Improve Your Math Grade Following 5 Tricks

Aalia Hasan
4 min readJun 17, 2016

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image courtesy: pixabay.com

Math is crucial both in academics as well as the real world. Though it is fun for some students, it is kind of a nightmare to others.

Most of you are afraid of mathematics because the answers here are either right or wrong. There is little scope for anything in between. To progress through high school and beyond, you must ensure that your math skills are not below average.

Most students and parents question on the techniques to best learn math and improve the grades in this subject. For the parents, my advice is make learning Math as appealing as possible. Here are a few tips for the students.

Be Attentive in Math Class

Though it is advisable to attend the classes in all subjects, you won’t face too much trouble if you miss classes in other subjects. You won’t get such an opportunity if the subject is Mathematics. Remember that sums are kind of a ladder. In case one of the rungs goes missing, you would face hardships moving on to the next rung and in case you miss a couple of rungs, you would face trouble reaching the top.

If you attend the classes but prefer to keep your senses shut, you would be in trouble. You must be attentive in class and listen to the lecture as carefully as possible so that you do not miss out on the essential details. There may be times when you have attended classes, completed your homework but still do not feel confident to solve the trigonometric identities. Well, in cases like this, nobody else can help apart from your teacher. Don’t get embarrassed and get your doubts cleared. It is alright to make mistakes at times since that provides you with the opportunity to learn. You just need to take things in the right spirit.

Focus on Topics you Did Not Understand

Well, this sounds quite simple but this is one of the most significant points. All of us are in the habit of doing this. We do spend some time on the harder problems but as soon as we discover that it would give us a really tough time, we tend to move on. Remember that getting stuck is normal for all. The only thing that you need to do here is not give up out of frustration but stick to it. In case you are leaving a topic, there are high chances you won’t be able to understand the next topic either.

According to an educationist, “If you answered a question incorrectly, took too long to answer it, or were unsure of how you solved it, circle it. These are the questions that you’re most likely to miss or skip on a test, so these are the questions you’ll want to review the most. Generally, to improve your math skills and grades, target your weaknesses and, instead of brushing them off as unimportant or too hard, focus your energy and time on these areas.”

Solve the Example Problems

Before you move on to solving the sums at the end of the chapter, try your hand at the examples. It is often said that learning by example is one of the best ways to learn things and the best subject that can be cited here is none other than Mathematics.

Solve the problems whose answers are there at the back of the textbook. Do not leave the problems even if you feel that they are too easy to solve. It is always advisable to start with the easier sums before you move on to the comparatively tough ones.

Practice Properly

Grasping the basics is not enough. You must hone your skills here by practicing as much as you can. You must be well aware of the phrase, ‘practice makes perfect’. Make sure that you schedule some time every day devoted to practicing sums. Repeated practice can reduce the strain on your working memory capacity.

Practicing will help you to bring down the number of mistakes and increase your speed. You can also skip a few steps if you solve the problems repeatedly.

Apart from mathematical problems, try to solve the puzzles and the brain teasers as well.

Don’t be Nervous

Do you know what is the most common aspect that lowers your score in mathematics? It is none other than nervousness and anxiety. Relax. Be well rested and have wholesome foods before you hit the examination venue.

What is the best way to deal with this anxiety? Keep on solving as many math problems as you can. The more you solve the sums, the less intimidating the subject would appear to you. If you reduce the stress level, you can focus on your test better and answer the questions with ease. The very ability to answer questions easily will bring down your anxiety further.

Remember that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to learning math. You need to give it some time and practice really hard. This is the best way to improve your grade.

Contributed by: www.myprivatetutor.ae

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Aalia Hasan

Aalia Hasan is a web enthusiast and an educationalist. Presently she is contributing articles for www.myprivatetutor.ae.