Hey guys, for those of you who have done math, when did you start making your bound reference book? Did you start when your exams were approaching, or did you make it as you learned the content? Also, did you write everything down, make it online and print it out, or use other people’s notes? Let me know!
Thanks 
Anonymous2007 do this as u go throughout the year- you can leave blank pages in between topics if you want to add stuff.
some people handwrite and others use textbook notes and glue it in. find which one you can synthesise better. you want to have the most information in the least amount of space so you dont waste time endlessly searching for stuff. having a few bell curves to fill in can help, as well as any finance solver formulas. you won't need an example for every concept (ie: lower/upper fence formula is quite simple and doesn't need an example), whereas crashing in networks is more difficult and it might be beneficial to have an example.
also, keep a "mistake bank" at the back of your bound for difficult practice exam questions.
Should I do it every time after we cover a chapter in class? Is that the best way to approach it?
Also, does the bound reference need to have specific things, or can I add whatever I want to it?
I’ll do everything you mentioned, Thank you so much!
Anonymous2007 after each chapter is a good method, i did it after each class but that doesn't always work.
you can add whatever to your bound. scroll down to bound references here to find specifications.
thanksss
Great tips so far already! The order I always suggest for my students are:
Title page
Make it unique and something you actually want to work on! During a study break, or when you want to relax productively, you can design one, hopefully it’s something you can hold up proudly
Table of contents
The most important part of the bound reference is to make sure you can find the information you’re looking for as quickly as possible. And the best way to do that is to have a table of contents. Side benefit is that it makes your reference look very very professional
Notes & examples
Here is where you put in the notes for the most important information in the course. Typed, handwritten, scanned, it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s readable, and means something to you
Mistake bank
Nearing exam time, hopefully you will have a bank of errors you’ve made throughout the year. Reflecting on your past mistakes is the best way to learn! Summarise all preventable mistakes, and lay it open next to you as you do the exam (great confidence boost too since you’ll see all the difficulties you have overcome in your journey)
Seperator questions (45+)
If you’re aiming for a raw 45+, this might be useful. Seperator questions refer to questions that below 10% of students score on the examiners’ report. There’s a good chance that the same type of questions will appear, and understanding them and saving the solutions in your bound reference might make that extra difference on exam day.
Blank Pages
This part is completely optional, but one of the weird things about the exam is that they don’t actually provide working out paper. So, if you’re someone like me who’s dependent on a stack of blank paper to be able to do maths, make sure you have plenty of room at the end of your reference!
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Thank u so much!!
