How do you minimise silly errors? (1 Viewer)

[bored of sc]

It'd be great if you maths people could give me some ideas on how to minmise silly errors in maths. At the moment I am shocking (making at least 3 per homework session). Cheers.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Full working out (no shortcuts) works for me.

 

[lyounamu]

It'd be great if you maths people could give me some ideas on how to minmise silly errors in maths. At the moment I am shocking (making at least 3 per homework session). Cheers.

I don't know. There is no short cut to this. But the way I approach this issue is that I do exam as fast as I can and I come back to the questions. In the last big exam I did, I had 50 minutes left out of 2 hour exam. So I could spot all the mistakes in that period. In saying that, I did lose few marks in the short-period exam where I didn't have much time to view over my questions.

Oh yeah, my only tip would probably - write all the necessary working out, don't skip steps. You may bamboozle yourself while doing that.

Approach question by step by step.

 

[Sonata]

my teacher said to write in bigger font that way you are able to spot any silly mistakes easier

 

[Aerath]

my teacher said to write in bigger font that way you are able to spot any silly mistakes easier

That wouldn't work for me.

For me, I would just not skip working out steps, and double check my work later on.

 

[tommykins]

回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

You can't, it's natural human error.

I guess the only advice is take your time, don't make shortcuts.

 

[karnage]

Allow time to go back over your exam at the end with a magnifying glass.

Seriously though, just give yourself some time to check your working out.

 

[tommykins]

回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

Allow time to go back over your exam at the end with a magnifying glass.

Seriously though, just give yourself some time to check your working out.

You're very unlikely to be able to find errors in math when you check back.

Better off getting it right the first time.

 

[munchiecrunchie]

Re: 回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

getting it right the first time is easier said than done.

i too am heavily prone to silly mistakes, and so far, the only solution i've found is to check my work over and over again.

its more about training yourself to not check your work superficially, but to actually go through every step and ensure that its all correct.

 

[tommykins]

回复: Re: 回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

getting it right the first time is easier said than done.

i too am heavily prone to silly mistakes, and so far, the only solution i've found is to check my work over and over again.

its more about training yourself to not check your work superficially, but to actually go through every step and ensure that its all correct.

never said it was easy, but why not take your time to do the question carefully and get it right, rather than rush the paper as fast as you can and then have to check?

you also aren't able to check ALL your answers in math exams anyways.

 

[chewy123]

slow down, and do many questions, practice makes perfect

 

[phosphorescent]

In actuality, there is no shortcut to this.

The more exercises you do, the easier it is for you to recognise any silly little mistakes you've made on the spot. And you'll probably be more efficient too, and that'll allow you to go check your answers once you're finished for mistakes.

 

[sarapa]

Its just a natural gift..

 

[Aerath]

Re: 回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

You're very unlikely to be able to find errors in math when you check back.

Better off getting it right the first time.

Do you find that you don't have time to check your work in Snr Maths exams? From Yr 7-10, I always had time to double/triple check my work, whereas, at the half yearly this year, I barely even finished. I still came second in the Maths 2U Yr11/12 cohort, but at the same time, I made silly mistakes, and at times, I didn't see entire questions.

 

[tommykins]

Re: 回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

Do you find that you don't have time to check your work in Snr Maths exams? From Yr 7-10, I always had time to double/triple check my work, whereas, at the half yearly this year, I barely even finished. I still came second in the Maths 2U Yr11/12 cohort, but at the same time, I made silly mistakes, and at times, I didn't see entire questions.

I don't, that's the point. For 3unit I have a maximum of 10-15 minutes give or take looking back time, and I find that looking bcak is only useful if you re-do the question rather than just "observe" your working out.

In extension 2, you're very pushed for time, and so you should be able to finish the exam with 5-10 minutes left if you're lucky, otherwise - no, no time at all to look back.

 

[jules.09]

I've been getting the same problem actually. I could score perfectly in year 7-10 and this year, the first 3 unit math exam made me panic to the point that reading the words seemed foreign.

My second exam was better but I lost a whole 8% on arithmetic error, e.g. 11+5 = 26

My old math teachers say that's the case when you're so 'used' to math that you work really quickly and write before you think, if you think at all.

Addition, subtraction and transcription is killing my marks at the moment.

 

[fishy89sg]

you cant. im in uni and im still doin em

 

[wendus]

Re: 回复: Re: How do you minimise silly errors?

yep ext 2 and ext 1 is all about your use of time. you seriously need to know what you're doing so you don't run out of time. that being said, always be careful with working out. i reckon no skipping steps is a good one. otherwise, go back and check if you have time. in one exam i did at the beginning of the year i had about 70 minutes and finished with 35 minutes left so i went back and checked all my working TWICE which is pretty good. i found heaps of stupid mistakes.

 

[Aplus]

• Write neatly
• Do not skip steps
• Set your working out in a logical manner which is easy to follow and systematic in the sense that everything connects with each other easily
• Leave spaces in your working out so your work isn't cramped. This makes it easier for the marker to see what you are trying to communicate and it also allows you to read and check your work more easily as well.

 

[Schribez]

im the oppisite to most.....skip as many steps as possible so i dont hav so many steps to screw up lol