As tutors, we often find that one of the hardest things to teach students in math is: how to avoid making careless mistakes!
Your Future Academy IP Math tutor in Singapore can help you understand concepts better, teach you ways to practise smarter, and even motivate you to appreciate the subject more. However, avoiding careless mistakes in math is something that you as a student need to do for yourself.
If you find yourself often making careless mistakes and feeling frustrated about losing marks you shouldn’t have, don’t despair just yet. Below, we suggest some ways you can try out in your next test or exam, and hopefully they’ll help you be more conscious and careful!
Read the entire question first
One of the most common reasons for careless mistakes is rushing through a problem without fully understanding it. To avoid this, take your time and read the problem carefully. We recommend that you read the entire question at least once through first, then read it a second time to underline/circle the important keywords. Then, and only then, should you begin to solve the problem.
Keep your workings neat
Messy handwriting and disorganised workings are a common cause of careless mistakes. Instead of sabotaging yourself with undecipherable writing, make the effort to write neatly and systematically. This way, it will be easier to refer back to your previous step and transfer the right numbers over to the next step.
Check your calculator input
While calculators can be helpful in math, they can also be a source of careless mistakes. Some students press the calculator so quickly without even looking at the screen. If you find yourself often making calculation mistakes, make it a point to look at your screen at what you have typed before pressing ‘enter’. When checking back your work, don’t just check the steps but re-type the equations into your calculator to ensure your calculations are accurate.
Check your answers
Teachers will tell you to ‘check your answers’ but it will surprise you how many students actually don’t know what it means to do that. We have mentioned checking your calculations by keying it into your calculator again, but there are other things you could check too. Here are some:
- Does your answer fulfil what the question is asking for?
- Does your answer make sense for the context of the question? (e.g. physical measurements like length and volume cannot be negative)
- Is your answer in the correct units and significant figures?
Learn from past mistakes
Careless mistakes can happen anywhere, and some students are just more prone to some types of mistakes than others. Look through your past tests and worksheets. Do you usually make the same types of mistakes? If yes, now you know that you should be more mindful of it. You could also devise your own method to avoid making that same mistake again in future.
If possible: stay calm
We know it’s tough to stay calm in an exam situation. But it’s true that students make more mistakes when they are feeling frantic, nervous, and rushed. If that is the root cause of your careless mistakes, you should be trying ways to manage your nerves during an exam. Try methods like deep breathing and see if that helps. Feeling sufficiently prepared for the exam is also one way to feel less panicked.
Don’t be complacent
Here’s some advice for those who think you already know everything and speed through every question with full confidence! It’s great to feel like you have understood everything and you can answer every question. But don’t take shortcuts that will cause you to lose marks. Reading the question carefully and checking your answers are still important steps.
Conclusion
There’s nothing more frustrating than realising you lost a chunk of marks to careless mistakes. But with the above advice, careless mistakes can be a thing of the past.
If you need help with any math concepts in secondary school or JC, you are most welcome to join us in one of our O Level Math tuition or JC Math tuition classes. Our tutor cannot help you eliminate careless mistakes, but we can share advice on the common mistakes students make and review your work for the common mistakes you make.