SPM Studying Tips

[joan2468]

Same here, but i manage to gain an A+ for A.Math in SPM.. so dont let yourself to feel down..:)
For me, A.Math required you to know the basic, dont think that you HATE it since if your mentality is telling you that you hate a certain subject, then it will keep you from understand (most cases). Practice is also necessary in A.Math. Dont study like h*ll one day and leave it for a month. Most probably you gonna forget everything..try to do a least one practice a day, everyday.. ^^ good luck!:laugh

I try to do a little every day, though sometimes I get so swamped in homework I forget :P

Tuition is always a good idea when it comes to add maths.

I take 2 tuition classes a week. One private tuition and the other at a small tuition centre.

I only got a C when I did my first Intervensi, I'm hoping I can do better for the coming Diagnostic exam.

[marczeman]

I take 2 tuition classes a week. One private tuition and the other at a small tuition centre.

I only got a C when I did my first Intervensi, I'm hoping I can do better for the coming Diagnostic exam.

Well I didn't take any tuition through form 4 and the best I ever got was a 50+, in my finals. Obviously I wasn't satisfied lah, so I started at a centre during the hols and sat in the front row(I cannot begin to tell you how much that helps) and at the first monthly in Form 5, I got a 100 believe-it-or-not. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Everyone else was absolutely bewildered too. Since then I've gotten A's all the way, including a 92 for trials. I'm not bragging or anything (okay maybe a little :P), but just trying to tell you that if your current tuition isn't very effective, don't hesitate to hop around man.

And of course getting the class math geek to explain things to you can be a tremendous help. Man I used to love when the girls came to me for aid hahahahaha.
But seriously, don't give up.

[joan2468]

Well I can't exactly hop around...the tuition places I go to happen to be the most convenient ones, and my parents aren't going to send me any furhter :( So I'm stuck there. The classes are okay, but not great or anything I guess.

Doesn't help that my add. math teacher is frequently absent and teaches at the speed of light >_>

The math geek of my class has never gotten a 100 before, but she does consistently score A+.

[melindaL]

go to website www.shortsquarestudy guide.com or berry berry easy

[marczeman]

Well I can't exactly hop around...the tuition places I go to happen to be the most convenient ones, and my parents aren't going to send me any furhter :( So I'm stuck there. The classes are okay, but not great or anything I guess.

Doesn't help that my add. math teacher is frequently absent and teaches at the speed of light >_>

The math geek of my class has never gotten a 100 before, but she does consistently score A+.

Well then I guess the best advice I can offer is to try getting a front row seat at tuition, to minimize distraction. I think that was the key for me, trivial as it may seem. Easy to get lost with add maths. Miss even a little of what your teacher is saying and you're a goner. My 2 cents worth =D (I've noticed that phrase is pretty common around ReCom)

[jellywjyj]

from my point of view....
i tin for spm ..
al of the state trial papers is crucial ....
those paper are important for u to know some of the spoted questions...
n trial paper standard are also quite comparable to real spm...

hope tis wil b helpful~

[clarrie93]

Well then I guess the best advice I can offer is to try getting a front row seat at tuition, to minimize distraction. I think that was the key for me, trivial as it may seem. Easy to get lost with add maths. Miss even a little of what your teacher is saying and you're a goner. My 2 cents worth =D (I've noticed that phrase is pretty common around ReCom)

my thought exactly...i think if you are going for an A.Math tuition, maybe it would be wise not to go with your friends, since you will ended up talking more than studying.. i think its easier for me to learn account since im the only one taking the class and i barely speak a word during tuition..:P

[Anxious93]

The best thing for ad math (in my opinion) is to do and really understand the past year questions(u get to know the patterns of d ques), then do lots of exercise (within the time limit, if possible finish it with abt 30 mins or longer to spare), then go on to the trial papers from all the states....

