MHB First Time Potentially Failling/Getting a C in a course

[E01]

If this type of post is not allowed then I completely understand if the mods have to remove it.
So I'm a first year Master's student and I'm soon about to take my Real Analysis final exam. I know I'm going to fail the exam most likely as I have to be able to remember all of the homeworks (which consists of about 120 problems each half a page to a page long). I've done below average on most of the quizzes.

I'm musing on whether or not I should continue going for a Master's given that I don't have enough talent/motivation to do well in this class. (The one's who are currently successful in the class study much more than I do, though they seem to do nothing else. I'm not sure that I want to live like that. I think that I might not enjoy math quite enough to spend all of my time doing it. I do enjoy it more than most other activities though.) Any advice on how to figure out what one should do in this sort of situation?

 

[Euge]

Hi E01,

So sorry you're in this situation, but don't drop the program just because of one C grade. I don't know how your class is structured, but it's unlikely that you need to remember every problem you've done. That would be an inefficient way to prepare for an exam. I suggest you work with another classmate or even a group for most, if not all your first year classes. Collaboration is usually how students succeed their first year.

I think it'll also help if you participate in my grad POTWs. You don't have to submit a solution, but try to work the problems out in your own time. You'll see a solution (or multiple solutions) the following week.

Download real analysis qualifying exams online for extra practice. Look for those that have solutions in the archives so that you could check your work. Otherwise you can ask us to check your work or comment on it.

I'd advise you to study about 30 - 35 hrs a week. It's important to review your notes from class the same day after the lecture (rewriting them if necessary). Do a few homework problems a day -- do not wait until the night before to work on them. Finally, as I've said before, find a study partner or join a study group to share ideas and collaborate. You can really learn a lot of new things by listening to other students' ideas.

Don't give up so soon! Getting a low grade in one Master's math course does not mean you're untalented or unmotivated. Please take my advice and continue the study. Best wishes.

 

[Ackbach]

I would strongly urge you, in addition to Euge's fine advice, to memorize the basic facts about analysis. This would be basic definitions, and major theorems, and possibly a few proofs of some of the major theorems. Memorization has come on hard times recently, but I think it should never have been denigrated the way it has. Knowing the basic facts and having them at your fingertips is essential for being good at anything, as Why Don't Students Like School has demonstrated.

As a practical example, suppose you're working an algebra problem, and $9\times 7$ comes up. If you don't know immediately, without thinking, that it's $63$, then you have to use working (short-term) memory to compute it, which is both slower and less accurate than long-term memory. So you take a performance and accuracy hit there. Follow that up with the fact that the working memory slots you used for the multiplication are now not available for the algebra problem. So you have re-acquaint yourself with the algebra problem - another performance hit! On the other hand, if you did have $9\times 7=63$ at your fingertips, then you're not slowed down and you can simply plow ahead.

Ask your teacher what the basic facts, major theorems, and big ideas in analysis are, and commit those firmly to memory - to the extent that you don't have to think about it. It should be instant, accurate, total recall without thinking, just as if you were tying your shoes.

 

[alyafey22]

I wouldn't say that you spend all of your time studying maths. I don't do that and many don't do it. But you have to make sure that you understand the lectures in the first place. Maths depend on understanding more than studying. If you understand the proofs and concepts given by the lecturer then you should do well and you don't have to spend that much time. If you are having a hard time understanding the lectures, then it is natural that you spend an extra time studying the material. As others suggested don't drop the program because of one course because you might find yourself in another area.