Course notes

Take good lectures notes – ones which you could refer to later. Your lecturer may not necessarily write down everything discussed so you may like to add to the standard lecture notes by including snippets of what is being said as well.

Summarise each topic you study using your lecture notes and related texts. You can do this by referring to the lecture notes you took in lectures and presenting it as a summary. All the main points should be there. You may need to refer to textbooks to consolidate some of the material.

A summary does not have to be short – you can include examples and as much working as you like. This will become your reference book – a quick review of what you are expected to know in your course of study. Summaries take a while to do but it is worth it in the end.

Textbooks are an additional resource to your lecture notes. Often a topic may be expanded on in more detail in your textbook with additional examples given. When you make your summaries have your textbook open at your topic and use it as a reference and guide.

This is probably the most helpful way of studying Maths – to do and redo as many exercises that you can find. Use your tutorial exercises as a guide but also refer to your textbook and recommended reading lists. Find the topic that you are working on and do as many exercises that you can on it.

The best way of getting help with Maths is face to face. Don’t be scared of asking your lecturer or tutor for help. Spend time at the Numeracy Centre (or your Maths Study Centre) where tutors are available to give you individual help. Discuss your questions with your friends and maybe together you can come up with a solution.

Redoing your assignments is important especially before an exam as it gives you an idea of the standard of knowledge you are required to have.

Paul’s Online Notes offers further discussion and information on this topic.