…and how you can keep yours.
As a classic overachiever, no one was surprised but me when I opened my letter and saw the number 42 on the page next to “Mathematical Methods”. That evening after the excitement died down, my peers were all asking how I did it. I must’ve been some sort of genius to get the fabled 40+ Methods score as a year 10 student. To be honest, I wasn’t sure either.
But what I did know, is that it wasn’t some form of natural affinity that got me over the line, it was hours and hours of sitting locked in my room, grinding exam papers while my friends were out at the movies. It was a miserable life, but was it worth it? The real answer is no. So, when my friends ask me how to get the same success I did in their own accelerated classes, I don’t tell them to do what I did. No, this is what I tell them. This is how you do well in Methods without sacrificing everything else in your life.
Tip #1: The Textbook is Not Everything
We all know the pain of getting assigned every question in the exercise as homework. Teachers always use the same old reasoning that we need to get our practice in, but realistically, it’s too much. With how repetitive the content is in Methods, especially in Unit 3 where barely anything new is taught, homework can drain you very quickly. My advice, just work through the harder questions until you’re 100% confident with the content of that chapter, then move on. Use the extra time to get other work done or start learning ahead so you can get to the real useful tool earlier, exams. That being said, do make sure you really know the content before skipping, don’t lie to yourself and be lazy.
Tip #2: Don’t Overprepare for SACs
SACs are hard. They’re scary. Many students, me included, get so stressed out and burn ourselves out so much over them that we end up not being able to focus during the SAC itself. The difficulty in SACs lies not in the content, but the problem-solving nature of the questions you are being asked; it’s like the Exam 2 Extended Response on steroids. The most important thing for your SAC is that you know all of the content like the back of your hand, you shouldn’t need to reach for your bound reference in an ideal scenario except for long formulas. Past that, just relax, the less stressed out you are in the examination room the better you’ll be able to focus on breaking apart and answering the questions. Most students do far better than they expect.
Tip #3: Practice Exams are the Holy Grail
With a subject as focused on application of skills as Methods, it is crucial that you familiarise yourself with the kinds of questions examiners like to ask. This is why working ahead is helpful, you give yourself more time to start chipping away at the exam grind. You’ll quickly notice patterns in how the exams are structured and how questions are asked, this is one of your biggest assets so you don’t get hit with a nasty surprise when you open the front cover. VCE and NHT papers are obviously your best resource and are available publicly on VCAA’s website, I also recommend Insight and Heffernan papers which are available on VCE Rocks and VCE Best for free.
Tip #4: Track Your Progress
That being said, doing exams are useless if you’re not getting actual insight (pun intended) out of them. Keep a record of every exam you’ve done, your score and how long it took you, and write down every mistake and key area you need to focus on (e.g. integration, reading the full question, graphing with domain). This will allow you to reflect and focus on what you really need to improve on, to refine yourself even further.
Tip #5: Don’t Sacrifice Your Life
While doing an exam every day may seem like a great idea in theory, with that much math you’ll find yourself burning out swiftly. I racked up 52 exam sets in total by the end of the year, and it may have been my biggest mistake. You very quickly get to a point where you no longer gain anything from the exams, and the burnout will cause a significant number of silly mistakes on the real exam (trust me, I’m speaking from unfortunate experience). One or two sets a week is the maximum I’d recommend; if you feel yourself having mental blocks, that’s how you know you’ve gone too far.
Conclusion
The key takeaway from all of this, is that success comes from moderation. Do too little and you’ll find yourself unprepared, but do too much and you’ll end up burnt out like I was. Every mistake I made on that exam was wholly preventable, and probably would’ve been if my mind was sharp and rested. It’s ultimately up to you to decide what is enough; no one else can decide that for you, not even teachers. So work hard, collaborate with your peers and help each other succeed as much as possible, and you’ll be sure to get the results you deserve.