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How can I reduce silly mistakes?

I've been completing a lot of A2 Maths and FM past papers recently but for some reason I have been making a huge amount of silly mistakes (more than last year I believe). On C3 and C4 especially there's rarely a question where I don't understand what I need to do, and the methods I am using are nearly always correct, however I always seem to miss a negative somewhere or mess up some arithmetic leading to an incorrect answer and losing a few marks here and there. This has led me to achieving marks anywhere between 85-95% on average, but as I need an A*, I would feel more comfortable getting marks between 95-100%.

Does anyone have any tips on minimizing these mistakes?
Original post by Bloxorus
I've been completing a lot of A2 Maths and FM past papers recently but for some reason I have been making a huge amount of silly mistakes (more than last year I believe). On C3 and C4 especially there's rarely a question where I don't understand what I need to do, and the methods I am using are nearly always correct, however I always seem to miss a negative somewhere or mess up some arithmetic leading to an incorrect answer and losing a few marks here and there. This has led me to achieving marks anywhere between 85-95% on average, but as I need an A*, I would feel more comfortable getting marks between 95-100%.

Does anyone have any tips on minimizing these mistakes?


Instead of rushing through the paper, you are best to slow down and check your calculations to make sure you get the correct answer and if it's the actual correct formula you're using. If you have time at the end of the practice paper/ actual re-check something to minimilise mistakes:smile:
Hope I helped
Reply 2
Original post by Bloxorus
I've been completing a lot of A2 Maths and FM past papers recently but for some reason I have been making a huge amount of silly mistakes (more than last year I believe). On C3 and C4 especially there's rarely a question where I don't understand what I need to do, and the methods I am using are nearly always correct, however I always seem to miss a negative somewhere or mess up some arithmetic leading to an incorrect answer and losing a few marks here and there. This has led me to achieving marks anywhere between 85-95% on average, but as I need an A*, I would feel more comfortable getting marks between 95-100%.

Does anyone have any tips on minimizing these mistakes?


Out of interest, how long does it normally take you finish a paper, as this could affect the possible ways of fixing your problems



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Reply 3
Original post by Trouty97
Out of interest, how long does it normally take you finish a paper, as this could affect the possible ways of fixing your problems



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Around an hour I would say. So would you suggest using the remaining 30 minutes to check over the answers, or just take my time more whilst completing the papers?


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Original post by Bloxorus
Around an hour I would say. So would you suggest using the remaining 30 minutes to check over the answers, or just take my time more whilst completing the papers?


Posted from TSR Mobile


Spend 15 minutes more time completing the papers, and 15 minutes checking through them. :rolleyes:
sometimes when I check through the paper, I still miss out the mistakes and don't realise they're there.
a way to avoid this, if you have the same problem sometimes, is to cover up your answer read through the question and answer it again but in your head (and do the full method with every little detail) and compare it to what you've already written.
hope this is helpful in some way :biggrin:

erm is this how everyone else checks through them?
Original post by Bloxorus


Does anyone have any tips on minimizing these mistakes?


If you are sure that this is about silly errors rather than a lack of understanding

One suggestion is to do the paper in reverse - the tendency to speed through the "easier" questions followed by doing the "harder" questions when already "tired" can cause silly errors
Reply 7
Original post by Bloxorus
Around an hour I would say. So would you suggest using the remaining 30 minutes to check over the answers, or just take my time more whilst completing the papers?


Posted from TSR Mobile


Generally, if I finish a maths paper early, I will completely redo the big questions and see if I get the same answer again. For the smaller questions, just check through those quickly and redo any calculations.


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Original post by Bloxorus
I've been completing a lot of A2 Maths and FM past papers recently but for some reason I have been making a huge amount of silly mistakes (more than last year I believe). On C3 and C4 especially there's rarely a question where I don't understand what I need to do, and the methods I am using are nearly always correct, however I always seem to miss a negative somewhere or mess up some arithmetic leading to an incorrect answer and losing a few marks here and there. This has led me to achieving marks anywhere between 85-95% on average, but as I need an A*, I would feel more comfortable getting marks between 95-100%.

Does anyone have any tips on minimizing these mistakes?

The ability to use multiple techniques to solve a question (so you can check it another way), and also the ability to use your calculator effectively.
I try to do the question twice (the 2nd time quickly and very lightly).

Just because I never find it helpful to go over my working.
I experienced the same problems at school. It's definitely a mix of being able to judge whether an answer is sensible, taking your time when going through the question, checking your working out (approach it as if you are marking it and try to forget your method), and if you have time re-doing the question or trying a different method. If you do try a different method, you might pick a method that takes a lot longer and might waste time, so look out for that.

I think the biggest problem I had was that I would instantly launch into the questions and try to finish them as soon as possible. You need to slow down and take care in how you write out your answers. Lay them out in a structured way so that the examiner is absolutely clear on your working. This will not only make it easier to check, it will also slow you down and make you think more about your working. More importantly, it is good practice for if you go on to do maths at university, where it is crucial to structure your answers cohesively.

Another tip is to space your working out a bit and to write neatly, so that you can make adjustments to your answers without having to re-write it all.

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