maths a level

OP

Thank you so much for the reply. Sorry I didn’t see it earlier. I really appreciate people like you that take time out to respond fully. I’m just a bit worried because maths is a subject that comes with a lot of practice overtime and seeing different types of questions. Do you think 3 and half months is enough? Also about the whiteboard, would you solve questions on there or something else?

Reply 3

meliodas89

Original post by _lolz

Thank you so much for the reply. Sorry I didn’t see it earlier. I really appreciate people like you that take time out to respond fully. I’m just a bit worried because maths is a subject that comes with a lot of practice overtime and seeing different types of questions. Do you think 3 and half months is enough? Also about the whiteboard, would you solve questions on there or something else?

Hi! I am predicted an A* for maths. Here's what I did:

•

Found a reliable textbook which matched my exam board (AQA) and used the contents page as my topic list. I listed the topics on notion and highlighted them red,amber and green. The topics which were red and amber were my top priority.

•

I practised the red and amber topics using textbook questions- I really recommend Kerboodle. Once I mastered the textbook questions, I got straight onto exam questions (can use PMT or MathsGenie).

•

I keep a log of the questions which I find really difficult and re-attempt them when I can. I recommend asking your teachers for help on the A* questions.

•

DO NOT slack on the green topics. You need to keep your knowledge fresh on the whole spec. Create a timetable of what topic you are going to do every day until June 4th.
Also a whiteboard is your best friend, definitely use it to practice quesitons :smile: . 3 and a half months is enough time to turn any grade to an A*.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 4

Muttley79

20

Original post by _lolz

Thank you so much for the reply. Sorry I didn’t see it earlier. I really appreciate people like you that take time out to respond fully. I’m just a bit worried because maths is a subject that comes with a lot of practice overtime and seeing different types of questions. Do you think 3 and half months is enough? Also about the whiteboard, would you solve questions on there or something else?

Which board?

Reply 5

OP

Original post by Muttley79

Which board?

Edexcel

Reply 6

OP

Original post by meliodas89

Hi! I am predicted an A* for maths. Here's what I did:

•

Found a reliable textbook which matched my exam board (AQA) and used the contents page as my topic list. I listed the topics on notion and highlighted them red,amber and green. The topics which were red and amber were my top priority.

•

I practised the red and amber topics using textbook questions- I really recommend Kerboodle. Once I mastered the textbook questions, I got straight onto exam questions (can use PMT or MathsGenie).

•

I keep a log of the questions which I find really difficult and re-attempt them when I can. I recommend asking your teachers for help on the A* questions.

•

DO NOT slack on the green topics. You need to keep your knowledge fresh on the whole spec. Create a timetable of what topic you are going to do every day until June 4th.
Also a whiteboard is your best friend, definitely use it to practice quesitons :smile: . 3 and a half months is enough time to turn any grade to an A*.

Hi thank you so much for the detailed reply. How long did it take before you started seeing big improvements? I was predicted an a* too hence why I need it for my course as well but I think there was also an element of luck in it as the pure paper had a lot of topics i find easier. We also weren’t assessed on any stats. I think since then I’ve also gone down since I had to pay a lot of attention to my other subjects. It’s really relieving to hear you think there’s enough time. Thank you so much again

Reply 7

Original post by _lolz

I need to get an a* in maths a level for my course but it's jan 14th rn so a levels start in 4 months. It's not looking good at all as of now as I had work really hard on physics recently to get my predicted back up so I completely ignored maths. In school we have gone over integration but I'm very behind on that atm and I haven't been practising much maths at all. I'm now panicked with a levels coming up so soon. Does anyone have any tips to guarantee an a* grade? My motivation is pretty good atm kind of because it has to be now I guess so any tips would be really appreciated no matter how much work it is. I think sometimes with pure maths some harder questions can come up so if anyone knows of any resources that can challenge you and help get that a* grade, it would be very much appreciated. My mechanics is usually fine I think since I do physics. Stats I'm not sure about as of now as I havent worked much on it at all. For anyone that achieved maybe high a*s, what was your approach and how did you revise? Did you go through the textbook for each topic, do more questions on each topic and then past papers or something else? Is there enough time

I think I can pick things up relatively quickly but I'm not extremely fast either.

I got an A* last summer. Here's what I used and did:

1.

Use Dr Frost for targeted revision

2.

This website allows you to revise individual parts of the spec, and become proficient at the key skills.

3.

Use MadasMaths for practice.

4.

Madas has thousands of questions for you to do - literally. Pick it up and find the topics you're interested in from the first couple of sections. Have a crack at them. Also look at the MP1 (AS) and MP2 (A-Level) papers that he's hand crafted. Get used to the style of questions, and start timing yourself for a few papers.

5.

USE MARK SCHEMES WISELY

6.

Understand WHY you are getting things wrong - its okay for the mark scheme to point this type of thing out for you!

7.

Work through parts of the textbook

8.

This one is self explanatory but make sure to actually look through the textbook and do questions, theyre an amazing resource.

9.

Finally, do past papers. Ideally in timed conditions!

hope this helps.

Reply 8

Original post by Yashu05

I got an A* last summer. Here's what I used and did:

1.

Use Dr Frost for targeted revision

2.

This website allows you to revise individual parts of the spec, and become proficient at the key skills.

3.

Use MadasMaths for practice.

4.

Madas has thousands of questions for you to do - literally. Pick it up and find the topics you're interested in from the first couple of sections. Have a crack at them. Also look at the MP1 (AS) and MP2 (A-Level) papers that he's hand crafted. Get used to the style of questions, and start timing yourself for a few papers.

