How to get good at a level maths….

3

A level maths is giving me hell. No matter what i do and no matter how much revision i complete im never able to make it stick and apply it to tests. I’m averaging pretty badly in my tests and it’s ruining my self esteem and making me feel dumb. I know the sensible thing to do would be to drop it, but if i want to do economics or compsci at uni (my other subjects) i need maths, and they are truly what i want to do and what i find interesting . Does anyone have any advice on how to improve in maths and to improve my maths exam technique

Reply 1

flyingc0w1001

10

what year are you in? what exam board do you do? what grade did you get at GCSE for math?

Reply 2

Sendhelpxoxo

OP

3

Original post

by flyingc0w1001

what year are you in? what exam board do you do? what grade did you get at GCSE for math?

I’m in year 12 doing edexcel and i got a 7 in gcse maths x-x

Reply 3

mqb2766

21

Original post

by Sendhelpxoxo

I’m in year 12 doing edexcel and i got a 7 in gcse maths x-x

Is it problems from understanding gcse maths topics or are you on top of those but having trouble with the new stuff at a level?

Reply 4

Sendhelpxoxo

OP

3

Original post

by mqb2766

Is it problems from understanding gcse maths topics or are you on top of those but having trouble with the new stuff at a level?

Mostly the new stuff at a-level, i understand gcse maths pretty well in my opinion, its just when it gets more technical i get confused

Reply 5

mqb2766

21

Original post

by Sendhelpxoxo

Mostly the new stuff at a-level, i understand gcse maths pretty well in my opinion, its just when it gets more technical i get confused

Can you give an example of what youre having trouble understanding?

A few general points

•

There are some gcse - a level bridging resources (just google if necessary) as a reasonable number of people need to go over the core stuff (algebra, quadratics, sketching functions, ....)

•

TLmaths, drfrost, ... have a fairly complete course of videos. If youre finding it a bit difficult in class maybe go over one of these alongside your teachers stuff and keep going over things if you get things wrong/dont understand

•

Are your tests significantly harder than your textbook questions / why do you feel youre doing badly in them? Drfrost, for instance, has graded questions for the different topics, so you can try "exam questions" which are typically harder than textbook questions which are usually about building up your skills

•

Typically, maths is about making mistakes and building up your skills. Do you revisit stuff if you get it wrong - the old adage of "dont do it until you get it right, do it until you cant get it wrong" applies. It may sound boring, but chatting over the topics with a mate over a coffee/... can do wonders / post questions on here if you want a hint / want to discuss something.

•

Ask your teacher. They know you better than anyone here and will have probably provided similar help in the past.

The usual thing is to be organised and do something "every night", so watch videos as you do them in class, practice textbook and exam questions, reflect about questions you get wrong/things you dont understand.

Reply 6

Sendhelpxoxo

OP

3

Original post

by mqb2766

Can you give an example of what youre having trouble understanding?
A few general points

•

There are some gcse - a level bridging resources (just google if necessary) as a reasonable number of people need to go over the core stuff (algebra, quadratics, sketching functions, ....)

•

TLmaths, drfrost, ... have a fairly complete course of videos. If youre finding it a bit difficult in class maybe go over one of these alongside your teachers stuff and keep going over things if you get things wrong/dont understand

•

Are your tests significantly harder than your textbook questions / why do you feel youre doing badly in them? Drfrost, for instance, has graded questions for the different topics, so you can try "exam questions" which are typically harder than textbook questions which are usually about building up your skills

•

Typically, maths is about making mistakes and building up your skills. Do you revisit stuff if you get it wrong - the old adage of "dont do it until you get it right, do it until you cant get it wrong" applies. It may sound boring, but chatting over the topics with a mate over a coffee/... can do wonders / post questions on here if you want a hint / want to discuss something.

•

Ask your teacher. They know you better than anyone here and will have probably provided similar help in the past.

The usual thing is to be organised and do something "every night", so watch videos as you do them in class, practice textbook and exam questions, reflect about questions you get wrong/things you dont understand.

For example for differentiation, i know how to do it, but then i see a question where i have to apply it and i just get stuck. Like when you have to find the equation of a line and such things

Reply 7

mqb2766

21

Original post

by Sendhelpxoxo

For example for differentiation, i know how to do it, but then i see a question where i have to apply it and i just get stuck. Like when you have to find the equation of a line and such things

When you say apply differentiation, it helps to post a question and describe what you think about it / what youre stuck about. In a sense, calculus is a completely new thing at a level (it links to some stuff at gcse, but its not obvious) and its not surprising people take some time to get used to it. With maths, you usually have to accept that "knowing how to do it" is earned by answering questions (correctly). That takes a fair bit of effort.

For lines/quadratics/... that really should be gcse (bridging) material that you need to be happy with so if you do need to review it/... do it now.

(edited 1 year ago)

How to get good at a level maths….

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