[AnnieChan]

the latest years (2000 onwards) are really easy.. try polishing your basics and try harder questions, like those from 1995-1999. it helps. alot. =)

[liza93]

Well I didn't take any tuition through form 4 and the best I ever got was a 50+, in my finals. Obviously I wasn't satisfied lah, so I started at a centre during the hols and sat in the front row(I cannot begin to tell you how much that helps) and at the first monthly in Form 5, I got a 100 believe-it-or-not. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Everyone else was absolutely bewildered too. Since then I've gotten A's all the way, including a 92 for trials. I'm not bragging or anything (okay maybe a little :P), but just trying to tell you that if your current tuition isn't very effective, don't hesitate to hop around man.

And of course getting the class math geek to explain things to you can be a tremendous help. Man I used to love when the girls came to me for aid hahahahaha.
But seriously, don't give up.

LOL what marczeman here is forgetting to mention is that our teacher(i was from his class) would make everyone ask him to explain things to them! Nobody did it voluntarilyyy! haha sorry Marc, i couldn't resist. But yeah, Marc was a maths pro alright.

Anyway, for MY 2 cents worth, I think you should really give it your all during the last few months when the tuition centres are having their revision 'intensive' programs. It works wonders for lots of peeps. Including me. I suddenly started to realize that I was getting the hang of add maths! haha and of course marczeman tutored me a little on that stupid differentiation and log. HATED those. :laugh

[marczeman]

LOL what marczeman here is forgetting to mention is that our teacher(i was from his class) would make everyone ask him to explain things to them! Nobody did it voluntarilyyy! haha sorry Marc, i couldn't resist. But yeah, Marc was a maths pro alright.

Anyway, for MY 2 cents worth, I think you should really give it your all during the last few months when the tuition centres are having their revision 'intensive' programs. It works wonders for lots of peeps. Including me. I suddenly started to realize that I was getting the hang of add maths! haha and of course marczeman tutored me a little on that stupid differentiation and log. HATED those. :laugh

haha it WAS voluntary okay! :))
Log was my favourite. Don't know why. Didn't care for statistics though.

But yea, those last minute revision crash courses definitely help, and not just for add maths. So juniors, please don't give in yet.

[Mirianchoo]

Haha, Marczeman's comments make me think I should have gone for at least some form of Maths tuition during Secondary/A-Levels time. Add Maths was my worst subject in high school.... kept scoring 60+. =p

As for my Edexcel A-Level Maths, I scored only 41/100 for my C4 paper, haha (due to all those killer integrations). =p Fortunately, the other papers were quite easy and I still managed an A for A-Level Maths (and thus I still could meet the requirements to enter medical school, phew!).

[marczeman]

Haha, Marczeman's comments make me think I should have gone for at least some form of Maths tuition during Secondary/A-Levels time. Add Maths was my worst subject in high school.... kept scoring 60+. =p

As for my Edexcel A-Level Maths, I scored only 41/100 for my C4 paper, haha (due to all those killer integrations). =p Fortunately, the other papers were quite easy and I still managed an A for A-Level Maths (and thus I still could meet the requirements to enter medical school, phew!).

Oh hey Mirianchoo! long time no seeeeee hahaha.

Yeah, add maths. I only liked it once I started doing well at it lol. It can be such a dreaded obstacle, looming at the back of your mind. Makes you feel stupid and wanting to give up on other subjects too. lol maybe that was just me :laugh

[joan2468]

Bringing this topic back up :P Which reference book would you guys suggest for SPM Physics? I'm currently using the Success series from Oxford Fajar for all my science subjects (and add. math) - the Chemistry and Biology books are good, but the Physics one confuses me sometimes :huh So far I struggle to understand Light and Electricity >_> I think Physics has become my new least favorite science subject, ever since I spent a looong time acquainting myself with Chemistry so that by now I actually understand it fairly well.

[mrmaurizism]

So, guys. Any tips for SPM studying? I'm currently unemployed and waiting to do my degree in September, so pretty much right now I am tutoring my brother who's having SPM this year.

[Mirianchoo]

Bringing this topic back up :P Which reference book would you guys suggest for SPM Physics? I'm currently using the Success series from Oxford Fajar for all my science subjects (and add. math) - the Chemistry and Biology books are good, but the Physics one confuses me sometimes :huh So far I struggle to understand Light and Electricity >_> I think Physics has become my new least favorite science subject, ever since I spent a looong time acquainting myself with Chemistry so that by now I actually understand it fairly well.

