Scoring well in your IGCSE Mathematics will help to open doors to more opportunities. Here are 9 ways to score a 9 in IGCSE Mathematics for this upcoming examination.
9 Ways To Score a 9 In IGCSE Maths
1 – Plan ahead
Every examination will need a revision plan and having a revision plan brings you closer to getting the 9 for your IGCSE Mathematics.
How do you plan ahead?
It would be optimal for students to practice time management closing their examination period. Read our 4 useful tips on time management for every student.
Read also: 4 Useful and Effective Time Management Tips for Students
Be sure to plan early as you will be having more than one examination. You will need to plan ahead and make sure to delegate sufficient time for all your subjects. A good tip would be alternating subjects to revise 2 to 3 weeks before the examination. This should give you ample time to prepare for all your subjects and avoid cramming.
Planning ahead will provide you with a clearer perspective of how your revision would go and it can help students to relieve stress at the same time.
2 – Study smart with useful study methods
With all the scheduling and planning done, you will need to find the most effective way of studying and ensuring the information sticks. Tutopiya recommends two great study methods – Active Recall and Spaced Repetition.
Read our in-depth guide to the two study methods here.
These two study methods have been proven to be effective and efficient for students. Active recall simply requires students to master the retrieval of information. Instead of putting information, we should learn how to retrieve the correct information to answer the specific question.
An example would be: if a question is asking you to find the speed or velocity using distance and time, you should be able to easily retrieve the formula that relates these three components.
This is an act of active recall.
The spaced repetition study method is based on the concept of the forgetting curve. We should consistently and actively revisit concepts until we are familiar with them. As you continue to practice this, you will find yourself requiring less effort to remember as it has been stored as long-term memory.
Both of these study methods are great for IGCSE Mathematics revision as the more questions you practice with active recall, the more steps to solving the questions and formulas will come to you effortlessly.
3 – Dive deeper into the mistakes you made
Mistakes are a great indication of where you should be focusing more of your time. We tend to neglect our mistakes as our brains do not favor challenge and difficulty. Spending time on your mistakes and learning the right way to solve them will help you to learn more.
These mistakes should be addressed to prevent snowballing. The IGCSE Mathematics concepts are mostly built on previously learned concepts. Hence, addressing these mistakes is much more important than repeatedly attempting the questions you are good at.
4 – Attempt practice papers
Practice papers are a great way to put yourself in the examination mood. Practicing on past year papers will give you a feel of how the papers are usually like and could be a hint to what concepts are highly likely to be tested. Additionally, practice papers are great for measuring progress.
IGCSE Mathematics or Mathematics, in general, requires a lot of practice, and what is a better practice than doing past year practice papers?
5 – Clear any doubts as soon as possible
Do not leave your doubts to snowball. As mentioned, IGCSE Mathematics concepts are mostly built on earlier topics. Hence, solving your doubts early will help you to transit and learn the later concepts easier.
6 – Getting additional help
The Mathematics subject is abstract and may come off as a challenge to some students. It is important to know when you need additional help. Getting a personal tutor can help shy students to clear the doubts they have in class. Having a tutor is also great as they can identify your strengths and weaknesses easily to which they can personalize a tuition or revision plan that suits you exactly.
The pros of having a personal tutor outweigh the cons, you will not only have additional and reliable help, but tuition lessons also help to boost confidence, provide you with additional resources and close up any knowledge gaps you may have.
7 – Having ample rest
As simple as this sounds, rest is important for retaining the information you have processed throughout the day. We think best when we are well-rested. It may get stressful and overwhelming during the examination period, hence it is vital that you know when to take a break and prevent yourself from burnout.
8 – Practice essentialism
Essentialism is prioritizing what is important in the near future. It is about choosing the right priorities during such an intense period. Essentialism is a great way to ensure you score a 9 in IGCSE Maths this upcoming examination.
Essentialism is to practice prioritizing what is important and focusing on doing less but doing it better to make the highest contribution.
Read also: Essentialism: The BEST way to study better before examinations
9 – Use online tools to enhance and enrich your learning
There are so many online tools that you can use to enrich your IGCSE Mathematics concepts. There are websites that draw 3D images of solids, or graphs or even help you solve simultaneous equations.
Be sure to make use of these online resources as they surely are of great help for IGCSE Mathematics students.
In a nutshell, to score a 9 for IGCSE Maths, your revision plan starts earlier than 2 to 3 weeks before your examination.
You will have to stay consistent by keeping up with your homework and assignments and preparing diligently for all your continual assessments (such as mini-quizzes or assessments). Together with the 9 tips, you will be able to get a perfect score for all of your subjects too!
