How to revise maths?

With exams just around the corner (GULP), I’ve decided to do a slightly different post and give you some tips for how to revise maths.

1) Ask your teachers for advice – it may seem scary or embarrassing or make you feel stupid but I can guarantee you that it’s perfectly fine to ask for help. As someone who has offers to study maths at some great universities, I still often ask for help from my teachers. Just a few weeks ago I went back twice to my teacher for help on the same question she’d already helped me with. It was awkward but I now understand how to answer that type of question. It’s great for them to clarify something you don’t understand and it can often stick in your head better if you hear it again.

2) Do loads of practice questions and papers – for maths it isn’t just the case of memorising a few formula; you have to know how to use it. Because of this, it is a good idea to do practice questions for each topic. It is especially important to do practice papers as often the questions on one paper will be very similar to questions on another paper. This can be a great advantage if a question comes up that is similar to one you’ve seen before. (Note: I know this will be harder for those starting the new GCSE’s and A levels where there are not a lot of past papers available)

3) Repeat a formula out loud multiple times – some people work better with audio methods of learning. If you repeat the formula to someone, they can correct you if you get it wrong. I personally find this a good way of memorising formula’s; you want to show that person you can get it right so you are more likely to remember it. If you don’t have someone to do this with, why not make a voice recording of yourself repeating the formula and listen to it whilst on the loo or walking to school.

4) Make revision cards and posters for key formula – by writing out the formula you have to know, it is more likely to stick in your head than if you just read it from a text book. Once you’ve created these resources why not stick them around your room so every time you go past it you can read it. I like putting them next to my light switch so when I turn the light on/off I can read it. (Regarding the picture: yes, I have a dimmer switch – it’s very old)

5) Watch online tutorials – exam solutions or maths and physics tutor (for A level) are brilliant online resources for maths. They have great guides and video tutorials on how to answer maths questions. It will help you to know how to answer the questions for different topics.

Good luck to those of you who have maths exams soon, I hope these help. Please remember that these are just suggestions and might not work for everyone. If you have any questions about maths revision please feel free to comment below.