When it comes to passing maths in the WASSCE,Jamb & NECO, students need a lot of experiences and skills.They gained these experiences when they spend more time solving past papers from different years. Today,I share with you some of the maths Exam techniques required by students

Maths essay writing is divided into two sections-A and B.There will be 5 questions from section A and you are required to answer all.Each question is going for 8 marks.Also, there will be 8 questions in section B and you are required to answer 5.Each question is going for 12 marks.

It is not usually a good idea to start answering questions from section B and work backwards. Although these questions are generally worth a lot of marks because they are longer it can have a negative effect if things start to go wrong. Section A starts with short questions giving you time to settle in and hopefully gain some confidence. As an alternative, select a question that tests a topic in which you are very confident with.

Phrases use in maths questions and their interpretation.

Write down .. or State the value of.

Questions like these generally require no working, so if you find yourself attempting a long calculation the chances are that you are missing the point of the question.

Verify…

When this occurs you will normally be expected to substitute a value in an equation or statement to check that it satisfies a given relationship or condition. For example,verify that the point (3,5) lies on the line y=2x-1. To do this, substitute x=3 into the equation of the line and check that y comes to 5.

Show or Prove the following.

Quite often I find students giving up on a question that says show or prove something and not trying to continue the problem.Such question always requires you to use a combination of some basic skills learnt earlier.

Hence or otherwise

It is a subtle hint that what you have just calculated or proved in the last part of a question will help you solve the next part.

Find the exact value…

Expect to leave answers in surd form, or containing pi, logs or exponentials. Sometimes a question will ask you to find the values and a student gives just one answer.For example when a square root is involved and only the plus answer is given rather than the negative value.

Knowing formulas

It is important that you learn formulae. Often you will get marks for just quoting a correct formula for a given situation even if you do not know how to correctly use it.

Collecting Data

Always try and have a go at a question.Jot down any ideas or statements that come to mind. An attempt at using a formula or method can sometimes get marks as long as it is reasonably clear.

Show working

This is always written on the front cover of the exam paper.This is so important as it gives the examiners the opportunity of seeing how you achieved an answer and it enables them to follow your lines of thought. By showing working and giving clear introductions to your statements is essential so that you can pick up method marks even if the answer turns out to be incorrect. In this process,you can use any of the following statement to introduce new steps:
•Therefore(∴)
•Hence
•Thus
•And
•To find…,when…

Restricted questions

Some questions might ask you to round up answers. Let’s say,a question ask you to leave your answer to 3 decimal places and you end up leaving your answer to a decimal places of your desire.You will loose the mark for final answer but the marks for the steps will be awarded fully.

A good calculator

Make sure you have a good scientific calculator and that you have time to familiarise yourself with the keys and functions. Calculators are always changing with some being easier to use than others.Note however that for a question that restrict the use of calculator don’t attempt,you will loose huge marks.

Cancelling a Solution

If you attempt a question a solution more than once and are not sure which solution is correct,it is safer not to cross anything out,then both solutions will be marked and you may gain credit for work seen by the examiner.

This is a summary of what we think are essential points in making progress in mathematics and passing exams.If you can add any more points that would benefit others then please contact us.