Joe’s Jotter: How to ACE Any Maths Exam

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No matter how intelligent you are or how well you prepare, if you are not exam smart, you will underachieve in any Maths exam. It is also vital to have a plan in place for the content that can appear on your Maths paper. This involves going in there with your eyes wide open and being tactically aware in case things go a little bit wrong on the day. The following are my ACE tips to effectively deal with a Maths exam paper. These apply to both the Junior and Leaving Certs, as well as being relevant to the summer tests for 1st, 2nd TY, and 5th Years.

Sensible Tips When Dealing with a Maths Exam Paper

  • Units matter. If they are present in your question, they are required in your answer.
  • Do not type anything into the calculator that you have not already written down in your answer book.
  • You can get almost full marks (high partial credit) with just one slip/mistake in your solution. High partial credit could gain you as much as seven or eight marks out of ten.
  • If you make two attempts at a question, they will all be corrected and the highest marks from your efforts will be counted. Don’t be afraid to have a proper go.
  • Marks will be given for any work done on diagrams that have been printed on the paper.
  • Be careful when dealing with minus signs.
  • You must show your full workings out for all questions.
  • Write down every single step until you arrive at the solution.
  • If your answer is ‘off the wall’, it is probably incorrect.
  • If there are many steps required in a solution, continually double check completed steps for accuracy; otherwise, you may need to re-write the whole solution. In that case, watch the clock very closely.
  • Never rub/tippex out any work done even if you think it isn’t neat. Draw a single line through any part of the solution you are unsure about. The examiner must correct it.
  • When asked for your opinion, give it, and refer to any numbers or statistics given in the question if available.
  • Algebra is the bedrock of all Maths courses and is the main area that students struggle with. You need to become a master of Algebra to achieve high grades.
  • Get used to attempting questions involving real life statistics.
  • Estimating the heights of larger objects outside in nature is now an important part of Geometry and Trigonometry.
  • In Co-ordinate Geometry, the slope of a line is very important in practical questions.
  • More recent Maths exam questions tend to contain an increased number of words. The reason for this is the examiners need more English to describe real life Maths scenarios. You need to be able to separate the important keywords in the text from the padding that surrounds them. Use your highlighter or green pen to mark the significant words.
  • Look through the wording of each question and pick out the Maths related information. In all subjects, but especially Maths, identify exactly what you are given and what you are looking for. Watch out for numbers written as words, for example “thirty” instead of “30”.
  • If no diagram is presented, draw one yourself to give a clearer picture of what is being asked. This is especially important in Geometry, Trigonometry, and Area and Volume.
  • If given a diagram on the paper, mark in the numerical information given in the text of the question onto it. Re-drawing sections of more complicated diagrams into your answer book can help to simplify question parts for you.
  • Do not leave any blanks, ensuring that every question is fully attempted. If you leave a blank, the examiner can give you at most zero marks for that question part. If you attempt the question; you may get some marks and perhaps more than you think. In summary: No attempt = No marks.
  • If you are dealing with a Trigonometric problem at Leaving Cert level, know how to apply the three basic Trigonometric ratios (SOH, CAH, TOA) , Pythagoras’ theorem, the Sin rule, and the Cosine rule. In these, you have all you need to solve most right-angled and non-right-angled triangle problems.
  • Relate the information you have in the exam question to the theory and equations you have worked on in class. In Geometry, have you got two right-angled triangles that need to be solved separately? Again, if you are unable to start a question, there is nearly always something you have learned from your teacher or hopefully from my ACE Maths Solution Books that you can draw on to help you. Don’t give up. Be persistent.
  • The relationship between two data sets is important. At LC Level, this concept links ‘slope of a line’ in Co-ordinate Geometry to that of ‘correlation’ in Statistics. Other examples of where topics overlap in Maths at Leaving Cert level include Co-ordinate Geometry of the line and the Circle, and of course Geometry and Trigonometry. Across all levels of Maths, there are many links between topics that you need to keep an eye out for.
  • Do out a ‘time budget’ plan before sitting any Maths paper and be sure to stick to it.

Most importantly, remember that you are not alone and there are tens of thousands of other students in the same position as you on exam day, many of whom have had their various struggles with Maths. Above all, practice your Algebra and be familiar with what formulas are available to you in the log tables on the day. If you are familiar with the main equations and some theory on your course, you have a solid base for giving any exam your best shot. Joe.

To view last week’s feature article on ‘How to Prepare for an Exam Efficiently at Home’, click here.

More details about Joe’s Maths Tuition Classes for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate (2022) and his Award Winning ACE Maths Solution Books can be found via the links below.

