Statistics can be the most dreaded subject for some students.
I teach statistics in university. Every semester I can see many of them
struggle to score the subject. Of course I’ll do everything in my power to
help, but students need to realise that the main factor to excel in any subject
is themselves. Cliché: It starts with you.
With my teaching experience AND from my own experience
during undergraduate/postgraduate (did Bachelor & Master in Statistics-UPM,
was the best student for both programs Alhamdulillah), I’m sharing with you
guys how to score your statistics exams.
Good luck!
1) Change your mind set. Having a positive mindset
can be powerful. Seniors probably tell you it is a killer subject. Don’t fall
for that trap. It killed them (maybe), but not you. You must remember, even if
it not easy, it is doable. As much effort put for other subject, you are going
to work as hard for statistics.
2) Practise. I remind my students again and again
there is no other way to understand the concepts other than doing exercise. To
do statistics, you must understand the concept. This can be achieved only by practicing.
Do as many exercise/examples as you can until you finally grasp the concept.
Here’s one thing, in exams, we rarely have open ended questions. Hence, as long
as you understand the concept, you’ll nail it.
3) Ask questions. If you are too shy to ask in
class, see your lecturer personally. Never let go of the things you can’t
understand because it will accumulate. Most of the time, if you miss concept
#1, you’ll definitely loss concept #2 too. You can also ask help from lecturers
from other classes (we don’t mind, really). Also, try to be friends with your classmates
who can teach/guide you. I quote my high school teacher “Tak tahu, tanya.
Jangan jadi bodoh sombong”.
4) Always starts with formula. When doing exercise,
always starts by writing the formula needed. This way, you train your brain to
remember, and understand what each term/symbol represents. This is also another
way for you to learn to differentiate which formula to use, which method to apply,
which hypothesis testing is in question etc. Before long, you’ll know all these
by heart.
5) Know your calculator. Nowadays,
scientific calculator is capable to do a lot of things. Knowing how to use it
to its full potential can significantly save time during exams and you’ll get
extra time to focus on other things. In Exams, I’ve seen many students who
already know how to answer questions, but failed to correctly answer the questions
because they use the calculator wrongly/ not enough time because they did many
calculations manually/ don’t know how to use the calculator (classic example: to
answer Permutation & Combination)
