College Math Assignments Require a Handful of Attention and Tidiness

Most college students will agree that math is far from the easiest class to bay attention in. But math is an important prerequisite for a number of careers and taking at least one math course is often a requirement before graduating. So what’s the trick to doing well? Paying attention and being tidy. Follow these two steps and you’ll have an easier time understanding and completing your math assignments.

Paying Attention

It’s not enough to memorize math symbols and definitions. It’s more important that you understand the principles and concepts behind the solution to a problem. This is what is meant by actively paying attention. You won’t be able to transcribe everything that is said or written by your professor. This is why you have your textbook. It’s better to listen and write down key concepts and then to review them in the textbook.

One great way of improving your attention skills is to immediately summarize your lecture and try to explain the lesson to a friend from class. Between the two of you, or a group of students, you will immediately focus on the major points made in class and catch a thing or two you may have missed. Another exercise is to preview the section from your textbook that you will be covering before class. You’ll find that you understand a lot more of the lesson and will be keen to pick up the points you couldn’t figure out on your own.

Keeping It All Tidy

In lecture, write down all of the major concepts your professor writes down, following the same organization and color scheme if he or she uses several colors for different things. Reviewing your notes before starting your homework is an excellent way to improve in math. You could take the extra step and clean up your notes a bit by re-writing them in a more organized manner in a separate notebook.

Do your math homework as soon after class as possible and be sure to write out all the problems with enough space around them. You’ll be able to come back and see more clearly where you have made mistakes. Additionally, you give space for your professor to write notes or make corrections, something that doesn’t always happen when your homework is too mess to understand.

If you find yourself completely lost in lecture or while doing your homework, be sure to join a study group or seek help from your professor or T.A. as soon as possible. Having absolutely no idea of what you’re doing will certainly hurt your grade regardless of paying attention or keeping your notes tidy.