How can i stop making silly mistakes

I make silly mistakes in my C1 and C2 papers and after the test i get someone to mark it and i go over the questions again and i am able to answer it. How can i answer the questions correctly on the first go. I want to get an A in maths overall.

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Reply 1

LFC_RV

Original post by toonervoustotalk

Just really concentrate and take your time.. That's all I can say really

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Reply 2

TheSweatyNerd

Read the question two times before you answer, and when you do answer it, re read the question again and read your answer. Don't just write the first thing that you think off, structure your answer then write it.

Reply 3

joffrey

Slow down. Make your handwriting neat, clear and concise.

Reply 4

shahbaz

You cant, you have to embrace them, accept them. Only then will you overcome them.

Reply 5

toonervoustotalk

I got 55 marks out of 75 in the jan 05 paper.

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Reply 6

LFC_RV

Just take your time, read the question slowly and carefully.
When you read a bit of useful info, write it down! E.g. If you're given coordinates for example, write them down at the top of the page so you can refer to them instead of reading the question over and over. That always helps me! I've had at least 87-100% in all of my past papers from Jan 2005 to Jan 2014 :smile:

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Reply 7

Super199

Original post by toonervoustotalk

I got 55 marks out of 75 in the jan 05 paper.

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20 marks worth of silly mistakes? I'm not sure what your definition of "silly mistakes" is.

Reply 8

toonervoustotalk

Original post by Super199

20 marks worth of silly mistakes? I'm not sure what your definition of "silly mistakes" is.

I think i lost at leaat 10 marks due to silly mistakes. Not all the 20. Lol.

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Reply 9

Marcum

Oh Jesus I know what you mean. I often find myself in the position where I have about 40 minutes left after completing a Core 1/2 past paper and when I go to mark it I have dropped on average 4-6 marks through careless errors such as writing a plus instead of a minus, a 3 where I have written a 2 in a previous line of calculation or just a slip in calculation. I think the best thing to do it just use the whole time you have got.

Reply 10

Maura123

I also have this problem when doing maths papers. Experienced it last year when doing as and again this year in a2. However I find that by practising past papers I am able to slowly get rid of the silly mistakes so that by the time it gets to the exam I'm no longer losing ten marks to them but perhaps one or two. I think the more you practise the more confident you get with the actual question so the more you can focus on making sure you don't make those mistakes. But it is also important to read the questions really carefully and I think also to not rush and to avoid doing papers when you're tired. If you do this you will probably make more mistakes which will knock your confidence and it's really important to be confident when doing maths :smile:

hope this helps and good luck!!

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Reply 11

Petick

This is the same sort of thing that's been happening to me, silly mistakes or just not reading the question. Putting a - instead of + is my biggest downfall, and it's the most annoying thing!

As others have said, just take your time (a method I'll be adopting tomorrow) and if you finish early check everything. I think I asked for spare paper and redid the majority of my GCSE Maths Calculator exam when I finished last year. Unfortunately, sleeping for the rest of the exam wont help your grade go up :frown:

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Something which occasionally catches me out is not changing the mode on the calculator over to radians/degrees on the C2 paper, so I physically have to write at the top of the important questions which mode I should be using.

Jon

Reply 12

PricklyPorcupine

Read the question slowly and highlight any key words if you are prone to not noticing them. Also, don't read half the question and answer, read the whole thing. I have done this a few times and it was very annoying