ACE Maths Classes: acesolutionbooks.com/ace-maths-tuition

ACE Maths Solution Books: acesolutionbooks.com/buy-my-books

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Photo: @ZhangChaosheng

The ACE Guide to Exam Prep From Home (Feature 5 of 6)

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The Importance of Your Friends

Dear Students,

Being successful in any new routine is determined by how positive your outlook is. In order to maintain that positivity, keep in touch with friends via WhatsApp and social media. Positivity also fosters better mental health. Maintaining contact with friends is vital, as you will understandably miss the lack of face-to-face interaction with them when at home revising. A conversation with mates will help you forget about burning issues and renew your energy. Always try and be positive in these conversations in order to boost and motivate each other. Keep in mind that you will spend most of your time studying alone, so social time on facetime or calls with your friends from school is important. Learn how to achieve a balance of phone use, leaving it outside your study area at all times. Sorry folks!

Maintain Some Form of Exercise

Maintain some form of exercise. I find that short walks allow ideas and thoughts on subjects to sink in. I’m not sure why?, but it works. On days not in school, try not to stay in bed past ten a.m. and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables in order to build the key vitamins in your system. While preparing at home, retain as many of your school routine habits as possible to facilitate seamless revision and learning.

Notice each day how you are feeling. In relation to emotions, its often the case that when you ‘name them’, you ‘tame them’. This awareness will help you be more in tune with your body and deal with any ‘down time’ should it arrive. Apparently, doing a quick five minute tidy of your space or bedroom increases positive feelings and emotions. Try it and see! If you do find yourself down in the dumps, be sure to talk to someone; anyone at all.

Trusting the Exam System

For exam students, you need to trust the fact that we have one of the most robust and fairest exam systems in the world. The exam papers are always marked fairly each year, no matter what the circumstances. It is currently a very transparent system, so please trust it. Focus on your own work and what you can control. The State Exams Commission (SEC) are hyper aware of the importance of student’s mental health right now and this has been reflected by the extra choice and options on this year’s exam papers.

Staying Positive

It is important to try and focus on one task at a time and not look too far ahead during times of stress. It is perfectly ok to be worried or anxious about uncertain situations and you should acknowledge the existence of these feelings. Try to find someone to talk to about stress or any worries you may have. It can be a friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, a sibling, a teacher, a relation, or a parent. Somehow when you talk through whats worrying you, it often becomes more manageable. Listening to negativity on social media or from friends can do more damage than good, especially around exam time. Premier league footballers don’t read negative press about themselves as they diligently prepare for their next game – they have been coached not to. Sticking to the exact facts will help you face up to the reality of each situation that you are faced with, whether that be in exams or life.

Keeping a Diary

I found keeping a diary useful in managing worries and anxieties and would encourage you to write your own thoughts regularly into a Journal; even just a list of uncertainties that may be playing on your mind. Try to remember that being overly anxious can prevent you from doing your best in exams. Learn and practice some calming techniques. Seek help from a professional if you feel it is all too much. Be sure to reach out.

Things Change Quickly

Varying what we do each day keeps our brains active and will allow less time for anxiety to creep in. As human beings, our minds often bring us to worst-case scenarios. We learn from experience that these rarely come to pass, with fear often being a false emotion. Cast your mind back to good times you had recently, things weren’t really that amazing then were they? Now remember a point in your life when you struggled; things quickly changed some days later and it didn’t seem as horrible as you expected in the end, did it?

“Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain.“

Guns N’ Roses

Always focus on what you can control and the good people in your life. Stay positive, maintain contact with friends and deal with the exact reality of situations. You are more resilient and stronger than you think. Doing your fair share of revision each day and ticking off that task list you create (each night) will greatly reduce anxiety levels. Try my ‘Recommended ACE stability measures’ below to sustain confidence and combat your fears.

 Recommended ACE Stability Measures

  1. Tick off each topic in subjects as you complete and understand them.
  2. Focus on what you have completed each day (Not what you haven’t).
  3. Think positively about yourself.
  4. Plan something nice or enjoyable each day.
  5. Take things day by day.
  6. Set yourself little targets and subject challenges each day.
  7. Always remember that ‘You are enough’.

To read last week’s article on ‘Supporting Your Child Right up to Exam Day’, click here. Thanks Joe.

More details about Joe’s Maths Tuition Classes for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate (2022) and his Award Winning ACE Maths Solution Books can be found via the links below.

