[size=7] I got 8A's from last year's PMR and i'm in science stream this year. Everyone is saying that starting from Form 4 its gonna be very very hard. Although its only 2 weeks since the first day of school, I'm already feeling a bit of the pressure from the all the subjects in science stream especially add math and 3 of the science subjects.Im taking ADD MATH.MODERN MATH, BIO , CHEM , PHYS , MORAL , ENG , BM , BC , HIST & ACCOUNTS.Unfortunately the Bio, Chem, Add Math, Modern Math teachers that are teaching my class for this year aren't so "professional" . So i guess i have to study by my own and that means working harder. Im gonna buy some buku rujukan and some exercises.

Any Big Brothers and Sisters out there who had done well in SPM ,STPM or something like that teach me ways to study? Cos Form 4 is totally different from what it is used to be in Form 3. Any tips and special ways in memorizing, studying?!?!?!? Anything related to this topic is welcomed, no matter what subject. I also need to know what GOOD workbooks to buy, what subjects to go for tuition, how to prepare before monthly tests and so on. It will be great if anyone of you can guide me if i happen to have any problem in the future.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.


And please continue to post any useful information regarding to this topic, you'll be saving a lot of Form 4 freshman's life out there

EDITED 15/1

Im planning on buying work books for Add Maths and 3 of the Science subjects. Any recommendations? I remember last time the workbooks i bought before PMR, they are all crappy. Crappy in which i mean the answers are crappy, the questions are crappy, and the price is crappy. So please mention a few GOOD workbooks out there for me, Physic and Add maths are the killer subjects for me( i think ). So im gonna work really hard on this SPM thingy, or else my dream of getting scholarships to go overseas will be starting to fade away...

This post has been edited by kaiserks3338: Jan 15 2010, 06:35 PM

I remember pelangi books are good for reference :-) what subjects to go for tuition? add maths, chemistry and physics? What subjects do you like most? Maths? Special ways of memorizing.. hm.. subjects like chemistry..bio..add maths, its better to understand before you decided to memorize... you have to do more exercises then.. of cos u still have to memorize those scientific terms and equations...

at first will be quite hard.. guess its normal for everyone.. but months and months later.. you will find yourself adapt to those subjects.. and understand them better than now..

Thanks, and for your information my weakest subject is math and my favorite subject is chemistry and physics @@

oh then do more exercises.. keep practicing maths everyday :-) score A book is good for exercises.. dont know if its still available in the market..

One tip: The internet is the best resource. Tonnes and tonnes of guides, answers, and tips. Start googling on each subject or chapter Good Luck! Sometimes books might contain inaccurate information, for example, it is widely known that some details in our Sejarah textbook is inaccurate (if u know what I mean).

I recall most of the reference books are actually a copy of the textbook with extra diagrams and more organised. Do check if the copies you wish to purchase is one of that kind.

I will suggest that you look for tuitions if you find yourself cannot cope with the studies. Self-study may not work very well in some cases and you ought to make it a strong foundation so that you can proceed to Pre-U and further. You need all those knowledge eventually.

relax and play more... dont waste your youth studying so hard.. if its meant to be then its meant to be.. everything is fated.. dont push yourself too hard..

i have seen my firends last time who used to be damn smart until form 3 then suddenly drop off.. everyone has got a limit..

maybe go for tuition

For the 3 sciences, I suggest SUCCESS reference books. Honestly, these books are really detailed and the explainations in the book is pretty good. I didn't really pay atention in class as my 3 science teachers cannot teach at all. Not to say i'm a professional or anything, but it's true. No one in the class actually pays attention. However, I managed to get A1's for Chem & Bio because of these sucess books. As for Physics, I managed to grab only a B. That's cause I really don't like physics, so.. yeah.
DO MAKE SURE,
1. You understand the particular topic the teacher is talking about. Never EVER accumulate them then try to understand all at one go just before the exam starts. It does not work that way
2. History requires constant reading and understanding. Don't ever rely on all the tips/craps. Just read everything. Some topics are pretty interesting, so just read it before the teacher actually starts teaching them. Then when the teacher starts teaching that topic, you'll find it easier to absorb
3. Do pass year questions. Even though you're only in Form 4, just do them. They aren't tough, and you can roughly know the type of questions that'll be tested

Good Luck.

