Maths revision tips

Hey,

As exams are coming up I thought I would write a post on how to revise for maths. I know maths can be hard and confusing but just because you dislike it doesn't mean you shouldn't try in it. If you get a good grade (C or above) in maths employers will be more likely to employ you as it shows that you have an understanding of how to solve problems.

1. Practice makes perfect

I know you've heard this a thousand times but it's true. Maths will always have the same style of questions come up so the more you practice the better you will get at it. The golden word (okay two words) PAST PAPERS! Honestly past papers are a life saver for maths.

What I do is either do a full past paper under timed conditions and then mark it or I do about half of it and research how to do the questions I can't do. Say I can't remember how to answer a question on surds I will get out my revision guide and look it up. I will make notes on how to do that particular subject (so surds in this example).

I'm sorry that the writing is yellow!

Then I will go into my revision workbook and do some questions on it. I will mark those questions and if I still aren't getting it right I will ask my teacher at school.

 2. Ask for help

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You can't just sit there and struggle. If you need help just ask. If you are too afraid to raise your hand in class just go and speak to your teacher at the end of lesson or at break, lunch and after school. Also you can ask a friend or family member if you're not able to speak to your teacher. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I know some people may think that they seem 'stupid' for asking for help but you don't! You look as though you care about your education and your teacher will really appreciate that.

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3. Attempt every question

Okay this more depends on what grade YOU want to get. All you need to do is pass maths which is a C, so when revising just make sure you know all the C grade questions which I think it like the first 15 questions of the paper. If you know you can answer all C grade questions correct then you will be able to get that C. Make sure you try to answer all the questions in the paper, even the harder ones like the A/ A* questions. If you have dropped marks then you can build them up by even just writing something obvious. Just try not to leave anything blank because you never know, you may be very lucky and guess the correct answer. Also write all your working out down so that if your answer is wrong you can still get marks for the actual workings.

4. Websites

https://www.pearsonactivelearn.com/

I do EDEXCEL maths so I will only be able to recommend websites for my exam board.

My school has a subscription under active learn which is this website which has loads of questions under different subjects. This is good as it allows you to practice topics which you are struggling at. Also as it is a school subscription your teacher can look to see what you're struggling at.

https://www.mymaths.co.uk/

MyMaths is an online website which also like active learn has questions on there for you to do. Our teacher sets this as our homework and when you go on to a task it records the result you got at the end. It gives you a percentage you got right and it also gives you a certain colour 'smiley face' or traffic light. My teacher used to be quite strict and if you hadn't done it you would get in trouble and be made to come back after school to do the homework. However it really helps you learn the topic as it gives you an online lesson you can look at if you're stuck.
On top of that you cant cheat because the question changes every time. I know that doesn't sound great if you've left your homework to last minute but it will be better for your grade (I mean you can still google the answer if you're really stuck!)
The account tells you when your homework is due and what it is on. I just logged on to see that I have overdue homework... lovely I'm going to be given detention, that's great!

I'm sorry this is so long I just wanted to include a lot of detail as I know I needed this when I wasn't sure how to revise. I hope this helps some of you with your maths and it had definately helped me just going over it all. I'm going to do one of these for each subject I take at GCSE level. Please comment below if you have any added tips which I haven't mentioned. Any photos which do not belong to me will have the URL they're from in the caption

Scarlett x