I can think back and remember a time when I was learning 2 unit Mathematics during the HSC. I remember this new, wonderful (and hard) thing called Calculus, that could magically describe the gradient of a function as another function, or inversely, find the area beneath a curve. As a fledgling Aerospace Engineer, I can happily say that the maths itself hasn’t gotten any easier, but one constant between my university and high school studies were the fact that there was always something new to learn; always another facet of the topic studied formerly that delves into another situation in which to complete a certain operation, or perhaps applications of the operation itself. Addition turns to multiplication, turns to exponentiation, turns to tetration, and so on.

In school (and in uni – though I’ve had the practice by now), it’s so easy to get lost in this sea of new ‘stuff’. This was especially so in my junior years. There was much I had to learn in the moment, and much I had yet to even begin to comprehend. It’s easy to drown in this sea, and it’s a common feeling for students doing their HSC.

How did I even begin to manage?? I think the good thing about maths is that the more you do it, the better you get at it. Think about it. I think there were times when we all struggled with counting up to 100 as toddlers. Though it’s second knowledge now. There are financial skills in our schooling that we apply every day as adults. So repetition and habit is our best friend here.

While a mathematical mind helps, for me it was ensuring I completed every question of every exercise handed out that enabled me to gain a strong grasp of the content learnt in class (you can do this with something like a TV show running in the background). There is something universally satisfying in finally understanding how to complete a certain type of question, and completing similar questions like nothing! Similarly, HSC Past Papers were my best friend when it came to exam-season studying. There are countless free resources online with answers and worked solutions – getting tutored can help you with this also. Another strategy to ensure I knew everything I was being assessed on were handmade summary sheets, crammed with theorems and formulae.

Ultimately, though, the key to success in mathematics is passion. I believe this is possible for anyone. Repetition builds knowledge. Building knowledge builds passion, which encourages the growth of more knowledge – the rest is then history.

Zac Markovina