I would recommend the Pelangi reference books for Physics (Focus Super). It's written by textbook authors and hence is mostly in line with the syllabus. It's also not that hard to read, and explains concepts in an easy-to-understand way. I personally used this reference book in my revision and referred to the Success one sometimes. To refresh my memory when the exams were around the corner, i read the textbooks (thin and concise). :)

[ayjiahui]

I would recommend the Pelangi reference books for Physics (Focus Super). It's written by textbook authors and hence is mostly in line with the syllabus. It's also not that hard to read, and explains concepts in an easy-to-understand way. I personally used this reference book in my revision and referred to the Success one sometimes. To refresh my memory when the exams were around the corner, i read the textbooks (thin and concise). :)

you actually used textbooks! the only textbook i used was the sejarah textbook and nothing else! there's almost nothing in the science textbooks. at least the northern region science textbooks are really horrid. =/

i've heard some regions have decent textbooks though. hmmm.

[yanno_yamster]

you actually used textbooks! the only textbook i used was the sejarah textbook and nothing else! there's almost nothing in the science textbooks. at least the northern region science textbooks are really horrid. =/

Biology is still okay, the rest is basically trying to tell you implicitly "For further info please purchase our reference books! :amuse" :notrust <---me

[KenT13]

In certain cases, some infos aren't in reference book whereas textbooks have it. I knew this when I encountered names of chemicals I've never seen in reference book. So I checked the textbook and bingo, it's in there. That's my spm trial paper for biology. No one got the question right. : ((((

[leeashroe]

I love Success's Physics, love it to death. I hated Physics but the book helped me a lot, hahah I studied Physics just for the sake of SPM. I'm biased towards Success books because I've been using Success since PMR. I don't know about you guys but Fajar Bakti and Sasbadi books are bad, lots of wrong information, or maybe it's just me. Pelangi books are okay I guess, lots of my friends use it.

If you really don't like Success, the one I'd recommend is Pelangi.

As for text books, I only use for Biology and Sejarah hehehe :)

I think SPM is all about the practice, so mrmaurizism, I think you should help guide your brother through the exercises. I usually use the examples in my reference book to understand concepts and find questions with the same style to test my understanding :)

[aredhelw]

Hello guys, I am looking for SPM tips. I sat for O Levels and in order to get PTPTN I need to have SPM. I am trying my best to study for the exam. I do not believe in tuition if you suggest me to go for one. So here I am.

I am taking 6 core subjects: Bahasa Malaysia, English, Science, Maths, Pendidikan Islam and History. What I need to know are:

What do I concentrae on for SPM 2011? Is there a specific format to answer the question? (I believe that I have to answer in full sentences for all questions) Do you suggest me to memorise the facts and keep myself up-to-date on the current issues?


As for Bahasa Malaysia Oral does it have two stages: one-on-one and group discussion? The same applies for English Oral (I read somewhere that students need to bring an article and discuss it with the examiner?)?

[Cactus]

Hello guys, I am looking for SPM tips. I sat for O Levels and in order to get PTPTN I need to have SPM. I am trying my best to study for the exam. I do not believe in tuition if you suggest me to go for one. So here I am.

I am taking 6 core subjects: Bahasa Malaysia, English, Science, Maths, Pendidikan Islam and History. What I need to know are:

What do I concentrae on for SPM 2011? Is there a specific format to answer the question? (I believe that I have to answer in full sentences for all questions) Do you suggest me to memorise the facts and keep myself up-to-date on the current issues?


As for Bahasa Malaysia Oral does it have two stages: one-on-one and group discussion? The same applies for English Oral (I read somewhere that students need to bring an article and discuss it with the examiner?)?

Buy past-year papers and practise? I hope you're aware that Bahasa Melayu and English have a literature component.

[leeashroe]

I'd say SPM is a mix of memorising facts and knowing the format of the paper. If you can, get a teacher who is a proper examiner to teach you formats of answering. Maybe this was just in my school, but we emphasised a lot on 'how to answer' in addition to 'what to answer'.

