How can I get my A in Maths?

Be Asian

An A in maths is unacceptable if you're Asian

Hey, I've always just accepted that I was gonna get a B in Maths, because it is probably my worst subject. However, last exam went okay according to the unofficial mark scheme and I counted 67/100 (estimating method marks for those I got wrong) This is pretty close to an A really, or could even be an A (but remember a lot of it is estimation lol).

I've done 4 past papers this half term so far, and I have got 71, 76,76 and 82 in them respectively! Calculator is definitely stronger than non calc. Should I continue doing the past papers?

Also, I usually do well in the past papers at home, but the exam pressure can sometimes cause me to drop 10 marks, so how can I make sure I maintain my performance in exams?

I've been completing these past papers in an hour and a half, rather than the actual given time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, just so I train myself to have a good 15 minutes at the end to thoroughly check my answers because I'm always making stupid mistakes

So can anyone give me any tips, and any good resources are welcome lol!

It is inevitable that you'll find mistakes so it is absolutely necessary to check, check check.

I did my Edexcel paper one last week and if I didn't check through it, my marks would've easily dropped from the mid 80s to the low 70s without a shadow of a doubt.

You also want to revise stuff you really don't know. Don't bother revising completing the square if you know it, revise something you don't know. You'll know you don't know it because you can't do it in a past paper question.

In the exam, you want to read the question so carefully. What is it asking you to do? It's so easy to slip up and do the wrong thing, trust me. Underline key information and key command words in the question. Is it asking you to rearrange or solve??

Ask yourself, why did you get 67 in that paper and why not 100? Ask yourself where the 33 marks went and how you'll tackle this in paper 2. It's all a learning experience.

Finally, relax... if you panic in a maths exam things go wrong and it's a domino effect. You can't do one question so you skip it. You can't do that question either so you skip it. Relax... I also skipped some questions and forgot about them. Then when my brain suddenly clicked I'll immediately go back to it and say to myself "How easy was that?!" thus I'll gain more confidence and do lots better.

I start from the back of the paper so I don't get cocky with the foundation parts and make a stupid mistake I won't even bother to check because I am over confident.

NB: answer all questions and put something down. Even if you have no idea, do something within reason. Your working gets more marks than the correct answer!

Good luck!!!!

Thanks for this reply! I'm definitely going to leave myself loads of time at the end, because I need to check through my answers thoroughly! In the non calc, I even got the 2 way table wrong!