Mathematics Achievement Guide

Mathematics Revision Hints & Tips

There are certain pieces of advice that can really help you when you apply them to your study of mathematics. This advice could be the difference between achieving your target grade or not, so listen up!

1. Get to Know Maths Formula

Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself by bogging yourself down in the basics. Understand whichmaths formula you need to memoriseand which ones you don’t. For the higher tier you only need to know 6 more than foundation tier.

Post its - get a set of Post-it notes and use one for each formula on a particular topic. Organise your post-its like a mind map on your desk or wall, where you are revising.

Past exam papers - Read through each question and write beside the formula which will help you to solve the question.

2. Focus on your Weak Areas

If you prefer to solve bar chart questions rather than working onsolving equations, it doesn’t mean you should spend all your time drawing and colouring in bar charts. In order for you to improve your grade, you need to focus your revision on the topics you dislike and don’t try to avoid them.You have been provided with an individual Question Level Analysis (QLA)from your mock exams, this will show your weakest topics and therefore what you need to focus on for revision.

Post cards – Make a set of post-cardsfor the topics which have been identified. Title one side with the topic and on the other side, select and summariseall of the keypoints for that topic as bullet pointsor short sentences. Use colour, highlighting and underlining to make your presentation clearer.

Visual Mapping – Create a mind map or a poster for each of the topics which have been identified as aweakness. A good mathematical mind map uses arrows and lines to show how key points, formulas, solutions and other mathematical topics are connected.

3. Test Yourself Regularly

Reviewing your knowledge at regular intervals is the only true way to gauge if you are fully developing and improving your learning. There are several ways you can do this such as trying to recite formula, completing questions orexplaining the key points of a topic to a friend.

PiXL Maths App – Using the App you can choose ‘Take a Challenge’ from the menu. This will allowyou will to be able to take a test regularly to show how well you are progressing towards your Target grade.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice

With GCSE Maths the best way you can get ready for your exam is to practice as many past exam questions as you can. In mathematics lessons your teacheris ensuing you are accessingexam questions from previous years for you to try. At the end of the lesson, if you still feel that you need to do more exam questions on the particular topic, ask your teacher for further questions. To begin with, youcan work through these questionsusing textbooks, videos, revision guides, mind maps, postcards etc….to support you, spending as much time as you need to complete the questions. However as you get closer to the exams, try not to refer to these revision aids andtime your answers to fit the timescale you will have in the exam; this will help you to prepare for exam conditions.

PiXL Maths App –Using the App you can choose ‘Design a Test’ from the menu. This will allow you to design your own test questions based on your individual Question Level Analysis from your mock exam. This will provide you with a range of exam questions to complete on your weakest areas. You can select ’Therapy Videos’ from the menu to support you initially to complete these questions.

5. Don’t just read, Talk!

Just sitting and reading through your exercise book, a text book, a worksheet or a revision guide is quite poor revision for mathematics.Talk through how you would solve an exam questionexplaining your thinking, the formulas you would use, the calculations you would write down. Talking out loud is very valuable revision because it helps you sort out your ideas and to put them into a logical order; try this at home with parents or friends.

Exam Day Hints & Tips

Keep in mind this advice on the day of your mathematics exam and you will achieve the best possible GCSE grade.

  • There are lots of questions on the paper, so if you can’t do one don’t panic, just move on to the next one, you can come back to it again at the end.
  • Check if you answer is realistic! Could a man really be 182 metres in height? Have you made a simple calculation error or used the wrong units?
  • For the calculator paper, use the calculator you are familiar with. Don’t forget to check to your calculator is working properly and the batteries are not flat!
  • If you do rough work writeit on theactual exam paper.
  • Ensure your working out can be followed; either one line below the next or writing words of explanations.
  • Don’t ‘hedge your bets’ and write two possible answers to a question.
  • Try to make your drawings as neat as possible.
  • Use a pencil to draw graphs and diagrams.
  • Read all of the questions at least twice before answering and then again after you have answered it. You’d be surprised at how many students produce working out for a completely different question then the one on the exam paper!
  • Underline or highlight the command words in the question

Describe / Identify / Infer / Explain
Formulate / Calculate / Summarise / Support
Analyse / Compare / Contrast / Predict
Evaluate / Prove / Find / Construct
Work out / Simplify / Estimate / Show

Before you begin take a deep breath and relax!