Other than past year papers, I find trial papers very helpful. These are found in abundance on the net, you just have to do a bit of googling. Study the answer scheme and you'll get the hang of the answering format. For the BM/English, I think keeping yourself updated on recent issues might be a good way to ensure your examples in your essays are up-to-date.

But like Cactus mentioned, there's literature component for both BM and English, so take note of that too.

BM oral involves one-to-one and a group discussion and I believe it's the same with English. I don't know how it is conducted for private candidates, are you going to do your Oral Test in a school? I'd recommend you personally ask the teachers in charge if you have any inquiries.

[acptony]

Can somebody provide list of places where can we apply to besides pursuing A level/STPM after SPM ? Is there any early deadline for some of these institutions ? Incl. scholarship.

[Chelsea]

Can somebody provide list of places where can we apply to besides pursuing A level/STPM after SPM ? Is there any early deadline for some of these institutions ? Incl. scholarship.

What do you mean by where can we apply besides alevels / Stpm? Do you mean other pre-u options such as sam, ausmat, cpu and so on? Or like Diploma...
Well, to what I know most institution the deadline for their intake is normally the first day of that intake. Let's say the course the starts on 5th May, then that would be the last day for application. But then again this is just generally. Some institutions such as Monash has an earlier deadline before the actual intake. And for scholarship, it normally depends from institution to institution. Probably if you ask in a more detailed manner, I will be able to give you a better answer.

[acptony]

What do you mean by where can we apply besides alevels / Stpm? Do you mean other pre-u options such as sam, ausmat, cpu and so on? Or like Diploma...
Well, to what I know most institution the deadline for their intake is normally the first day of that intake. Let's say the course the starts on 5th May, then that would be the last day for application. But then again this is just generally. Some institutions such as Monash has an earlier deadline before the actual intake. And for scholarship, it normally depends from institution to institution. Probably if you ask in a more detailed manner, I will be able to give you a better answer.
Yeah. I am looking at if I am taking SPM this year, from now until next year, what are the months where applications are open for college / university entrance as well as scholarship. e.g. Foundation for MMU/UTM opens on xxx ; ASEAN scholarship etc. Just do not want to miss the application deadline n the early bird catches the worms first:oh. Thks anyway.

[Chelsea]

uhm, that would rather difficult because there will be so many scholarships that will open at different times. But for me, I will keep up with recom which normally updates accordingly when a scholarships open. But don't expect everything to appear here. So an alternative will be using this website http://malaysia-scholarship.net/ . If you scroll down and look on your left, you will see a section called Scholarship Deadline. Yeah with that I guess you can keep tab with the latest ongoing scholarships. Well, as usual not everything might be there too. So your personal effort would be utmost important.

But if you are looking for deadline's for application to uni that would be a difficult thing to do. Because every programme has different intakes thus different dates. Different uni different dates. A way to keep tab is to decide on what programme, which intake and maybe a few where's. So with that you can reduce it to a number of uni. Thus making it more manageable.

Are you in Form 5 now? Science or Art stream?

[junetone]

Hi, here is a website provide pass year question (2005-2010) for exercise with marking & solution. have a look.
http://learningcontent.dyndns-free.com/web/flapp/index.jsp

[WeCanDoMaths]

Hi students, do you all want to know the techniques to answer well in SPM Add Maths exam?

Here are some of the preview: Download preview (http://www.mediafire.com/?odidaki0f6hfkjw)
To know more about the techniques to answer Add Maths questions, visit
WeCanDoMaths (http://wcdm-addmaths.blogspot.com) for more details.

[babymekimmy]

SPM next year! I'm still trying to get what most people say "understand Sejarah". Sigh. Help?

[dawg94]

SPM next year! I'm still trying to get what most people say "understand Sejarah". Sigh. Help?

"Understand sejarah"? Pfft. If you want to understand it, then you'll have to read it. Ah, the irony. 'course, it's all memorizing and stuff but hey, it's the only way out.

