Concentrate on mathematics only!
Write the assignment at the top of your paper.
Read the directions for the problems carefully.
Copy each problem on your homework paper and number it.
Do not use scratch paper. Show all of your work on your homework
paper.
Write neatly and large enough. Don’t do sloppy work.
Check your answers with the ones in the back of the book. If no
answers are provided, check your work itself.
See if your answers sound reasonable.
Write out any questions you have about the homework problems and
ask your instructor or another student when you can.
Draw pictures when possible. This is especially important in courses
such as geometry and trigonometry.
If you have made a mistake, try to locate it. Do not depend on the
teacher to find all your mistakes. Make sure that you have copied the
problem correctly.
Don’t give up. Doing a problem wrong is better than not doing it at all.
(Note: don’t spend an exorbitant amount of time on any one problem
though.)
Use any of the special study aids such as summaries, lists of formulas,
and symbols that you have made.
Don’t skip steps.
Finally, if you cannot get the correct answer to a problem, don’t stop.
Try the next step.REVIEW
In order to learn mathematics, it is necessary to review before the tests. It is
very important to realize one fact. You cannot cram in mathematics. You
cannot let your studying go until the night before the exam. If you do, forget
it. I have had students who have told me that they spent 3 hours studying
before the exam, and then failed it. If those were the only 3 hours they spent
studying, there is no way they could learn the material.
Some teachers provide written reviews. Make sure you do them. If this is
the case, you can use the review as a practice test. If not, you can make up
your own review. Many books have practice tests at the beginning and the
end of chapters. If so, you can use these exams as reviews. Some books have
extra problems at the end of each chapter. By doing these problems, you have
another way to review.
SUPPLEMENT Overcoming Math Anxiety 283