University of Saskatchewan Mathematics and Statistics Help Centre
Math and Stats Study Suggestions
September 2003
Under construction!
| General Suggestions for Math and Stats Students |
| Keep up with your homework |
- understanding lectures is easier when you have been working on math on a regular basis. Some students can get away with leaving all their homework till the last minute, but most can't.
- at the very least, you will find out what your instructor thinks is important. Also, try to get any misunderstandings from the lectures cleared up, either by asking the professor or by asking someone else (e.g. at the Help Centre).
| Find out what you have missed |
- if you miss a lecture for some reason.
- that textbook was probably pretty expensive. It's not just for exercises; there is a lot of material in there that is useful for you. Students who are recent high school graduates often complain that they can't read math textbooks, but this is a skill that is acquired as the course progresses. (One student who complained bitterly about the textbook in September was praising it in January.) It helps to realize that reading a math or stats textbook isn't like reading other textbooks. Some of us have found that following an example by writing in 'missing' steps can help.
Many textbooks have a student solutions manual, and some students find them very helpful. A warning: don't fall in the habit of merely writing out the solutions in the solutions manual. Another possible resource is a study guide that may accompany your textbook. (Check in the bookstore.)
- at least once a week you should review the lecture material that you have learned, and the exercises you have been working on, regardless of whether there is an exam coming up. You will find reviewing a lot easier if you do your homework in such a way that you will be able to understand what you have done later on, ie. with formulas and calculations and your reasoning spelled out. Reviewing regularly has the added benefit of making studying for term tests and final exams *a lot easier*.
To do well, you may also want to think about how material you learned earlier may be introduced with the concepts you are currently working on. Eg. Domain is discussed early in a course; logarithmic functions are introduced later. Will you know how to find domains of functions that have logarithms in them? (Sometimes this happens naturally in your homework.)
| Try to learn the terminology and notation |
- for example, students in Commerce sections should be able to explain (to themselves) what a linear-to-linear rational function is. Students in other Math 110 courses should know that the inverse function to f(x) is denoted f-1(x), and that it isn't the same as 1/f(x).
On tests, make sure you read the questions carefully - if a question asks for "p as a function of q", then you need to write p=some formula with q as the independent variable.
| Understand that most math or stats courses are cumulative |
- the material you are learning now will more than likely be something that you will be expected to be comfortable with two weeks or two months from now. Note to Engineering students: this is especially true for you. Also, final examinations in math or stats courses are also frequently cumulative, so putting in the time to learn the current concepts now is worth it.
- from your professor, in your lab (tutorial) period, from the Help Centre, from friends, from upper-year students. There will be a session of the University Study Skills Lab (offered by Student Counselling) devoted to math and science (phone: 966-4920). It's always better to deal with a difficulty earlier rather than later. Getting a private tutor is another option, but please realize that the tutor can't write your exams for you - *you* need to learn the material, and ultimately *you* need to put time in, doing homework, going over notes, etc. Just watching someone else do problems isn't going to benefit you much. However, a tutor can be a useful resource if you approach tutoring sessions appropriately. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics maintains a Tutor List. Note the disclaimer at the top of the page.
| When writing tests, read the questions carefully. |
- You can't do the question correctly if you haven't actually *comprehended* it. You don't need to start writing things down immediately after reading the first sentence. If you don't know how to do a question, spend some time on it, certainly, but don't waste half of the total exam time on one question that is worth 10% of the total marks. Move on to a questions you can do, and then come back to the other question. (Profs are unlike many high school teachers in that they do not necessarily arrange test questions from easiest to hardest.)
| Learn from your results on quizzes and homework |
- term tests and marked homework are feedback for you. Take some time to correct any errors you may have made, and note the questions that you solved correctly. Math and stats final exams are frequently cumulative, so you need to correct any misunderstandings before finals.
| Take care to show your work |
- if your exam is not multiple choice, then your work will be marked. Try to ensure that your work is clear. It's your job to communicate to the marker what you are doing. (Obviously, if you are running out of time, this may suffer a bit.) Randomly written bits of math probably won't gain you many marks. (You may find that university instructors are less forgiving in this regard than high school teachers.)
| Try not to get too anxious during an test |
- a little bit of anxiety before a test is normal, and may even help you focus. Some students get anxious if a test question doesn't look exactly like a question they have done before. If this happens to you, try to remember that you probably *do* know something that is applicable to the question. (That is, if you are well-prepared.)
However, if you find you get unreasonably nervous before an exam, or blank out during the exam because of anxiety, perhaps contacting the Student Counselling Service would be a good idea. They can teach you techniques to deal with your anxiety. Please note: if your anxiety comes from not being prepared for the exam, you need to deal with that by keeping up with class work.
- most people can do math if they have the right background for the course and keep up with the course work. There have been students who have been out of high school for several years have done very well in math, because of their preparation and great work habits. As one student once said, "Math is fun when you understand what's going on."