How do you set out your maths book? (2 Viewers)

[qianjixin]

From year 7 to year 10 I always ruled my maths book in half and used the two columns to write notes, do homework etc. Since the start of prelim I have just been using the entire page but I still see a lot of people (including year 12s) who still rule their book in half.

I just wanted to know if you guys had any experience in which way is the best

 

[Carrotsticks]

I think ruling the page and using grid-paper etc is a silly idea.

Reasons:

1. Wastes time... lot of time.

2. You are forced to cram your work for no reason, so it looks messy and essentially a 'wall of text'. Very unpleasant to mark.

3. The HSC booklets aren't gridded anyway so why practise with grid paper. Learn to draw plot on the Cartesian/Argand Plane by yourself with no grid.

As you can guess, I use the whole page and have large handwriting (easy to mark).

 

[Riproot]

I used to rule my pages in high school up until year 12 for maths and extension one because it looked neater because if I didn't have the restriction I would get my messy working EVERYWHERE.

But in extension two I didn't rule the page after halfway through complex numbers because some of the working/proofs just took up so much room.

 

[SpiralFlex]

I use loose leaflets.

 

[Shadowdude]

Rule pages? lolwat

I used to use grid books because they were mandatory in Year 7 at my school. Now at uni, I just use normal booklets. If I want it to be neat, get those books with the already margin-ed pages.

And then for rough working I have a book without those margins so I can scribble and do whatever.

 

[barbernator]

I use loose leafs, and chuck my answers out at the end of each lesson.

 

[madharris]

I used to rule lines down the middle but like everyone else, I use loose leaflets which I just put in my folder

 

[Timske]

I use notepads

 

[Nooblet94]

I use a gridbook ruled down the middle for exercises (except for when we did binomial expansion, because each line of working took up a good 1.5-2 lines of an unruled page), simply because it makes doing exercises where you're drawing a graph basically every question a lot quicker and less tedious. I take notes in a loose leaf book and then file it all for all my subjects, except for 4 unit notes which I have a seperate exercise book for. When I do any maths that isn't homework I use a normal sized notepad and just chuck the paper away once I finish the question, unless I'm particularly proud of it in which case I'll keep it.

Oh also, I use my whiteboard for anything that's particularly hard.

 

[SunnyScience]

My teacher is very specific in how he wants us to do our work.
1. A4 grid book
2. 1-2cm margin on the side
3. Heading at top - underlined.
4. Date in the top corner.
5. "task box" in the margin.
6. Each question marked with either a tick or a cross.
7. Notes copied exactly - including colours used.

Repeat.

 

[Carrotsticks]

My teacher is very specific in how he wants us to do our work.
1. A4 grid book
2. 1-2cm margin on the side
3. Heading at top - underlined.
4. Date in the top corner.
5. "task box" in the margin.

Repeat.

Maybe the more strictly you follow this working out, the closer you will get to a State Rank in Mathematics.

 

[Sanical]

Splitting page in half is alright for year 7-10.
From prelim onwards, there are topics which require long single lines of working out. + some of the graphs need lots of space. Usually you get irritated and just can't be bothered ruling lines. Why put so much care in your maths book anyway? Unless you write the questions down, I just treat it as a scrap book to answer questions that look hard.

 

[falsenthusiasm]

I have a messy everything book and a neat theory book.

Messy everything book is A4 grid, no margins, just scribble in all shapes and sizes.

 

[Galapagos]

I use Whitelines notebooks for maths because it's easier on my eyes (for me anyway); they cost a lot as they come from Sweden and no one else makes them...so I tend to be economical in my approach to how I set out my work: I don't draw a line but mostly everything I do is done in 2 columns.

I also use 4 pen colours: Red for main headings and marking, purple for sub-headings, black for questions and blue for answers.

Works well for me

 

[such_such]

Fold page in half or if there's too much working out, just use the whole page

 

[OH1995]

You just use your logic. Follow what Chestfather tells you!!!

 

[LoveHateSchool]

1. Premargined book
2. Write on the whole page
3. Profit?!

I never used grid books, folding things in half or any of that. I used to rule the margins in jnr school cause of book marks, but then I was like lol, I'm not going to buy the bookmark and buy pre margined books. I used to use little books in jnr maths, but now I use A4 ones.

 

[iSplicer]

I think ruling the page and using grid-paper etc is a silly idea.

Reasons:

1. Wastes time... lot of time.

2. You are forced to cram your work for no reason, so it looks messy and essentially a 'wall of text'. Very unpleasant to mark.

3. The HSC booklets aren't gridded anyway so why practise with grid paper. Learn to draw plot on the Cartesian/Argand Plane by yourself with no grid.

As you can guess, I use the whole page and have large handwriting (easy to mark).

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

So, so true.

 

[Galapagos]

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

So, so true.

I think it's just personal preference Just like with the whole exercise book/loose leaf debate.

 

[iSplicer]

I think it's just personal preference Just like with the whole exercise book/loose leaf debate.

Fair point about the ex. book/loose leaf. No one cares which one you use, if you're worrying about it, you need to sort your priorities out.

But I disagree about refuting the three points presented by Carrotsticks: it's not a matter of personal preference. If your book is divided in two and you cram your writing for no reason, you're not very intelligent.

I think I wrote about 8 lines per page for my HSC exams in maths. Big writing = clear, easy to mark.