Keeping maths neat?

**Timbuk2**

Another silly thread!!

I'm good at maths, but I'm not neat. Are there any goods tips for keeping your maths neat/tidy?

I'm thinking especially about the Mocks.

Should I start a new line for every step of the sum? Should I do it in pen or pencil? Pen is easier to read but it also looks more messy if I make a mistake (as instead of rubbing out the mistake and inserting the correct thing, I will have to put a line through it and write it out again).

Niall09

Remember that crossed out work can get you marks too, so I'd stick to pen

felic

Defo... new line for every step of the process... and what helps too is if you line your equals all under each other.
Imagine you are correcting your own work.... some students hand up stuff that is almost an exam in itself to figure out what they wrote

randylonghorn

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Should I start a new line for every step of the sum?

This is always a good idea.

Use a pen, if you must cross out just do it neatly, one clear line through the bit to be deleted.

Perhaps consider dividing your page in two parts, approx. 2/3 of the way across. Use the right hand side for any calculations / roughwork.

There aren't actually any "neatness" marks, all that you need to ensure is that your work is legible, comprehensible and easy to follow.

Making It Bad

I like to do divisions in red pen as it's easy to see what you've done then. For example if I had 3.1/3 , I cross out the 3's in red pen rather than with the regular colour pen you were using.

clartharlear

As a maths teacher, I hate correcting work that's half written in red pen. Stick to blue and black pen for writing.

Take lots of space - don't just leave enough space for YOU to write, but give some space for the teacher to mark. If you get a chance to see an official exam booklet, look at the margin for official use only, and get used to writing in the space that's left.

Don't use pencil, apart from maybe for some sketches. Don't use tippex. Don't scribble out your mistakes - it makes you look insane. A single neat line though work that went off the point.

**Timbuk2**

Thanks for all the answers!

I tried a few exam questions there, starting a new line for every step, and taking two lines for fractions rather than trying to cram it into one line.

It looks much neater! And if I'm starting a new line for every step, it means I'm generally only writing on the left hand side of the page, so if I realise that I have gone wrong somewhere, I write it in the correct step to the right of where the mistake was made (does this make sense!?).

The only disadvantage is that I will constantly have to ask for more paper in an exam, but this doesn't really matter

randylonghorn

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

The only disadvantage is that I will constantly have to ask for more paper in an exam, but this doesn't really matter

It doesn't matter at all.

While I am all for preserving our rain forests etc., in the middle of your LC is not the time to be worrying about such things!

ride-the-spiral

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Thanks for all the answers!

I tried a few exam questions there, starting a new line for every step, and taking two lines for fractions rather than trying to cram it into one line.

It looks much neater! And if I'm starting a new line for every step, it means I'm generally only writing on the left hand side of the page, so if I realise that I have gone wrong somewhere, I write it in the correct step to the right of where the mistake was made (does this make sense!?).

The only disadvantage is that I will constantly have to ask for more paper in an exam, but this doesn't really matter

Well I can't speak for the LC or mocks, but at a grind for the Junior Cert, George Humphreys said you should leave an entire page per question for rough work.

gant0

Use a red pen too.Underline the question on your page,make all your lins red an i like to circle my final answer(s) in red too.

clartharlear

gant0 wrote: »

Use a red pen too.Underline the question on your page,make all your lins red an i like to circle my final answer(s) in red too.

Can I just say again that as a teacher and corrector - I hate this practice?

Lawliet

clartharlear wrote: »

Can I just say again that as a teacher and corrector - I hate this practice?

Really? Damn, I've always circled my final answer, thinking it would make it easier to correct

Professional Griefer

I usually try to fit everything in one line(as in from top to bottom, not side to side).
So going through a differentiation Q. like the quotient rule i would try to fit everything into one line, then not skip a line and do the same thing again. God it looks awful.

Ronan Keating

Most teachers seem to tell you to circle the answer or highlight it in some way or other.

gant0

clartharlear wrote: »

Can I just say again that as a teacher and corrector - I hate this practice?

really?.....i've been doing that for aslong as i can remember an no one has ever told me not to.Would it not help when you open an exam booklet an find the question is really mesy but the answer is clearly visible an if its right wouldn't it make it easier to correct?

spurious

I have corrected too (though not Maths).
Do not use red pen anywhere in your exams, especially not to write numbers.
Do not use green either.
These are the colours used by Examiners and Advising Examiners. It can lead to confusion and frustration for the examiner as they try to distinguish their correction marks and numbers from yours. I'm surprised no-one in your school told you this.

If you need to highlight an answer, put a rectangle around it.

gant0

spurious wrote: »

I have corrected too (though not Maths).
Do not use red pen anywhere in your exams, especially not to write numbers.
Do not use green either.
These are the colours used by Examiners and Advising Examiners. It can lead to confusion and frustration for the examiner as they try to distinguish their correction marks and numbers from yours. I'm surprised no-one in your school told you this.

If you need to highlight an answer, put a rectangle around it.

ok so,thanks for the advice

clartharlear

Lawliet wrote: »

Really? Damn, I've always circled my final answer, thinking it would make it easier to correct

It's just the red (or green) that I hate! Circling / underlining / boxing your answer in blue or black is good.

rainbowtrout

Lawliet wrote: »

Really? Damn, I've always circled my final answer, thinking it would make it easier to correct

If i'm correcting in read it's a pain in the arse because if I have to go back and check something or when I'm totting up marks it can be hard to distinguish between my marks on the page and the students marks if they are the same colour.

Correctors have to read all your work anyway and they aren't blind so they will see the answer

rainbowtrout

gant0 wrote: »

really?.....i've been doing that for aslong as i can remember an no one has ever told me not to.Would it not help when you open an exam booklet an find the question is really mesy but the answer is clearly visible an if its right wouldn't it make it easier to correct?

Marks are awarded for method as well as the answer. Once it's clear and legible and not in some god awful luminous gel pen (which is mainly a girl thing), it's fine.

Blue or black pen only, no pencil, it smudges and is hard to read, don't cross anything out, don't use tippex.

Making It Bad

You really have to use a red pen sometimes though, in Applied Maths for example, your own diagrams even get too hard to follow if don't start putting different things (like forces) in red.

Liveit

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Marks are awarded for method as well as the answer. Once it's clear and legible and not in some god awful luminous gel pen (which is mainly a girl thing), it's fine.

Blue or black pen only, no pencil, it smudges and is hard to read, don't cross anything out, don't use tippex.

Should we use a pencil for diagrams?

rainbowtrout

Liveit wrote: »

Should we use a pencil for diagrams?

pencil is better for diagrams. if you make a mess of it at least you can fix it without wasting time drawing it again...

while i'm on the topic, draw a large, clear diagram, there's no shortage of space

Ruski

Making It Bad wrote: »

You really have to use a red pen sometimes though, in Applied Maths for example, your own diagrams even get too hard to follow if don't start putting different things (like forces) in red.

I ALWAYS put my forces in red! Guess I'll need a more vast repertoire of pen colours.