Struggling to Study Maths? Try This.

Remember in school how easy it was to write notes for History, English, and/or Business? And yet, few of us were taking notes in Maths.

This is where we went wrong. Maths needs to be studied like any other subject – by practicing with your pen in hand!

Marilyn ‘The Mathematician’ Monroe

Possibly the most famous actress in history, and her life was also famously difficult. But there was one way Marilyn could express her feelings: by writing them down.

It helped her find clarity and simplicity in her complicated life. It helped her make sense of things.

We’ve all heard the statistic that you are more likely to understand, remember, or achieve something after writing it down. Here at Breakthrough Maths, we refer to this as ‘thinking in ink’ – inspired by Marilyn’s original poem!

Think In Ink

It’s all well and good watching your teacher show you Pythagoras’ theorem on the whiteboard, but it’s far more likely to sink in if you ink in. Let us explain:

If you can’t study maths, the key to success is taking out your pen and writing stuff down. That means doing:

• Homework questions
• Exam papers
• Notes

It goes without saying that you should do your maths homework every night. Then, when it comes to exam years, it is important to incorporate exam papers too. 

By doing questions on paper, you are able to see if you have mastered the relevant skills and fully understand new concepts. 

Most of you are hopefully already doing this, but one thing that most of us forget is that it is vital that you take notes in Maths – just like you would in any other subject!

The Value of Notes

Having your own maths notes alongside your exam papers and homework questions will help you in the run-up to exams because it is a rephrasing of a new concept in a way that makes sense to you. 

Think about it – you’re far more likely to remember your own words than your maths grinds teacher’s voice or an image of the textbook!

Taking notes ensures full understanding. If you take good notes, you won’t need to flip back and forth through a big textbook to study maths coming up to exams – you will have everything condensed and clear in one place.

You can use your notebook to help you practice questions, but over time, you will see that by writing things down in your own words, you will have a much easier time memorizing them.

When it comes to the exam in May or June, it will be ‘inked’ into your brain!

If you can think in ink, and put your maths skills to the test, as well as keep notes, you’ll see a dramatic effect on your maths results.

Stay tuned for more study tips!

TJ— CEO of Breakthrough Maths.

Need help in Maths? Contact the Breakthrough Maths team here.