How Can I Revise by Myself for A-Level Maths?
LikeRevision is the most crucial factor of exam results in your A Levels for 99% of students (the 1% are way too smart) but it is often difficult to get motivated, especially when revising alone, here are my top tips for A-Level maths revision!
Firstly, finding opportunities to revise with your friends and peers is an excellent way to practise your maths and tackle more difficult topics. This is because you can help each other out and share your strengths and weaknesses; this is especially good if you have access to a teacher or private maths tutor, so help out when you are all stuck.
Now, that might make it seem like revising on your own is way worse than working with your peers, however, revising on your own still has its strengths. Furthermore, the online sites often have past papers which are excellent things to practice when you are revising alone, as you can practice in exam conditions. They also have mark schemes and worked answers, which can offer great explanations for questions you get wrong.
Other than past papers, revising alone is an excellent opportunity to really practise the foundational skills in A level maths, like differentiation, integration, trigonometry, and more. It is vital to be as confident as you can be in these topics, as they are common across all the exam papers and can be easy marks if you know what you are doing. My best advice for practising these (and I know it’s boring, sorry!) is repetition. Do your best to drill the foundations deep into your brain so when you open the exam and see implicit differentiation, or a complicated integration using logarithms or trigonometric functions, you don't panic, you don't freeze and forget everything; you instead think, I have done this, I know how to do this, I can do this.
Okay, so now you know what is best to revise when alone, but that does not help you get motivated. A fantastic way to get motivated is to set a goal, since this is A-Level maths revision, maybe your goal could be a top university, or apprenticeship opportunity which requires a high grade. When you lose motivation, remind yourself of why you are doing it. However, this high pressure method might not work for you, so what are your other options? Well, one way is to try and make your revision more diverse; instead of doing two hours straight of maths, do 30 minutes and take a short break, then switch the subject. It is important to use your time wisely in exam periods, but without breaks and time to do your hobbies, you might burn out and struggle to be motivated to do anything at all, or even have impacts on your mental health. Another great way to enjoy your revision more is to listen to music or a podcast. Now, it's important to remember that you are there to revise and should not listen to anything too distracting, but some calming and relaxing music can really help revision feel less like a chore.
To summarise, revising alone is a great opportunity to practice exam papers in exam conditions, to build your foundations of A level maths, and to familiarise yourself with and use all the great resources you can find online as a substitute to an in person tutor or peer. However, it is harder to stay motivated when revising alone, so it is important to set a goal to work towards, keep time for your hobbies, and try and make the revision as diverse and enjoyable as possible.