What can I do when I get stuck on the homework and
don't know where to start?
For students who are frequently unable to do a
significant portion of the homework (1/3 or more), I recommend buying
the
solutions manual or using solution examples from the online tutorial. These can be helpful, but it's important
to use them as a tool, not a crutch, since you will have to solve problems
on the
test without help. If you get totally
stuck, here's one method you may want to try:
- Arm
yourself with a stack of scratch paper.
- For the
given problem, copy the solution out of the
solutions manual or tutorial. For even-numbered problems without solutions, try a similar odd-numbered one with a solution.
- Throw
the solution away
- Now try
to do the same problem without the solutions
manual or tutorial.
- If you
get stuck, peek at the solution and finish it.
- Throw
the solution away.
- Repeat
steps 4-6 until you can solve the problem
without help.
Be sure you don't stop until step 7. If
you can't solve the problem at home without help, you can be sure that you won't be able to solve that type of
problem
without help on a test.