Question

I'd like a compiled list of ways to study for Mathematical Analysis

I've spent most of my time working on this class and I still failed the exam. I think my way of studying for this class is wrong. This class is very unique too, very different from all other classes I've taken.

Answer 1

would you mind telling us what you've done so far

I don't know what the class is like but my usual study pattern is:
1. read the textbook and take notes
2. read the lecture notes, and pay extra attention to anything that's in both the book and the lecture notes
3. go over the HWs and make sure I can do it w/o looking at the answer key
4. go to office hours (get this done early) and ask for any study advice

Answer 2

The textbook gives you definitions, theorems, and examples. The examples show how to prove a statement using the definitions and theorems.

The examples are easy to prove. The exercise problems are not the same as the examples, but go further beyond it, making you think of clever ways to prove them. There's no answer key for the exercise problems.

Each exercise problem takes a long time and every time I went to office hours, the professor would do an exercise problem for me while explaining how easy it is (once you find the trick that wasn't explained in the textbook).

My study pattern so far has just been printing out all the definitions and theorems and some example proofs on a piece of paper (since it's open-notebook exam), but the questions on the exam are not the same as the textbook.

My teacher told me that in order to solve unfamiliar problems, I need to find the trick of proving it, and it can be gained by doing problems over and over.

The thing is, just doing a single problem takes a long time, and I don't know if it's right or not since there's multiple ways to prove a statement, so the answer key doesn't give the only answer. And I can't find the trick for more than half the exercise problems.

I have not been taking good lecture notes so far, I'll write faster to keep up pace with the lecturer, organize my notes better, and try to find the trick that my professor introduced.
The lecture notes doesn't give examples of proof, it only gives definitions, theorems, and example problems, same as the textbook, while the teacher writes the proof for each on the board.

Answer 3

Hm. I’m a little stumped but I can see why this is harder to study for than most other classes

Maybe try asking for any supplementary material that is better at filling in the gaps where the textbook is lacking?