Introduction
For the students studying mathematics it is very important that they clearly understand the topic. Mathematics is based on the understanding and practising of several problems.
The best way to cope with the topic is to spend some time trying to understand it yourself, and then asking your teacher any questions. You should always keep a separate notebook for your lectures so that in the end you can easily prepare for the tests or exams by just going through those notes.
For the individual, I would suggest working daily through problem sheets for the topic. Try to solve the problems on your own without asking for help, even if it takes you the whole day! At the end of the day, you would at least be confident in how to solve that type of problem, and would be able to solve similar types of much harder problems.
Never leave any question in your mind unasked. If you are unclear of anything, there is chance that it may come up in your exam, so it is better to ask rather than to suffer, and then think "I should have asked my teacher about that".
How to Prepare for Exams
The best way to prepare for the exams is to solve all the problem sheets that you get in your class. After that, in the final days before the exam you should just do past papers so that you become familiar with the exam pattern. Also, read the examiners' report and the mark scheme as well so that you know what the examiners are expecting from you .You should do past papers in the same time as the original exam time so that you prepare well according to the time limit.
How to Take the Exam
First of all make sure that you are not tired on the day of the exam. When you are about to start the exam feel confident about your preparation and calm down. You may be nervous at the start, but as you start doing the exam paper it will be fine! Make an estimate of the time you should give to each question, and do not forget to have some time as 'insurance' minutes. For example, if your exam is of two hours and thirty minutes and there are 12 questions to be answered, then divide 60+60+15 by 12 (the number of questions) and you would get 11.25 minutes for each question. If you can complete within this time span then you could spend those 15 minutes in rechecking all your solutions.
If unfortunately you are unable to do any question within 11.25 minutes then leave it. Do not waste your time on it and do the rest of your exam within the calculated time for each question, and in the end you would have the 15 minutes as your 'insurance' minutes to spend on that question which you could not do in 11 or 12 minutes.
In the end after your exam has finished, try to feel confident that you have done very well! This will help you to cheerfully prepare for your next exam, if this was not your last exam.
