How to tackle problem review?

jmichele wrote:So I am reviewing my first diagnostic test. I have an error log. My question is when reviewing the problem I got incorrect, do I try to solve the problem again without looking at the answer and explanation first, or would it be more efficient and beneficial to go straight to the explanation and correct answer?

That depends.

If you look at the question and feel that you understand the concepts necessary for answering the question, then trying to answer the question is probably the way to go. Rocking the GMAT is all about figuring out how to get to answers. So when you have had trouble finding the answer to a particular problem, going back and figuring out how to succeed at doing that problem can be very productive.

You can read a million explanations, but much of the real deal on the test is about coming up with a way on the fly or being determined to see what you have to see to get the right answer, and reading explanations doesn't give you practice in either of those things.

If you really have no clue about how to even begin to answer the question, then maybe you should just go to the explanation, or, alternatively, seek out other resources that give you hints regarding how to get the answer and see if you can get it then. I tend to at least wrestle with the question a little so that I get some sense of what it might take to answer it, and then maybe I seek more information from the explanation or other resources so that I am not totally reinventing the wheel.

If you recall WHY you got a question incorrect (i.e. didn't have time to attempt, didn't know a Quant formula, misread a word in the stem, abandoned your strategy, etc.), then I would go ahead and add that to your Error Log before you read the explanation. Examine your scratch paper notes to help you.

If you don't recall WHY you got a question incorrect, I would re-attempt the question and then check the explanation.

Either way, be sure to include as part of your Error Log:

-WHY you got the question incorrect (a Content issue, a Strategy issue, or a Pacing issue)

-Action Steps -- homework you need to do to correct the issue (pacing drills, review of content, working untimed on similar questions to perfect strategy, asking a tutor to clarify a certain aspect of the problem, etc.)

-The Takeaway -- a one-sentence distillation of the "lesson" behind the question. Essentially, what YOU learned from this question, perhaps a content rule, or a specific step you find yourself skipping in your strategy, or just the knowledge that this specific question-type or content makes you extremely nervous and causes you to move too slowly or too quickly through the question

Good luck!

Best,
Vivian

Hi jmichele,

We recently posted in our blog on how to develop a more effective error log, which you can check out here: https://bit.ly/1K9yqpM

One thing our students have found to be extremely helpful is grouping questions in their error log by question type. As everyone here has said, it's important to familiarize yourself with the question and understand what you're being asked. Adding this layer to your error log might add a little extra work at the beginning, but will also help you identify patterns in the question types you're struggling with most and paint a clearer picture of how to answer those question types.

Best,
Rich