ACE Maths Classes: acesolutionbooks.com/ace-maths-tuition

ACE Maths Solution Books: acesolutionbooks.com/buy-my-books

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Photo:@ZhangChaosheng

Joe’s Jotter: Supporting your Child Through to Exam Day

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Dear Parents,

You may now be in the situation where your child is preparing for a final state exam and at times it will seem like you are the one actually sitting the papers. Firstly, ‘you’ getting stressed out and worked up will only make them more anxious. Students need to be encouraged and rewarded and this will be your main role as we approach exam time. Getting annoyed or even angry with your child for not studying or putting in the hours is tempting but will actually achieve very little. Ultimately, the only person you are upsetting is yourself. The old adage is apt here:

‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink’

As a parent, all you can do is put the conditions in place to help them flourish. Purchasing some revision and solution books, making healthy food, providing a quiet house for study and plenty of love and support are all constructive actions around this time.

Providing that Subtle Support

Being in the background and offering that hassle free support is what most exam students want right now. Firstly, let’s focus on the support they need for revision and homework. Homework is an extremely important part of your child’s learning in exam year. Below are some short tips that will facilitate your involvement in ensuring homework is a positive learning experience for your child.

  • Provide your child with a suitable place and time to do their homework. Minimise interruptions and distractions from television, phones, and other siblings.
  • If a child has difficulty with homework, you should try where possible to help them overcome it with explanations and examples, without actually doing it for them.
  • In the case of recurring homework problems, it is advisable to ring or send a quick note to the subject teacher to explain what the problem or issue is. If you are a parent of an exam year student and want to get in touch with a teacher, a phone call is probably the recommended form of communication at this stage of the year.

 Encourage them to Express Themselves

If you find your child is getting increasingly anxious about upcoming exams and needs more than talking, ask them to write their thoughts and concerns on a sheet of paper. Having kept a diary for ten years as a child, I found that writing down anxieties and feelings helped to get them out of my head, allowing me to process them better. Another idea is to ask them to write down some positive actions, such as “I will relax and perform well” or “when I get the first question on the first paper started, it will settle me”.

Success and Failure

It’s important to guard against what they perceive as failure; support instead of policing is the way to go. To me failure in school is not about grades; the students that fail are those who don’t try, and the same philosophy could be applied to life. From this point of view, encouraging all their efforts and promoting calmness is the ideal standpoint for any parent now. This also applies if your child is sitting ‘house’ exams.

Get in touch with their school if you are overly concerned about your child’s anxiety, as sometimes it can happen that teachers are not aware of personal issues faced by students. Informed teachers can often take steps to help them or at least cut them some slack in class. Ultimately, if you feel exam anxiety (or any other serious anxiety for that matter) is reaching an uncontrollable level, you need to seek advice, support, and guidance, probably from a medical practitioner. You know your own child best.

Five Practical Tips to Support Your Exam Student

 

Parents, here are five practical actions you can take to help your son or daughter be the best they can be around exam time. This advice may be particularly useful to those who’s oldest child is doing exams this year.

Help them maintain a well-balanced daily routine.

You should guide your child to aim for a proper balance between revision and rest. After each exam or class test, they need time to rest and recharge before they can do any beneficial study for the next challenge. With a lot of tests in school at the minute, it is important to maintain that freshness where possible. Late-night study sessions are not advised.

Studies have shown that a good night’s sleep improves exam performance.

All revision should end at least an hour before bedtime to allow your child time to unwind before sleep. Encourage them to conclude revision at a reasonable time and start unwinding in order to slow down their body and mind. This will result in a more refreshing night’s sleep. It is not advisable to fall straight into bed from their study desk. The issue here is that their mind will be buzzing for hours as they attempt to get to sleep. You will need to use a collaborative partnership approach for success on this action.

You are what you eat.

What you eat and drink affects your performance in any activity, especially one involving mental sharpness. As a parent, you should try to ensure your child has nutritious food as exams approach. Start with breakfast each morning, the lunch they bring with them if they are facing long days, their evening meal, as well as snacks during the day. Grazing on junk food is very tempting at times of increased stress but should be avoided as much as possible.

Success is always a team effort.

Drawing on the support of everything that is potentially positive in a student’s life helps to maximise exam performance. Such supports include a heightened awareness on the part of all family members in their interactions with the person doing exams. Meeting with friends and participation in sporting or social activities should be encouraged. All these factors help to maintain a student’s ‘high spirits’ during an extended exam period.

It is advisable not to over hype the importance of any subject examination.

It is very easy in the middle of a stress-induced experience, such as a major exam, to get the whole event totally out of perspective. The secret here is to try and maintain their normal school routine. It is better to focus on their performance rather than their points. Parents should ensure their child is clear that your unconditional love and regard for them is in no way dependent on how they perform in the annual academic Olympics. Your affirmation is the greatest gift you can give them, prior to and during their tests. Good luck. Joe

 

More details about Joe as a Maths Tutor for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate (2022) and his Award Winning ACE Maths Solution Books can be found via the links below.

