Exams Help: Beat Maths-o-phobia, score full marks!

For some students, Mathematics is the most dreaded subject while others consider it to be the best...because you can score full marks in this subject!

Well retired supervisor of Science (and a Maths teacher for over 30 years) Antonio Diniz has some advice for you: First get your basics, right.

He also highlights the benefits of studying and scoring in Maths. "This is one subject which not only improves computation skills but also develops your thinking and reasoning skills, " he says.

There are different methods to solve the same problem, but you can always bank on tried and tested methods.

Mr Diniz tips you off on these.

No last-minute revision, please!

There are no tips for students who deliberately resort to last-minute study. Only 'good luck' will save you!

For others, who due to genuine reasons where compelled to start late, concentrate on those topics and chapters with which you are already comfortable with, and spend more time practising previous year questions.

Also, keeping the company of some studious friends will help! Additionally, you must inculcate the habit of finishing the papers in the stipulated time.

Read your paper, carefully!

Start your exam with a question you are most comfortable with.

Solve problems in a stepwise method

Attempt all questions -- even if partially. You do get points for attempting them and for every correct step .

Write a clean paper

Don't scribble and scrap, unnecessarily. If need be, just strike it once and start writing in a new line

Keep tabs

This is with respect to formulae, rules and theorems. Also, stick to proper methodology.

Formatting, a must

Draw margins, underline the important steps and leave space after answering each question.

Perfect graphs = full marks!

• Convert, if required, all the quantities to appropriate SI units.
• Choose a correct scale, which helps to draw the graph accurately and of good size.
• Join all the points of the graph so that it gives a proper line or a smooth curve.
• Also, read correctly the values if required to be obtained from the graph.

Top Maths bloopers

• Repeating the same answers at different places in the paper, hoping the examiner will not catch this!
• Some students who have memorised certain sums will reproduce them correctly in place of sums that they could not solve
• Adding notes at the end of the answer paper pleading with the examiner to be lenient with him or her, because Maths is a difficult subject and some mercy should be shown.