do incredibly well in the subject. On this same note, don’t think that because you are a methods student you are at an advantage and can easily achieve a 45+. I feel like this is a common misconception about further and as a result strong students neglect the subject and don’t put in an adequate amount of work, and then are disappointed with their study score. Yes, methods and further are both maths subjects, but on the whole they are completely different subjects

Perfect SAC marks?

From the very beginning I was aiming for a high study score in further – as a year 11, I wanted to do well in my first 3/4 subject so that I could start year 12 with a bang. As a result, I had very high expectations of myself. When my third (out of six) further SACs did not go exactly as I planned, I was devastated and spent days crying. There was all this hype surrounding further that you needed ‘perfect’ SACs in order to get a high study score and regardless of the amount of times my teacher told me that this wasn’t the case, I didn’t believe her. I can assure you now, that a perfect SAC average is not a necessity to do well in further. However, you do need to have a high ranking (this was something my teacher refused to tell our class – so I cannot comment on my rank and how this affected my study score).

Also, don't take your SAC marks too much to heart. Doing bad on one SAC will not ruin all your hard work. Take it as a learning experience and explore what went wrong and how you can fix it for next time.

Best way to study?

Studying is a very personal thing; everyone works differently and not all techniques work for the same people.
However, for me, I focused on practise SACs and exams. I only completed textbook questions when they were required homework (I probably did around 60% of the textbook) and sometimes did extra questions if a certain topic stumped me. I had a Checkpoints book but did not use it once. Leading up to a SAC, I made sure to get a copy of every practise SAC my teacher owned – I did these in test conditions (ie. not asking for help from other people) and marked them (harshly) according to the solutions. I never studied the night before a SAC; I only skimmed over my notes and looked through common mistakes on the practise SACs.

I didn’t start practise exams until we had finished all content and all SACs (this was around early September). From this point onwards I did one set of VCAA exams a week (exam one Saturday and exam two Sunday) which lasted me until about two weeks before the exam. I did all of these in complete exam conditions (with proof-reading) so that my scores were a good indication of my performance. I noted all these results in a table; where one column indicated the mark and another column indicated the mistake made. This allowed me to easily see how I was improving as well as to identify common mistakes. I completed several company papers however did not always do these in exam conditions (I just did a question whenever I had time). I never heavily stressed out about doing bad on  company exams as they differ (some quite significantly) from VCAA.

Altogether I completed over 60 exams, which when I now reflect on I realise was a bit excessive. But as a year 11 student with a lot of time and high anxiety, this was something that made me feel prepared for the exam. This is something that probably wouldn’t be possible as a year 12 student, as you often have 4 or 5 other subjects where you need to devote your time to. Ideally, VCAA papers are the most important and should all definitely be completed and marked before the exam.

Notes and bound reference?

As a general rule, I am not a big ‘notes-person’. I’m not one to cram a million pieces on information onto a single sheet of paper in size 6 font. My notes (for SACs) and bound reference (for exams) were very minimal and only consisted of what I absolutely needed to know. Unlike a lot of further students, I did not create my own mini textbook.

For SACs, my notes were always below the maximum allowed pages (usually only took in 2 or 3 sides), where I put a couple of questions that had tricked me or I had gotten wrong as well as things that I did not want to memorise and used as a reference (such as the circle of transformations and the bell curve).

My bound reference for the exam was a whopping 10 pages (20 sides) where 3 of these were coloured dividers between the modules and a few were blank pages (in case I needed to add anything once it was bound). As I mentioned previously, anything I knew did not belong there. I did not waste space placing definitions and examples that I already knew. For me, this was a confidence boost. Walking into the exam with a small bound reference was like saying “yep, I've studied hard and I know my shit”.

Again, this varies from person to person and I know that some people prefer to take in hundreds of pages “just in case they have a mental blank”. But during the exam I hardly used my bound reference, I used it maybe once in exam one and 2-3 times in exam two.

Day before exam?

I did not study the day or night before my exam. At all. I was fearful of becoming overly stressed and psyched out.

Leading up to the exam (week before), I stopped completing practise exams. Instead, I read through examiners reports and completed questions that were commonly answered incorrectly. As well as read through the table where my common exam/SAC mistakes were listed, familiarising myself with my weakness and developing ways to avoid repeating them.

During the exams?

In both of my exams I worked incredibly slow. I think this was something that happened subconsciously because I was fearful of making careless mistakes. For exam one, I usually completed the exam in 45 minutes however when it came to the actual exam it took me 60 minutes. This still meant that I had plenty of time to proof-read. I walked out of exam one extremely proud of efforts, knowing that I had done my absolute best. However, exam two was a completely different story.

In practise, I usually completed exam two in about 55 minutes. However in the actual exam it took me one hour and 15 minutes. This really fuzzled me – I only had 15 minutes left to check the whole paper. As a result, I didn’t get to proof-read my last module at all because I ran out of time. This really upset me. I walked out of the exam knowing that I could've done better – I was absolutely devastated (but in the end, everything happened to be fine).

So on this note, remember that both nerves and adrenaline kick-in during the exam, so be sure to keep this in mind when preparing for the exam so that you can prevent the same mistake from happening to you.

Careless mistakes?

