How do you get rid of stupid mistakes? (1 Viewer)

[AJD]

I have been studying by doing the past 4 HSC general maths exams and I keep on getting 85-90%. I lose about 5 marks from stupid mistakes (ie adding stuff up wrong, leaving numbers out of formulas). I know how to do the questions, but how can I prevent these mistakes? Cheers

 

[watatank]

practice?

don't skip steps.

 

[tanjin]

I tend to read the question incorrectly and that's where my mistakes come from. I've found that repeating or practicing similar questions helps quite a lot. Those questions usually appear in the exams as well.

 

[PC]

As watatank says, "Practice".

Practise, practise, practise (that's the verb now) and keep practising.

At this stage you should probably be focussing on past exam papers. Try to get as many as papers as you can from other schools or external sources. Save up the actual HSC papers until a couple of days before the exam.

As you do more and more practice exams you get a little bit better with using time in the exam more efficiently...

... then ...

In the exam, just take your time. Be cool, be calm, be confident. Read each question carefully and make sure you answer the question. Before you move on to the next question or the next booklet, just check your answer.

Sounds easy, hey!

 

[Tranquility88]

I had the same problem last year for methods unit 3/4 (VCE) but i guess the same applies for all maths. To fix this just practice like all the guys above said. Don't expect it to come quickly and immediately. It would come through naturally without you actually realising it. Personally, I would be pleased with 85%-90%, because nothing is easy. You slowly work urself up there not immediately. As they say: you step before you leap. Confidence and calmness is also the case here. It has been proven that people who do things when they are calm perform much better than those who panic. Even logic determines this. My friend used to get like 70%-80% for his assessment tasks in specialist maths. That was because his working out was really messy and all over the place. He used pen as well so he kept crossing things out. I told him to use a pencil and rubber. Also, on top of that, write clearly and more spaced out. This way you can identify easily wat you do wrong when you do ur tests or assessment task or exam. For this friend there was a marked change from the initial score to low 90% range. Hope this helps

 

[AJD]

Thankz

 

[cuppy]

its actually good that you are making mistakes now so if a similar question comes up in the hsc you will be like 'HA i remember getting this wrong before' and you will be extra cautious not the repeat the same mistake.

so yeh, doing as many questions as possible would be the best chance of reducing silly mistakes. even for some of the simpler questions, you think since they are easy and you know how to do them you don't need to practice but i advise that you do practice everything.

 

[tanjin]

its actually good that you are making mistakes now so if a similar question comes up in the hsc you will be like 'HA i remember getting this wrong before' and you will be extra cautious not the repeat the same mistake.

You think? Wouldn't you just be more focused on doing the questions within the time given and leaving a few extra minutes to check through it? Because i know that when im being extra cautious - i take too much time on it.

 

[princesskt]

well i spose u gotta plan well tho.. i make silly mistakes when i rush.. so ive gotta teach myself to take it slow.. obviously not too slow.. but enough slowness to allow me to understand to question properly..

 

[Tranquility88]

Well its best to do it well done first, not too slowly though, than rushing it and ending up having to do the whole exam again because of silly mistakes.

 

[ChrissyGirl2007]

I have been studying by doing the past 4 HSC general maths exams and I keep on getting 85-90%. I lose about 5 marks from stupid mistakes (ie adding stuff up wrong, leaving numbers out of formulas). I know how to do the questions, but how can I prevent these mistakes? Cheers

wow 85-90% i wish i was getting that in past paper.. i havent even been getting 50% in my past papers... and its not silly mistakes... its just i have no idea! i find that if you dod silly mistakes in past papers when you get to the exam you remember those silly mistake and you get it right. don't stress about 85-90% i mean the average highest marks for general maths HSC exams is like 85%. thats an excellent result! if maths is your worst subject then you'll be sweet as.. if its your best.. i'd say focus on something else and stop stressing for maths.

 

[princesskt]

dun ever do maths when ur tired lol