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Silly mistakes..

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Flomann
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Joined: 16 Jul 2015
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GMAT 1: 680 Q47 V37
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Silly mistakes.. [#permalink] New post   08 Dec 2015, 08:03
Hey guys!

First of all I want to say that I really appreciate the forum and the commitment of several users.

I will take the real thing on upcoming sunday.
My GMATPrep history:

1st: 490 (Q34/V23) with no practice at all
2nd: 700 (Q48/V38) after 2 1/2 months
3rd: 690 (Q44/V40) after 3 months (today)

I am targeting at the 700+ lvl with an emphasis on the quant (as I will apply for MSc in Finance programs).
The 48 from the second test would be satisfying enough.. but at todays test I made some silly mistakes. So I ended up with a 44.

Do you have any tips to avoid those mistakes? It's not about the concepts.. they work fine for me. I also use an error log and it shows that most mistakes consist of careless errors.


Best
Flomann
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BrentGMATPrepNow
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Re: Silly mistakes.. [#permalink] New post   08 Dec 2015, 09:50
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Flomann wrote:
The 48 from the second test would be satisfying enough.. but at todays test I made some silly mistakes. So I ended up with a 44.
Do you have any tips to avoid those mistakes? It's not about the concepts.. they work fine for me. I also use an error log and it shows that most mistakes consist of careless errors.


Hi Flomann,

If silly mistakes are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes. Some examples might include:
- sloppy writing causes a 7 to mysteriously turn into a 1
- you forget that a question is an EXCEPT question.
- you fail to notice crucial information such as x is an integer or w < 0.
- you calculate Pat’s current age when the question asked for the Pat’s age 5 years from now.
- and so on

Once you have identified the types of mistakes that YOU typically make, you will be able to spot situations/questions in which you're prone to making errors.

I write about this and other strategies in the following article: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/avoiding-silly-misteaks-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
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Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
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Re: Silly mistakes.. [#permalink] New post   08 Dec 2015, 11:07
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Hi Flomann,

Most silly mistakes occur because Test Takers don't take enough notes (or make other bad choices, such as doing math in their heads, writing down notes 'all over' the pad instead of one confined space, etc.). Assuming you took that CAT in a realistic fashion, you have the ability to score Q48, so you should be able to hit that level again (and potentially score higher). Remember that the GMAT will give you the score that you EARN, so you have to be in the mindset to do the work that is required to earn all of those points. Finance Programs are not interested in applicants who are prone to making silly mistakes.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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OptimusPrepJanielle
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Re: Silly mistakes.. [#permalink] New post   08 Dec 2015, 20:01
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Flomann wrote:
Hey guys!

First of all I want to say that I really appreciate the forum and the commitment of several users.

I will take the real thing on upcoming sunday.
My GMATPrep history:

1st: 490 (Q34/V23) with no practice at all
2nd: 700 (Q48/V38) after 2 1/2 months
3rd: 690 (Q44/V40) after 3 months (today)

I am targeting at the 700+ lvl with an emphasis on the quant (as I will apply for MSc in Finance programs).
The 48 from the second test would be satisfying enough.. but at todays test I made some silly mistakes. So I ended up with a 44.

Do you have any tips to avoid those mistakes? It's not about the concepts.. they work fine for me. I also use an error log and it shows that most mistakes consist of careless errors.


Best
Flomann


Silly mistakes are caused by a lot of factors:
1. Not reading the question properly/Missing certain keywords
2. Not reading the question fully and start solving
3. Not performing calculations on the paper
4. Not paying full attention to the question at hand.

These mistakes can easily be avoided by practicing under timed fashion.
After a bit of practice under the time constraint, you will feel the difference.
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
Re: Silly mistakes.. [#permalink]
08 Dec 2015, 20:01

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