I don't know if this is any use to you but all I did was flippin' through the pages. I love world history so chapter 2 ,3 and 9 (form 5) didn't pose a great deal of damage to my brain cells. History is actually a great subject to enjoy, without those nationalistic and religious propaganda peppered into it of course. Also, I did what most teachers call "analysis" of past year questions. I only memorized important points (NOTE: By important, I meant questions that came out previously.) and revise some chapters which I felt pretty shaky. Mostly, I just bought a book of past year questions and memorized bits and pieces of the answers at the back.

Dooms day finally came and the questions that came out were exactly the ones I memorized 20 minutes before I entered the examination hall. :dance So yeah, I guess you'll need some luck too. Stay calm and don't freak out the moment you flip the question papers. Otherwise you'll lose everything in your head. It's best if you scribble what's in your head on an extra piece of paper before you move on to other questions. So, that's the "key" to "understand sejarah" SPM-style. (Well, that's my "key" anyway. I'm not sure if it works well on your lock.)

I heard passing SJ is a must for candidates who are sitting for SPM 2012. Good luck matey. :wink

[frostbyte13]

SPM next year! I'm still trying to get what most people say "understand Sejarah". Sigh. Help?

Plain memorizing won't get you anywhere if you are going through the textbook seriously for the first time. Understand the sequences of events that lead to this and that, fix a timeline of events into your mind as you progressively, and also understand in crude terms to me is being able to regurgitate information you just read orally and in text, and in your own words. That's what I did when I studied Sejarah, retell the story to myself and lots of monologuing.

That is, if you intent to study Sejarah for all it's worth despite what people say like study just for the sake of passing it. If you take interest albeit a little in the subject, it should make less of a drag to study it. Studying anything with a burden on your shoulders doesn't make the information transfer less efficient or in this case, less tiresome.

Not to mention there are just certain chapters in Sejarah that can't be done other than plain memorizing, and usually, they are not the very important ones. It could be your year, but it wasn't for me (2010). Since I've already lost contact with Sejarah for close to a year, I can't really guide you on which chapter I meant that you must use the plain memorizing method. For those hard to understand chapters, recommend getting a reference book. My personal favourite was a tiny green book which I have already forgotten the name and the publisher haha. But I'm sure to those of you who head to Popular often will sorta know which book I meant.

[babymekimmy]

I heard passing SJ is a must for candidates who are sitting for SPM 2012. Good luck matey. :wink

Nope, it will only take effect in 2013. Hahah.

Yeah, I think that retelling the story to myself repeatedly helps. Its also true that I can relate to certain chapters really well like their telling a story, but some chapters are like plain facts which has to be memorised, no other way.

Ohh well, making use of the holiday to just flip through the Form 4 textbook again to get a better understanding of everything so I don't completely forget them next year. Thanks for all you tips :)

[maximR]

Wow . This thread is dead as well . Form 4 student by the way , science stream . Nobody else here ?

[alic3-1derland]

Form 4 science? So how are you coping? (:
btw, I graduated from high school last year, sat for SPM 2011!

[Archangel]

Form 4 science? So how are you coping? (:
btw, I graduated from high school last year, sat for SPM 2011!

Eh eh Alice ini...tsk tsk. Btw, I'm from the same batch as Alice here. Yeah, how are you doing in school? =)

[alic3-1derland]

Eh eh Alice ini...tsk tsk. Btw, I'm from the same batch as Alice here. Yeah, how are you doing in school? =)

Yes yes, this girl got straight A+ for SPM 2011 btw!

[Archangel]

Yes yes, this girl got straight A+ for SPM 2011 btw!

Oh and that girl got an A- for Chinese! You know how hard that paper is. And she's in some Chinese newspaper article for a SPECIAL award. So please feel free to ask us (I mean, her) questions. =)

[maximR]

Forgive me for being ignorant , but I really didn't get your posts , haha . Who's who by the way ? Who got straight A+ for SPM 2011 , and what about the other girl ?

I'm doing quite fine to be honest . I dropped Accounting and took up Basic Economics instead to compliment my science subjects , so I'll be taking a total of 10 subjects for SPM , excluding Chinese [ I'm of mixed parentage ] .

My teacher pretty much doesn't really play their part in teaching me , except for my English teacher so I'm pretty much left to cope on my own without tuition . I think - no , I believe I can make it , for SPM . I don't want to rely on tuition teachers to spoon feed me because fundamentally when I continue with my tertiary studies , I'll need to survive on my own too .

