<p>I'm a great writer, I can memorize history on a timeline as if it were a picture in front of me, and I have great public speaking skills which have allowed me to excel in debate and ace interviews. </p>
<p>Yet when it comes to math I am a total failure. I'm currently a junior in Algebra 2 H (pathetic, yes I know) and it looks like I will finish with a B+ for the year. Despite my difficulties in Algebra, I will be going on to AP Calc AB next year because I need to face my math troubles sooner or later, and I figured better now than in college. </p>
<p>Let me put this in perspective. For the May SAT essay, I read the prompt in 30 seconds, started writing (purposely in tiny handwriting to increase volume) and didn't lose my train of thought until the second page was full. On the math sections, I omitted about 10 questions total, and probably got another 5 wrong. </p>
<p>How can I become better at math? Does it come natural to those of you who are good at it, or do you practice a lot? What is the mindset necessary to succeed in solving equations?</p>
<p>You have to practice, for some it may come easier. But for others like me a little practice seems to always help. Memorize the steps, understand it. Math is like history, you can’t just read it, you have to know why and how. So read the text book, get extra help from a teacher, and study. Three basic steps that can take you a long way.</p>
<p>Videos here can help:
[Khan</a> Academy](<a href=“Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice”>Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice)</p>
<p>(the leftmost column is probably the one that would help with the SAT the most)</p>
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<p>wow, that sounds amazing. I wish I could visualize that well.</p>
<p>SAME HERE -_______- Math is just… another planet I don’t want to explore. I never had an A in math and I probably never will r0fllma0! Math isn’t a social skill anyway hahaha.</p>
<p>Wanted to update this with Sat results.</p>
<p>12 essay
580 math…</p>
<p>Math -> Cognitive(Without thinking)</p>
<p>If you have to subconsciously think, that means you are forcing yourself to “memorize” certain steps. If you are learning in a more cognitive style, it would feel as if these steps come natural, and you remember then instantly.</p>
<p>You are not bad at math, you just don’t know what you need to know…</p>
<p>The tough thing about helping someone improve at math is that without direct access to their thoughts it’s hard to identify where exactly they’re having trouble and what the source of misunderstanding is. </p>
<p>Do you generally find that when you look at a problem you don’t know how to start? Or do you get part way through and forget what to do next? Or do you find that you sometimes get too bogged down in things like arithmetic or algebraic operations to see the whole scheme of things? Each problem has different causes and different solutions.</p>
<p>practice practice practice, it’s the only way. Do problems that are more difficult than those you’d be dealing with in school or on tests.
You could have a some kind of learning disability (nothing wrong with that) so maybe you can consider getting checked up</p>
<p>Thanks to my Asian parents, I did extracurricular math pretty much all through elementary school and the beginning of middle school. I didn’t complain, really - I’m a pretty good Asian child and I was bored and math was fun and easy, so it was a why-not. Being ahead of everyone else (who didn’t have similar Asian parents) made my math classes a breeze. My point is, the only way to get good at math is to practice and practice, and then practice some more.</p>