Top 10 Tips to Crack The IGCSE
Following a few simple ways can help improve your IGCSE Math scores. These tips relates to your revision plan as well as what to do once you are in the exam centre with the paper in front of you. Therefore, follow these tips while you practice the past papers. If you keep these things in mind , during revision, they will help boost your confidence and help to reduce careless mistakes.
Remember , you have a limited amount of study time before you take the exams and the IGCSE Maths syllabus is comprehensive. It’s best to make efficient use of that amount of time as far as possible. Working out what you need to work on is most essential to planning your revision. Do try and take online mock tests for IGCSE to better your preparation every single day. Solving past year question papers will you give more confidence and help to get a better understanding of the subject and topic. Before you start solving the paper, make sure you go through the entire question sheet carefully once. Consider the marks for each question. Don’t let the high mark answers intimidate you. You just need to think about what the steps needed to get those marks almost similar to like when you tackle 2 or 3 mark questions.
It is the small details which help improve your performance as well as our time management skills. For example, making sure you answer all parts of a question. While this may sound silly and obvious, it all too easy to answer parts a and b, and leave out c. Here are some quick tips for the IGCSE Math paper shared by IGCSE examiners.
1. Be aware of which formulae will be given by the board, and which you will need to learn before the exam.
2. In reading graph questions, it is very important that you make sure that you are reading the scales correctly. The horizontal and vertical axes may be scaled differently.
3. If you are drawing a graph then you will need to plot points to within 1 mm and if the points lie on a curve, you need to join them with a smooth freehand curve. You should not join points on a curve with a series of straight lines. If the points lie on a straight line, however, then it is important to use a ruler to join them.
4. In construction questions, the examiners expect you to find a locus using just a pair of compasses and a straight edge. Compass arcs showing your construction method are required. Therefore, do not rub them out – they are an important part of your working.
5. Diagrams in questions having ‘not to scale’ written by them usually require a calculation. Do not use these diagrams to take measurements from. If a triangle is right angled, isosceles or equilateral then the question will say so specifically. Or the information about the edges or angles will be stated.
6. You need to be careful with the use of the division symbol. In algebra questions, a + b/2 is not the same thing as (a + b)/2. The division line must cover everything that is to be divided by 2. The alternative is to use brackets to make your answer clear, as in (a + b)/2.
7. You need to be careful with the use of the square root symbol. sqrt(x + 2)/3 is not the same thing as sqrt((x + 2)/3). The symbol must cover everything that needs to be square rooted.
8. The question papers assume that you will have all the equipment listed on the front cover. Make sure that you have all the items on this list the day before you go into the examination.
9. Make sure that your calculator is set to the deg (degree) mode before you enter the examination.
10. Try and write everything down This is particularly true with calculator questions. Write down everything you type into the calculator. This is just in case you have made a mistake somewhere. Most IGCSE Maths questions have marks for correct workings even if the final answer is wrong.
Do remember that, it is not acceptable to give a choice of answers on the answer line. Examiners will mark the worst answer in these cases. While rounding up to 3 decimals, be careful not to mix them up with rounding to 3 significant figures. Similarly, be careful while writing answers for questions that require units of measurement. For example, it’s easy to mix up cm used for length with cm² which is used to measure volume.
As time is short and you have a whole lot of revision to get through, its best to avoid getting distracted by social media groups, games and videos. Entertainment channels can be a source of great distraction as well. If you really don’t have the willpower, then you might need to make more drastic steps.
We do recommend watching videos relating to preparations for the IGCSE Maths curriculum, especially if you don’t want to go down the route of getting an IGCSE Math tutor online.
Here is the link to a video on some of the really hard questions from the IGCSE Math papers. Check it out.
Here is the link to the IGCSE Specimen Paper 4 for 2020. This is IGCSE (ordinary level). It is quite useful.
Do exercise when you decide to take a break. This can really help refresh your body and mind. The niggling problems in the IGCSE Math curriculum , that are giving you sleepless nights, might be easier to crack after an exercise session. Exercise will help you sleep better and being well-rested will help you to handle the revision stress better.
You can’t avoid mistakes while learning and practicing IGCSE Mathematics. Your success in Maths will comes from tackling problems which you are unsure about. Persistence is key. Read through your coursebook, then try to make some calculations. If needed, scrap them, and try again. If you are still making no progress, return to it the next day. You can find plenty of online support through online Maths tutors, online Maths tutorials, study groups and videos as well.
Are you feeling confident now you’ve read our IGCSE revision tips? Enrol in one of our IGCSE online Maths classes on www.wizert.com and get further tips and advice.