The Malaysian national exam board holds its Math and Science subjects to a high sandard. Various online sources rank the Malaysian exams amongst its international equivalents to be the top 7 most difficult papers but much of it can be subjective. Many talk about how SPM and STPM delves deeper into specific concepts whilst IGCSEs and A-Levels would instead focus on breadth instead of depth.

Nevertheless, the exam strategy is the same. Only this time, exams happen every trimester (far from referencing pregnancy here). Hence, the intensity of such a course alongside the volume to study mean that efficient use of time is fundamental. The sheer amount of co-curricular activities that SPM and STPM students undertake is not helpful either.

Point #1: Start Past Papers early

Many may wait till the last month before the semester's exam looking past papers. Although many teachers may prescribe loads of topical questions to strengthen understanding, it is still crucial attempt past papers questions. Many leave it too late to start familiarising oneself with what questions demand and gaps in knowledge and understanding.

Point #2: Start with the oldest past papers

Yearly, exam setters slowly evolve their pattern of testing. Therefore, the order in which one does past papers matters. Start with the oldest papers.

 "Start with the oldest past papers"

Point #3: Do one page, mark one page

This is especially true when doing past papers to learn concepts, not when timing oneself in the lead up to the final exam.

"Do one page, mark one page"

Too often we see students marking three years of past papers they did... All at once. Although I commend their industriousness, what cause is a machine gun that scatters bullets mindlessly? By the time the student attempts the second half of even the first paper, they would have forgotten what they worked on at the start to a large extent.

Rather, placing the marking scheme next to one's answer script and marking as one goes along, "do one page, mark one page", reinforces concepts much better. A deep mental acknowledgement of one's mistake, bookmarking the page to clarify any doubtscmakes for a tremendous increase in learning speed.