Careless mistakes – the evil spawn of further.

These are some of the methods I use to enhance my accuracy:

1.   Work slowly (turtle speed, even!)
2.   Use different methods to check your answer (like working backwards) as this will prevent you from making the same mistake twice
3.   Always re-enter data
4.   Take the time (only a couple of seconds for each question) to ensure that you have entered the numbers correctly – sometimes your fingers get a bit excited and press multiple/the wrong button(s)

Overall, further was a lot different to what I expected. Both the questions and the competitiveness of the subject really surprised me. However, with hard-work, perseverance and determination (and a lot of help from the people here on AN) I was able to achieve a study score that I never though possible.


So this was my further maths experience. I hope (if you’ve made it this far) that it was at least a little bit helpful. Every single one of you is capable of doing well in this subject, you just have to work hard and believe in yourself.

If you want any other advice for further (anything at all!) feel free to PM whenever

All the best xx

[babushka818]

Thanks for your insight Peanut Butter It's really nice to have some honest opinions and really valuable advice. A lot of people go around saying "do every question!" or "put everything in your bound reference!", not things like working slowly, understanding what you're doing and above all, doing work in a subject often perceived as "easy". It's really refreshing that you've put out there that you still need to work for your marks, cannot fault a single thing you've said, so thank you hoping to follow through with a 50 in Further next year! x

[Swagadaktal]

Thanks for your insight Peanut Butter It's really nice to have some honest opinions and really valuable advice. A lot of people go around saying "do every question!" or "put everything in your bound reference!", not things like working slowly, understanding what you're doing and above all, doing work in a subject often perceived as "easy". It's really refreshing that you've put out there that you still need to work for your marks, cannot fault a single thing you've said, so thank you hoping to follow through with a 50 in Further next year! x

Um, I think I might add something to this. Further is easy. It's not like doing methods, where you can come across a question that completely shatters your dreams and hopes (exam1q10d). It's more like, if you do 3 practice exams you've basically seen every type of question. You don't need to put in the same amount of time in further as you do in other subjects to receive the same score imo.
And the bound reference, just use your textbook tbh, like I didnt even use my bound ref and im fairly certain not many people did. The textbook is comprehensive enough for you to go through and use it in the exam, you just need to know the right page numbers etc.

[Peanut Butter]

It's more like, if you do 3 practice exams you've basically seen every type of question.

I don't agree with this. Majority of further students would do more than 3 practise exams and there are not that many people who get full marks for both papers...

Yes, I know that further is easier than other subjects, but I'm saying that people expect it to be maths like 2+2 when in actual fact it's not. It is also highly competitive which makes doing well extremely hard.

Anyway, the point of this post was to say my own opinions and what I have personally experienced this year.

Obviously everyone has different opinions and I respect that yours is clearly different to mine

[Zealous]

Nice Job Peanut Butter!

It is really interesting to read your experience because it was very, very similar to what I did two years ago in 2013. Brings back memories!

I don't agree with this. Majority of further students would do more than 3 practise exams and there are not that many people who get full marks for both papers...

I'm with Peanut Butter here - after 3 practice exams you would have seen a lot of questions (well, you could also have seen a lot from your textbook). But that leaves a lot of other curveball questions which VCAA can throw at you, to separate the top students.

[Syndicate]

Yes, I know that further is easier than other subjects, but I'm saying that people expect it to be maths like 2+2 when in actual fact it's not. It is also highly competitive which makes doing well extremely hard.

Its highly competitive, because its too easy (while looking at methods and specialist). Even though, Further is perceived as the "easiest maths", doing a few extra exams and questions can assure you a good mark in any of the VCE maths courses or even make you a little confident, when going over the questions in the reading time. The ideas listed above (by Peanut Butter) are great, and most of the techniques can also be used well through out any subject.

[Swagadaktal]

I don't agree with this. Majority of further students would do more than 3 practise exams and there are not that many people who get full marks for both papers...

I think the key word in my sentence was "basically" .
3 practice exams IMO is enough to get you a 45, because there's enough substance there to do well in most of the exam.
Now, the additional practice exams is to boost your mark even higher than that.
Further isn't as in-depth as methods or spesh. They're really tied in their ability to write questions suited to the study design.
I think what I'm trying to say is that further isn't a complex subject where the exam-makers have the capability to create tough questions which really question your understanding of the concepts.
ya feel?
EDIT: For the 3 prac exams, the student must have gone through and understood each question there - not like do 3 prac exams and get 70% on them and expect a 45

[Syndicate]

3 practice exams IMO is enough to get you a 45, because there's enough substance there to do well in most of the exam.

I would say that depends on how well you have studied for previous exams/ SACs. If you have received exceptional results, throughout the year, I would definitely agree with your statement, else, like I have said before, "more practice wouldn't hurt".

[TwinNerd]

Altogether I completed over 60 exams,

when would you recommend we start doing practice exams/VCAA exams?

[Peanut Butter]

when would you recommend we start doing practice exams/VCAA exams?

I didn't start doing practise exams until I had finished my last SAC (around early September). I did this because I wanted to focus solely on my SACs so that I get could get the highest mark possible

[Swagadaktal]

when would you recommend we start doing practice exams/VCAA exams?

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