How do I get an A star in Maths

7

Out of all my three subjects, I am the least confident with Edexcel A level Maths. I just finished year 12 and year 1/AS content. My plan is to do work for the topics I'm not so confident in and then start practicing Year 2 content. I really need help on how to secure a good understanding of topics/harder questions because I keep forgetting. I also need significant help with applied.
I'm currently working at an A grade and my main goal is to maintain that grade until the final exams.

Reply 1

Foodis8ae

9

I had the exact same problem with A-level Maths (WJEC) I sort of understood basic concepts at the time but when it came to questions I was just hopeless. The first thing I did was get the official WJEC maths textbook and memorise the content of each chapter and I summarised this into notes so it was easier for me to understand. If I didn't get the concept I would watch youtube tutorials and get chatgpt to explain them to me. Then the most important tip is those past paper questions, ngl you don't even need to do the ones specific to your exam board (like I did with WJEC question bank) but I also found corbettmaths and physicsandmathstutor rlly helpful.
Applied was rlly a struggle for me, mechanics was fine but statistics felt impossible. Personally, for me, the why things are or the reasoning behind the concepts did not matter because with WJEC every statistics question had the same set steps, so I just memorised the steps needed then did past paper questions to apply them, hope you foung some of this useful although its a different exam board

Reply 2

Lourencia101

OP

7

thank you this is really helpful. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person facing these struggles. How did you structure your notes? Also, could you recommend any tips for securing a firm understanding for statistics - I genuinely feel like I just forget the content a few days day after I learn it.

Reply 3

Foodis8ae

9

Original post

by Lourencia101

thank you this is really helpful. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person facing these struggles. How did you structure your notes? Also, could you recommend any tips for securing a firm understanding for statistics - I genuinely feel like I just forget the content a few days day after I learn it.

So sorry for he late reply, I was a bit busy. But basically, for the notes the WJEC textbook is way to thick so I just condensed the notes down, did some example questions for each topic with distinct steps I could follow (e.g. for differentiation firstly multiply x by y, then....), I also added some common mistakes I could make like not remembering to put +c! It was also helpful to put all the formulas I needed to memorise in one place. Personally, I broke my notes topic by topic (mainly following the WJEC textbook) and then once I thought I got a firm understanding of the topic I did past paper questions solely focused on the topic (I used either WJEC question bank, or physicsandmathstutor). The main way I increased my understanding was past paper questions, youtube videos, or by asking friends, family, teachers if you feel like they could help.
Statistics was literally the hardest part for me because it was really new- the textbook really did help me so if your exam board got one I would recommend getting it. What I found for statistics was a lot of the questions were asking the same thing just a different format so I basically learnt all the relevant steps and didn't focus much on the why the step is needed. Then I basically crammed a lot of questions to get it into my brain. At the beginning it was all open notes but then slowly I started to rely less on my notes. Another important thing to note that I really regret is not clearing up my misunderstandings earlier cause I just thought I would magically understand it by exam time- DON'T BE ME- it's better to get a vague understanding of the topic before you move on than never, and it also makes you less anxious.
Hopefully any of this helps xx.

Reply 4

pleasehelpme:)

9

Do as many past paper questions as physically possible!

Reply 5

alexp_

1

Original post

by Lourencia101

Out of all my three subjects, I am the least confident with Edexcel A level Maths. I just finished year 12 and year 1/AS content. My plan is to do work for the topics I'm not so confident in and then start practicing Year 2 content. I really need help on how to secure a good understanding of topics/harder questions because I keep forgetting. I also need significant help with applied.
I'm currently working at an A grade and my main goal is to maintain that grade until the final exams.

Hi, I took Maths and Further Maths and got 98% in Maths. Watch videos to ensure you understand and then literally do as many questions as possible. Try to save past papers to do properly under timed conditions and use PMT or textbook for exam question practice. Also keep a list of questions you got wrong to come back to when revising and see if you can improve on them.
If you like having your own notes you can make one page summary sheets for harder topics - I found this especially helpful in the applied.

(edited 6 months ago)

How do I get an A star in Maths

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