Baby steps for a decent score in Math HL

[swepati]

I've been really good at Maths until I started doing the IB. I'm really clueless as to how I should go about it. I'm a couple of months into the program but I'm not doing well in my tests. I need help. Can somebody please tell me all the necessary things to do in order to pick up my grades? Also, if you know any websites that have helpful videos explaining topics, websites for past papers and practice questions.

I feel like the questions we do in class are pretty simple but when I look at the question paper they're so twisted! Please give me tips as to how I should be preparing for the tests and what kind of practice I should do everything? I have a progression test in March for which I have the entire portion I'll have dealt with in Year 1. We follow Haese and Harris textbook btw and I also have Pearson. (:

Thanks a bunch for taking time to read through! And thanks two bunches if you take the time to reply.

[flinquinnster]

Even though there are moments where I have regretted taking Maths HL, overall I think it was a great choice. Though I may revise that comment once I receive my final IB results...

Anyway, it is true that Maths HL is a hard subject - so there is a lot of work to do. Firstly, I think that by working through all of the exercises (or most of it) in textbooks and doing so regularly - and raising any questions you have with a teacher - is a good start. Personally, I found the Haese and Harris textbook annoying because of the fact that it split so many of its exercises up into many subheadings, and I didn't use the Pearson. But doing exercises is still useful, and particularly the review exercises - even if you don't do anything else, review exercises are useful.

In terms of videos/websites, a general resource that could be useful may be Khan Academy. Otherwise, usually googling your specific question will bring useful results and videos. And if possible, always seek your teacher's advice on things that you don't understand, as their role is meant to be addressing any of your concerns in a subject.

Otherwise, the most crucial part of doing well in Maths HL is practising past papers. There's no way around it. If you poke around online, you can typically find past papers back to from 1995 - and I assure you, you won't run out of past papers in the 2 years of IB. So I would recommend starting with some of the older papers (perhaps from maybe around 2000-2002) and then looking at the types of questions asked. Particularly, the old Paper 2 will have the extended-response questions of Section B in Papers 1 and 2, which are typically more challenging. Whilst there are syllabus differences, in maths they aren't extensive. Perhaps another way of getting exposure to past paper questions is to get access to questionbanks - I would recommend starting with 2nd edition, then moving to newer editions if you have time. So you can consistently look through past paper questions from now, and then closer to the exam, then start on the more recent past papers, which hopefully should be completely 'new' and unseen as in an exam.

Whilst you definitely shouldn't underestimate how difficult Maths HL is, it is by no means impossible! Best of luck with your test.

[swepati]

Thank you so much! Which textbook were you following?

[flinquinnster]

Thank you so much! Which textbook were you following?

I used this edition of an Oxford textbook - I liked the way that the textbook was set out and the exercises were great, but there is an enormous drawback - there are countless, countless mistakes in the answers (and no worked solutions I could find) which ended up being incredibly counterproductive and demoralising in that you would always second guess your solutions. So if you do use this old edition textbook, then be careful. There is an updated version which is for the new post-2013 Maths HL syllabus - so this will probably be more relevant and hopefully have fewer errors. There are a couple of threads on this forum recommending textbooks, so if you aren't happy with the ones you are using, there is feedback on the huge variety available.

[swepati]

Thank you so much! Your tips have been really helpful and I've been doing considerably well in my tests lately. And congratulations on the amazing scores! You must be a genius!

[-._._.-]

Even though there are moments where I have regretted taking Maths HL, overall I think it was a great choice. Though I may revise that comment once I receive my final IB results...

Anyway, it is true that Maths HL is a hard subject - so there is a lot of work to do. Firstly, I think that by working through all of the exercises (or most of it) in textbooks and doing so regularly - and raising any questions you have with a teacher - is a good start. Personally, I found the Haese and Harris textbook annoying because of the fact that it split so many of its exercises up into many subheadings, and I didn't use the Pearson. But doing exercises is still useful, and particularly the review exercises - even if you don't do anything else, review exercises are useful.

In terms of videos/websites, a general resource that could be useful may be Khan Academy. Otherwise, usually googling your specific question will bring useful results and videos. And if possible, always seek your teacher's advice on things that you don't understand, as their role is meant to be addressing any of your concerns in a subject.

Otherwise, the most crucial part of doing well in Maths HL is practising past papers. There's no way around it. If you poke around online, you can typically find past papers back to from 1995 - and I assure you, you won't run out of past papers in the 2 years of IB. So I would recommend starting with some of the older papers (perhaps from maybe around 2000-2002) and then looking at the types of questions asked. Particularly, the old Paper 2 will have the extended-response questions of Section B in Papers 1 and 2, which are typically more challenging. Whilst there are syllabus differences, in maths they aren't extensive. Perhaps another way of getting exposure to past paper questions is to get access to questionbanks - I would recommend starting with 2nd edition, then moving to newer editions if you have time. So you can consistently look through past paper questions from now, and then closer to the exam, then start on the more recent past papers, which hopefully should be completely 'new' and unseen as in an exam.

Whilst you definitely shouldn't underestimate how difficult Maths HL is, it is by no means impossible! Best of luck with your test.

Says the person with a 7 for Maths HL. Haha

Edited February 10, 2014 by -._._.-