Cool down . let me share my experience i am a straight a student too for pmr and i started my year just like you. i am not finish with spm but i think you can do it especially if u like to memories things like biology it quite fun actually. i think you have to practice more on addmath/ chem/ physics as practice makes perfect.

OMG I had already bought Chemistry and Biology reference books from Sasbadi!! Nexus PRO....

Nexus Pro is good for Mod maths. Others, please try to use success books. And for history- NO reference books. Read all from the text book The information is more than enough!

SUCCESS is better ... maybe u can sell those books to ur other friends haha. But i realise that SUCCESS books has a lot of additional stuffs though, good if you want to learn more =P

Yes, FORM 4 is much more different than FORM 3. I'm a science student too, pure science without account/econs/or perdagangan (cause I hate accounts). Well, I did took extra subject for SPM, that is Bible Knowledge =) I was facing the same problem too, when I was in FORM 4.

ADD MATH : You have to do tonnes and tonnes of questions, approximately 100 questions in 2 days, 50 per day. Especially past year question for add maths (Important)

Modern Math : Same as add math.

Biology : All you got to do is to memorize everything (including their scientific name), internet helps too! Don't forget, Discovery channel also helps! =) and of course you gotta use your KBKK whenever you do the questions..

Chemistry : I'm suck at it =( But nevermind. I used to go for chemistry tuition, and my teacher told everyone of us, we should do more exercises like Past year papers. and definitely, you must be good at their names, eg Hg= Mercury, Sn= Tin, Ag = Silver Al = Aluminium, Agcl = Silver chloride, SnO =Tin oxide and etc etc.

Physics : Same as add math. This subject is related to math/add math and it's all about calculation, application and how the thing works. You apply the formula and you will get the answer for calculation =)

Don't worry, you'll soon get use to it. You must have good basics (especially BIO,CHEM & PHYS) so you won't scratch your head when you're in FORM 5, cause form 5 is a bit tougher..

dun think 8As in pmr will grant anything for u ...spm is totally different story.

bt it is nt very hard oso, just play play flirt flirt and study can score well !

i seldom did the reference book coz too many mistakes. but what i did is went for tuition for addmath, physic and chemistry. form 4 usually would be tough a bit. but when u go form 5, u would feel a sudden relieve. duno this apply to u or not but i did.

I agree. 8A's is useless when you come to SPM. This is what happening to me. So don't be too happy or proud with your achievement. I am telling you the truth. Hope you can understand.

Modern Maths is an easy subject. It should not be a problem for you to study by yourself. If you face some problem, just ask anyone in this forum or your senior will do. Seeking advice and guidance from your senior is always a good approach to study well. I saw a poster recommends you Nexus Pro for Modern Maths but my teacher recommends us Pelangi. I used it for the past two years. Not bad though. If you want more examples, Nexus Pro is your choice.

Moral is the only subject which needs to memorize constantly 36 nilai definition and keywords. For KBKK part, it is not very tough. Common sense and general knowledge are needed.

My favorite subject is history No memorizing. Memorizing history facts is a VERY VERYstupid act. You just need to know or understand those ciri2, sbab2, faktor2, kesan2 and so on by making notes. You can make some short notes too if you find some parts are difficult to understand or remember by reading textbook. Make it short and simple for you to understand. I encourage you to use short form to save your time. Pay more attention on those important parts at every topic. Some chronologies and others are difficult to remember. For example, sistem kangani, sistem tiket kredit and more in bab 10 form 4. For me, I will draw simple comic to have better understanding. Study constantly and do more exercise is the key to get A. For sejarah exercise book, I strongly recommend you pelangi exercise book.