So far I'm loving all of my subjects but one thing : Moral . Ughh . An inexperienced teacher , confusions about the nilai , kata kunci and what not . I'm afraid that I can't scrape an A+ for it because nobody in my school got A+ for Moral . I'm in dire need of help for the subject .

Well , moving on :

How do you study for Sejarah and Biology ? I'm pretty much doing my own notes for both of the subjects but I can remember Biology better since it requires a certain degree of understanding and if I understand the concepts , I can remember the processes/definitions . But for Sejarah , it's pretty much rereading the textbook over and over again , highlighting the points , writing my own notes and then reread them . Any other way ? I don't get it when people mention about reading Sejarah like a story book , because it is filled with facts that need to be remembered .

I'm clueless on the formats for pretty much all of the subjects as well . It'll be of great help if I can private message either one of you or both to inquire .

[caffeinoverdose]

Hi I sat for SPM 2011 and so I hope my studying 'tips' might help you!

For Sej, don't treat it as a dead subject. For me I kind of translated most of it into english so it was easier to digest. As for memorizing, I advice you to not memorize every single word. Just a word or two will do. Use that as a keyword and elaborate further afterwards (for essays). Cause actually as long as your meaning is there and it's right, you will be able to get points don't worry. And after some time, you will actually realize that there is some sort of pattern for Sej during exams. Meaning you will soon be able to realize that there are certain topics that will come out for structures and essays so focus on those more.

For Bio,
Make sure you know the technique of answering. Cause in my experience, sometimes you kinda form an answer in your head but when you put it down on paper, even though the answer is somewhat correct, you might find it hard to get marks because of the way you answered. So my advice? Do more past year SPM questions, plus trials of other states and follow their answer scheme.

I do hope I helped :)

[Archangel]

Forgive me for being ignorant , but I really didn't get your posts , haha . Who's who by the way ? Who got straight A+ for SPM 2011 , and what about the other girl ?

I'm doing quite fine to be honest . I dropped Accounting and took up Basic Economics instead to compliment my science subjects , so I'll be taking a total of 10 subjects for SPM , excluding Chinese [ I'm of mixed parentage ] .

My teacher pretty much doesn't really play their part in teaching me , except for my English teacher so I'm pretty much left to cope on my own without tuition . I think - no , I believe I can make it , for SPM . I don't want to rely on tuition teachers to spoon feed me because fundamentally when I continue with my tertiary studies , I'll need to survive on my own too .

So far I'm loving all of my subjects but one thing : Moral . Ughh . An inexperienced teacher , confusions about the nilai , kata kunci and what not . I'm afraid that I can't scrape an A+ for it because nobody in my school got A+ for Moral . I'm in dire need of help for the subject .

Well , moving on :

How do you study for Sejarah and Biology ? I'm pretty much doing my own notes for both of the subjects but I can remember Biology better since it requires a certain degree of understanding and if I understand the concepts , I can remember the processes/definitions . But for Sejarah , it's pretty much rereading the textbook over and over again , highlighting the points , writing my own notes and then reread them . Any other way ? I don't get it when people mention about reading Sejarah like a story book , because it is filled with facts that need to be remembered .

I'm clueless on the formats for pretty much all of the subjects as well . It'll be of great help if I can private message either one of you or both to inquire .

Sorry about that. Alice and I are currently in the same college, and our rooms are right next to each other. So we kinda know each other pretty well =)

Alice got an A- for Chinese. She got 10 A's. I'm the other one. You're kinda right with the tertiary studies part, there's a load of work to be done! Especially on Alice's part (she's doing History for A-Levels, gosh).

Moral, huh. Well my schools emphasized quite a lot on that subject since we were in Form 1. So I didn't have too much trouble. And my teacher was really good.

Sejarah? Don't remember much. I'm the kind of girl that remembers after looking at stuff too many times. As for Biology, just memorised it. But one thing, Biology isn't that easy. Own research is needed. Seriously =)

You can PM me anytime. I'll try to help if I'm free!