ACE Maths Classes: acesolutionbooks.com/ace-maths-tuition

ACE Maths Solution Books: acesolutionbooks.com/buy-my-books

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Photo:@ZhangChaosheng

Joe’s Jotter: How to Improve Homework at Secondary School

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Is Homework Useful?

Students, Time spent at homework each night serves two purposes. Firstly, it is a reminder of what you did that day in school. In my opinion, the first five minutes of homework you do in each subject should be to go back over what the teacher did in class that day. Secondly, it also allows you to test yourself to see if you now understand information about a topic, and maybe how you may need to explore it further. Students should take care over each piece of homework and complete it as best they can. Personally, I really see the value of homework as a key tool in re-enforcing learning that has taken place during each day.

The Best Way to Tackle Homework

 How you approach homework after a long day is the secret to being more efficient with it. Firstly, I would make sure to rest a little when you get home and get a good solid meal into you, especially if you have plenty to do. Clever students ‘eat their frog’ and do the difficult homework or subjects they struggle with first. This allows them to feel better as the evening goes on. As I see it, this make total sense, as your concentration levels, later in the evening, do not need to be as high for subjects you are good at or enjoy as tiredness creeps in.

On a similar note, attempt the type of learning you do not particularly enjoy first. In other words, if you aren’t fond of reading or learning off, do that first as opposed to writing or note taking. Homework and revision are about playing to your strengths and working smarter. It is better to write short key jottings as opposed to spending hours mindlessly reading. Fact!

No Homework Tonight!

 If your daily homework has been completed during ‘free periods’ during the day, it is still important to use those few hours in the evening to revise material from last week or the week before. You need to take these opportunities, if they arise, to catch up. For students in Senior cycle, you cannot really afford to take a full night off. Am I saying you should work from 5 – 11pm every night? No, and you certainly should take a short break every thirty minutes. Even on weeknights, take some exercise or go do that little activity you enjoy that keeps you sane – whatever works for you to get your mind off things.

Homework is the Best Form of Study

 Homework done to a high standard is a brilliant form of study. Reviewing work done in class via mini test questions or checking what’s coming up tomorrow can be included as part of your homework if time allows. Homework teaches you to analyse the information your teacher has given to you. Always take pride in the homework you produce, as it will stand to you in the long term. Time spent doing homework should be counted as part of ‘exam preparation’ time and you shouldn’t feel in anyway guilty when there are nights you do ‘all homework’ and ‘no revision’. Judge each night on its merits and how important each task is.

Super Organisation

Being super organised with homework and your journal are important aspects to kick-start your success. In my opinion, homework is the best form of study, and you need to be disciplined with it. Write homework diligently into your journal each day and complete each piece of homework like you are doing an exam question. Being ‘smart’ with how to tackle homework is a skill, which could take months to refine. Ensure each subject gets a fair amount of ‘homework time’, depending on what you schedule is like for the next day.

Every day, I make a list of tasks on my phone that I need to complete. At the end of the day, I review this list to see how many of them I have actually fully completed. Tasks unfinished are then moved to another day so that each task eventually gets dealt with. At times, tasks are postponed (put off into the future), but ultimately they always get completed unless I deem them unimportant. Apply this technique to your revision, ensuring that everything gets completed eventually in the most efficient manner. Task monitoring, homework discipline and dedication are all attributes of the ‘Super Organised’ H1 student.

Student Survey: The Importance of Homework

 I completed a survey of students previously and asked them to think about the importance of homework to them and how its benefits helped them achieve their goals. Here are some of the more interesting observations they made in their surveys:

“Record your homework carefully in your journal every day.”

“Use class time well if teachers allot it to homework.“

“Set the same time aside every evening for homework.“

“Do your homework after dinner and soon after arriving home.“

“Try to complete your homework before nine p.m.“

“Try to be honest with your teachers in relation to homework.“

“Tick off your homework for each subject as it gets done.“

“When doing your homework, do not lounge on a bed or sofa.“

“Ask your parents or teachers if you cannot understand your homework.“

“Have a quiet study area with a desk, fresh air, and good lighting.“

“As well as written work, browse over what was covered in class that day.“

“Do not let homework affect sleep time, but don’t leave it until the next morning.“

“Plan ahead on assignments if you are expecting a busy week.“

“Get the phone numbers of classmates for queries on homework.“

 

To view last weeks feature article on ‘How to become a Specialist at Maths Exams (Part 2)’, click here. Joe

 

More details about Joe as a Maths Tutor for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate (2022) and his Award Winning ACE Maths Solution Books can be found via the links below.

ACE Maths Classes: acesolutionbooks.com/ace-maths-tuition

ACE Maths Solution Books: acesolutionbooks.com/buy-my-books

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Photo:@ZhangChaosheng