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The important thing is to give up the fear of Mathematics. Start playing with numbers mentally. You can do mental calculation while watching TV, travelling, eating at restaurants etc with the numbers being provided to you. Formulas should be on your finger tips which will not only save time but will also reduce chances of error. Try to solve as many questions as possible during preparation and solve them with paper and pen. Just reading through the solved questions WILL NOT HELP. This gives the false impression that you have the ability to solve the question. You have to solve the questions on paper to gain confidence. Expose yourself to questions from different sources. If you are not able to solve a question at the first attempt, record the question and page number in a diary.
Check the diary once a week and solve again all those questions that you could not solve at the first attempt. If you are not able to grasp the method of a particular book, look for similar questions solved elsewhere to check different methods to solve the same questions. Try to find out different ways to solve a question and select the best method.
Multiplication of numbers till 25*25 should be remembered. Squares, cubes and multiplication of any 2 numbers below 25 should be on your finger tips. Start working on mental calculations with percentages, fractions etc. Corresponding % value of digits till 25 should be consigned to memory, for example the corresponding % value of 3 is 33.33%, of 4 is 25 %, of 5 is 20 % and so on. 5. The fraction value of some of the important % and vice versa should be remembered, such as 45% = 9/20 , 60% = 3/5, 33.33% = 1/3. Remembering all the above mentioned points will not only save time but will also reduce the chances of error.
Identify the types of questions that are scoring well for you. There may be a few topics which you can leave but make sure you have enough practice to attempt any easy question that may come from these areas.
After you attempt questions, whether you are right or wrong, check the method used to solve the question by the writer of the book/ your private tutor / reference material. Keep a record of all the questions you are not able to attempt correctly at the first attempt.
Some people think that remembering the formulas will be enough. There is no harm in keeping a list of formulas, but remember that just learning the formulas by heart won't help much. One must also know the different types of question where a particular formula can be used, and this will come by solving more and more questions on paper. It is very important that you know how and when to implement the formulas: just remembering the formulas won't help.