5.

USE MARK SCHEMES WISELY

6.

Understand WHY you are getting things wrong - its okay for the mark scheme to point this type of thing out for you!

7.

Work through parts of the textbook

8.

This one is self explanatory but make sure to actually look through the textbook and do questions, theyre an amazing resource.

9.

Finally, do past papers. Ideally in timed conditions!

hope this helps.

this ended up formatting weirdly. sorry bout that

Reply 9

meliodas89

Original post by _lolz

Hi thank you so much for the detailed reply. How long did it take before you started seeing big improvements? I was predicted an a* too hence why I need it for my course as well but I think there was also an element of luck in it as the pure paper had a lot of topics i find easier. We also weren’t assessed on any stats. I think since then I’ve also gone down since I had to pay a lot of attention to my other subjects. It’s really relieving to hear you think there’s enough time. Thank you so much again

I went from a C to an A to an A*. Took me 4 months to be honest. Now I make sure I am on top of my work. I wish you all the best girl :smile:

.

Reply 10

Muttley79

20

Original post by _lolz

Edexcel

Dr Frost: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/courses.php?coid=29

MathsMadeEasy: https://mmerevise.co.uk/a-level-maths-revision/

I also suggest the Red/Amber/Green - fornative assessment approach but look at the amber topics first for rapid improvement. The Red topics may need teacher input - go to the revision help sessions!

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Muttley79

Dr Frost: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/courses.php?coid=29

MathsMadeEasy: https://mmerevise.co.uk/a-level-maths-revision/

I also suggest the Red/Amber/Green - fornative assessment approach but look at the amber topics first for rapid improvement. The Red topics may need teacher input - go to the revision help sessions!

Hi thanks so much for the reply. Yeah I’ve never used the RAG method but will start doing that now to speed up revision a bit

Reply 12

OP

Original post by meliodas89

I went from a C to an A to an A*. Took me 4 months to be honest. Now I make sure I am on top of my work. I wish you all the best girl :smile:

.

Oh wow that’s good progress. Well done! Yeah I hope so and thanks again

Reply 13

OP

Original post by Yashu05

I got an A* last summer. Here's what I used and did:

1.

Use Dr Frost for targeted revision

2.

This website allows you to revise individual parts of the spec, and become proficient at the key skills.

3.

Use MadasMaths for practice.

4.

Madas has thousands of questions for you to do - literally. Pick it up and find the topics you're interested in from the first couple of sections. Have a crack at them. Also look at the MP1 (AS) and MP2 (A-Level) papers that he's hand crafted. Get used to the style of questions, and start timing yourself for a few papers.

5.

USE MARK SCHEMES WISELY

6.

Understand WHY you are getting things wrong - its okay for the mark scheme to point this type of thing out for you!

7.

Work through parts of the textbook

8.

This one is self explanatory but make sure to actually look through the textbook and do questions, theyre an amazing resource.

9.

Finally, do past papers. Ideally in timed conditions!

hope this helps.

Yeah our school also really recommended madas maths. I looked at some questions but I feel like they weren’t as hard as they were saying. Might be looking in the wrong sections. I’ll have a look again.

When you say use markschemes wisely, do you mean looking at examiner reports or just looking at the methods they used?

Yeah I used the textbook a lot last year but never went beyond that too much which is probably where I was going wrong. Exam paper practice was definitely not as good as it should have been.

Thank you so much btw and congratulations on your results last year!

Reply 14

Original post by _lolz

Yeah our school also really recommended madas maths. I looked at some questions but I feel like they weren’t as hard as they were saying. Might be looking in the wrong sections. I’ll have a look again.

When you say use markschemes wisely, do you mean looking at examiner reports or just looking at the methods they used?

Yeah I used the textbook a lot last year but never went beyond that too much which is probably where I was going wrong. Exam paper practice was definitely not as good as it should have been.

Thank you so much btw and congratulations on your results last year!

I dont really use madas for difficult practice, just for a lot of it. repetition is kinda key for maths and he also writes out solutions which helps a bunch.

i just looked at the methods used. it helps you figure out why a certain step is used and if you missed that part out yourself.

Textbook alone is probably sufficient practice if you do EVERY q there. Most people i know couldnt be asked to and so messed around with other resources since it can get boring.

Reply 15

meliodas89

Original post by _lolz

Oh wow that’s good progress. Well done! Yeah I hope so and thanks again

Hey girl, I saw this TikTok where this girl mentioned something called method sheets. So she writes the topic at the top and a definition of what it is. Then she includes steps on how to solve that specific topic with examples. You should definitely try it out!

Reply 16

OP

Original post by meliodas89

Hey girl, I saw this TikTok where this girl mentioned something called method sheets. So she writes the topic at the top and a definition of what it is. Then she includes steps on how to solve that specific topic with examples. You should definitely try it out!

Hi yeah thank you so much. Will try that out! I don’t think it’s the understanding of concepts that I struggle with but maybe sometimes application especially with some trig questions. Year 2 pure has so much trig

Reply 17

OP

Original post by Yashu05

I dont really use madas for difficult practice, just for a lot of it. repetition is kinda key for maths and he also writes out solutions which helps a bunch.

i just looked at the methods used. it helps you figure out why a certain step is used and if you missed that part out yourself.

Textbook alone is probably sufficient practice if you do EVERY q there. Most people i know couldnt be asked to and so messed around with other resources since it can get boring.

Yeah ok thank you so much. Yeah I think I definitely lacked practice. That’s probably mainly where I was going wrong. Would you do some every day with your other subjects or just here and there?

Reply 18