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Can't get over careless / silly mistakes

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Can't get over careless / silly mistakes

by melguy » Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:41 am
Hello All

I am looking for some tips to avoid careless / silly mistakes in Quant. I just keep on making small mistakes one after another. In the last CAT I got 11 questions wrong just because of very trivial careless mistakes (also 6-7 others because they were difficult problems) . Careless mistakes would have easily hurt my score by 50 points or more. I have covered all the basics but just keep on making these mistakes over and over :-(

Some advice please. I am planning the exam within a month and my target score is still good 50+ points away!

Thanks
Last edited by melguy on Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by David@VeritasPrep » Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:15 am
I have written about this subject. It is one of the most important questions that anyone could ask.

Please read this article on Data Sufficiency https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... -handrails


Here are some similar thoughts on problem solving

To avoid misreading: The key to making fewer of these errors is to bring down all of the information to the note board. Anything you just read on the computer screen could be misread or forgotten, but not if you write it on your note board.

Write down, specifically, the answer you seek, such as "what was the speed of Car B" or "what is the value of x." This way you will be sure to answer the question that is asked!
Write down the information that you are given; bring down all of the numbers in the problem, so that you have them all on the note board where you can use them.

To avoid calculation errors:

When calculations are necessary, do the simplest possible calculation. Of course, in most cases you will need to do some math on the "math" section but you can dramatically reduce your calculation errors if you do some small things like simplifying fractions before you use them in calculations and rounding off numbers to make your calculations easier (check the spread of the answer choices to see how much you can round off the numbers).

Do calculations on your whiteboard NOT IN YOUR HEAD! The extra seconds saved are not worth even the risk of missing a question.

Slow down at the end of a problem. Students tend to get more and more excited as they near the point of coming up with an answer. They rush through the final calculations as the finish line nears. This is a mistake! Slow down at the end and calmly make your calculations. If you rush you may end up choosing the wrong answer, or upon finding that your answer is not listed, you may have to review the entire problem, which can be very time consuming.
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by David@VeritasPrep » Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:15 am
I have written about this subject. It is one of the most important questions that anyone could ask.

Please read this article on Data Sufficiency https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... -handrails


Here are some similar thoughts on problem solving

To avoid misreading: The key to making fewer of these errors is to bring down all of the information to the note board. Anything you just read on the computer screen could be misread or forgotten, but not if you write it on your note board.

Write down, specifically, the answer you seek, such as "what was the speed of Car B" or "what is the value of x." This way you will be sure to answer the question that is asked!
Write down the information that you are given; bring down all of the numbers in the problem, so that you have them all on the note board where you can use them.

To avoid calculation errors:

When calculations are necessary, do the simplest possible calculation. Of course, in most cases you will need to do some math on the "math" section but you can dramatically reduce your calculation errors if you do some small things like simplifying fractions before you use them in calculations and rounding off numbers to make your calculations easier (check the spread of the answer choices to see how much you can round off the numbers).

Do calculations on your whiteboard NOT IN YOUR HEAD! The extra seconds saved are not worth even the risk of missing a question.

Slow down at the end of a problem. Students tend to get more and more excited as they near the point of coming up with an answer. They rush through the final calculations as the finish line nears. This is a mistake! Slow down at the end and calmly make your calculations. If you rush you may end up choosing the wrong answer, or upon finding that your answer is not listed, you may have to review the entire problem, which can be very time consuming.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:34 pm
If silly mistakes are an issue, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes during your prep so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors.

I write about this and other strategies in the following article for BTG: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/09/ ... n-the-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
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by faraz_jeddah » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:03 am
I know that feel bro! It is agonizing because you know you are better than that. You mentally feel that you've cracked the problem by applying the right concept only to find out that the devil indeed is in the details.

David's advice hit the nail on the head. Read the problem thoroughly and write down the information on the paper. Personally, I repeatedly tell myself "SLOW DOWN". :!:
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