How I Scored a 40+ in Methods in Year 10 and Lost My Sanity

...and how you can keep yours.

As a classic overachiever, no one was surprised but me when I opened my letter and saw the number 42 on the page next to “Mathematical Methods ”. That evening after the excitement died down, my peers were all asking how I did it. I must’ve been some sort of genius to get the fabled 40+ Methods score as a year 10 student. To be honest, I wasn’t
sure either.

But what I did know, is that it wasn’t some form of natural affinity that got me over the line, it was hours and hours of sitting locked in my room, grinding exam papers while my friends were out at the movies. It was a miserable life, but was it worth it? The real answer is no. So, when my friends ask me how to get the same success I did in their own accelerated classes, I don’t tell them to do what I did. No, this is what I tell them. This is how you do well in Methods without sacrificing everything else in your life.

Tip #1: The Textbook is Not Everything

We all know the pain of getting assigned every question in the exercise as homework.
Teachers always use the same old reasoning that we need to get our practice in, but
realistically, it’s too much. With how repetitive the content is in Methods, especially in
Unit 3 where barely anything new is taught, homework can drain you very quickly. My
advice, just work through the harder questions until you’re 100% confident with the
content of that chapter, then move on. Use the extra time to get other work done or start
learning ahead so you can get to the real useful tool earlier, exams. That being said, do
make sure you really know the content before skipping, don’t lie to yourself and be lazy.

Tip # 2 : Don’t Overprepare for SACs

SACs are hard. They’re scary. Many students, me included, get so stressed out and burn
ourselves out so much over them that we end up not being able to focus during the SAC
itself. The difficulty in SACs lies not in the content, but the problem-solving nature of the
questions you are being asked; it’s like the Exam 2 Extended Response on steroids. The
most important thing for your SAC is that you know all of the content like the back of
your hand, you shouldn’t need to reach for your bound reference in an ideal scenario
except for long formulas. Past that, just relax, the less stressed out you are in the
examination room the better you’ll be able to focus on breaking apart and answering the
questions. Most students do far better than they expect.

Tip # 3 : Practice Exams are the Holy Grail

With a subject as focused on application of skills as Methods, it is crucial that you
familiarise yourself with the kinds of questions examiners like to ask. This is why
working ahead is helpful, you give yourself more time to start chipping away at the exam
grind. You’ll quickly notice patterns in how the exams are structured and how questions
are asked, this is one of your biggest assets so you don’t get hit with a nasty surprise
when you open the front cover. VCE and NHT papers are obviously your best resource
and are available publicly on VCAA’s website, I also recommend Insight and Heffernan
papers which are available on VCE Rocks and VCE Best for free.

Tip # 4 : Track Your Progress

That being said, doing exams are useless if you’re not getting actual insight (pun
intended) out of them. Keep a record of every exam you’ve done, your score and how
long it took you, and write down every mistake and key area you need to focus on (e.g.
integration, reading the full question, graphing with domain). This will allow you to
reflect focus on what you really need to improve on, to refine yourself even further.

Tip # 5 : Don’t Sacrifice Your Life

While doing an exam every day may seem like a great idea in theory, with that much
math you’ll find yourself burning out swiftly. I racked up 52 exam sets in total by the end
of the year, and it may have been my biggest mistake. You very quickly get to a point
where you no longer gain anything from the exams, and the burnout will cause a
significant number of silly mistakes on the real exam (trust me, I’m speaking from
unfortunate experience). One or two sets a week is the maximum I’d recommend; if you
feel yourself having mental blocks, that’s how you know you’ve gone too far.

Conclusion

The key takeaway from all of this, is that success comes from moderation. Do too little
and you’ll find yourself unprepared, but do too much and you'll end up burnt out like I
was. Every mistake I made on that exam was wholly preventable, and probably would’ve
been if my mind was sharp and rested. It’s ultimately up to you to decide what is
enough; no one else can decide that for you, not even teachers. So work hard,
collaborate with your peers and help each other succeed as much as possible, and

you’ll be sure to get the results you deserve.