I can't help you in Add Maths, Physics, Bio and Chem. I flunk them but not for others. Good luck to you

Ive gt 8As in PMR too but only managed to get 7As in SPM T_T
The important thing is dun feel that u aldy gt 8As in PMR and u goin to score well in SPM also..
My frens gt 8As in PMR and end up to get onli 3As in SPM..
Study smart and focus in your class..
Even tho ur teachers not profesional jux like u said..its okay coz in study we cant blame teacher..
They still get their salary every month and what do we gt by blaming them..
What u can do is go for tution,do more exercises and u can refer to other teachers in ur school beside ur teachers that teaching u..
When I was SPM,I used more than one published for revision books..
Since I weak in physics,so I bought 2 different books which was pelangi and longman..
Dun wory too much ^^..u still have more time to go..but still use the time well ^^v
Im sure u can score flying colour result in SPM as well..

You have to keep on practising, especially for add math & math subject. When teacher is teaching, pay good attention and don't dreaming. Finish all the homework. For extra self practice, buy a good workbook to practice further, anything don't understand can go ask teacher.

For the science subjects, I think physics is most difficult of all, 2nd is chemistry, easiest is bio. Memorising work won't help much here, understanding is the key to score! Understand the concept, get the idea, if just merely memorising its like half past six, very dangerous.

if want to go tuition, normally people will go for add math & physics, which are more challenging.

Just remember to pay attention in class, take good notes, do homework, put extra effort do extra practice, and not shy to ask teacher.

lols. seriously, u are pushing yrself abit too much dude. relax. You're still young, there's of course this strange feeling of suddenly learning so many things that you dont know.
For science, there's a suggestion. Unlearn what you've learned during PMR level. the concept of Physics, Chem and Bio maybe slightly contradicting to
your understanding of science. To input further, u have to forget/replace ur old theories. this is because when u study something into greater depth,
theories tend to contradict, and u have to update urself. Go like a freshie and learn what's taught.
And for addmath, ITS normal that you dont understand anythng, or cant puzzle out the solution as fast as ur friends did. Its common to fail ( yes, I am bloody telling u to be prepared and not break down) during ur 1st sem test, and doing well on yr 1st attempt doesnt assure a smooth flow til SPM.
I failed twice out of 4 test in form4. kinda cocky. but I topped the class when I was form 5.
You do need to work hard, practise alot, and DONT FEEL shy to consult anyone for help. Education is for us to learn.
Buku rujukan, u can consult other friendly seniors here, I am too old for this. But I can recall 40% of my books are still clean. lol

I admit Form 3 to Form4 is a damn big gap. Til now, I still think so. But that's just a part of life. What you think you are capable to do at this age may not be what you are capable of doing in the future, it may be even more beyond ur expectation.
When your thinking would have matured, trust me, everything will be a piece of cake ( to understand logically), but scoring is a matter to do with
how much effort u put in to study hard.

At this point of age, you will start inclining yrself towards the field that you like. A major segregation is between Art and Sciences,
if ur interest on science is strong, u may feel History and Accounting is not ur cup of tea ( not due to scores, but ur personal interest) or vice versa.
Dont limit urself, cause when your exposure is bigger, u interest concurrently changes accordingly.

Form 4 is the time you discover a bigger world, make friends with those around you as well as those form other streams.
Compare and chill out how miserable you and ur friend's life can be.learn the difference. lol.

Bout tutorials,
1st try out self learning by getting reference books.
If that doesn't work out well, go for tuition class.
Dont kill urself by registering for all subjects, just those that you can hardly understand what the textbook is writing about.

all the best.

---

Added on January 15, 2010, 2:51 pmYea, As much as i recall.
keep saying that the Britains scam our government so much, and cheated on royalties.
They just dont wanna admit our Sultans are dumb, dont they?

This post has been edited by RyukA: Jan 15 2010, 02:51 PM

Don't Google cause the sources on the internet not accurate to the SPM marking schemes. The facts maybe correct, but the marking scheme uses very specific sources only.

For add maths, practice makes perfect. Tuition if u thinks its necessary.

History just memorize, no other way. memorize smartly with key words.

Chemistry, physics n biology study them normally like science in pmr, but keep doing the past years, most of the questions for the 3 science subjects repeat themselves or are almost similar, if u can notice the trend.

I recommend Pelangi revision books as I found most teachers were using them as the main marking scheme for school exams in my sch. So i think the teachers must be using them for a reason.