preventing careless mistakes Forum

[lawschoolplease1]

I noticed that I tend to get reaaaallly simple things wrong when i PT.
Ill normally get -2/LR, but they're usually around the first 10.
I take it that it's because i'm rushing to get through.
(I finish just at the 35 minute mark.)
At the start of every PT,I tell myself to read more carefully, but it's evidently not working.
How do you guys address this when you are practicing?
I know we can all make mistakes, but these mistakes are adding up!

[Daily_Double]

It's pretty simple really. Or at least it sounds simple, training yourself to do it consistently is a bit more difficult since you're under timed conditions and all. But if you have a reason, a good reason, for each answer you select these errors will decrease in number. I've been doing this for a while, and it sounds like common sense, I know, but usually I know after selecting an answer that this answer is the credited response. Logically there is only one good answer, and you if you only select answers which you can support with valid reasoning then you should choose the incorrect answer less often. And importantly, you should also only eliminate answers if you have a good reason for eliminating them.

Doing this also makes your reviews more effective, since for each answer that you eliminate you will be able to tell yourself, "This is why I eliminated this," or "This is why I selected this," then you should find out why your reason for selecting or eliminating an answer was faulty.

[lawschoolplease1]

thanks man. i'll try that out next time.

to be honest, i dont even know what i do when i start that clock. i just go autopilot. maybe i'm spacing out too much.

[bp shinners]

Another thing to do is to start circling the small-but-important words that are easy to gloss over. Most stupid mistakes come from skimming over a "can", "some", "not", or similar word. If you get in the habit of circling them, your brain will automatically start lending them more importance.

[Gamine]

I have the same problem and after thinking about it I think it may be down to not reading closely enough. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to misread a question stem. I was drilling Strengthen questions and Principle Support questions from the Cambridge packs and I realised that both of these had a question with the same stimulus!!! It is very important to read the question stem carefully so that you understand exactly what the task is because what may be the correct answer for one question type would not necessarily be correct for another and if you've misinterpreted what you're supposed to do because of careless reading then you could be missing easy questions.

[Bobson]

I have the same problem and after thinking about it I think it may be down to not reading closely enough.

I've had a very similar problem too, except my group of missed questions is always at the end. I'll consistently get -0 to -2 in the first half of each section, then miss another 4-6 in the second half. The only thing I've been able to think of is maybe psyching myself out or losing focus by watching the time more closely toward the end of the 35 mins.

LG are the exception. I'll get -0 to -1 in the first two games, and basically bomb the next two games almost completely. Typical score in LG is 14/24. -_-

[bp shinners]

I'll consistently get -0 to -2 in the first half of each section, then miss another 4-6 in the second half. The only thing I've been able to think of is maybe psyching myself out or losing focus by watching the time more closely toward the end of the 35 mins.

It's also important to note that the second half of the section has questions of considerably higher difficulty than the first half. So while focus definitely plays a role in decreased performance as the section goes on, you're also going to lose accuracy because those questions are more difficult.

[Bobson]

I'll consistently get -0 to -2 in the first half of each section, then miss another 4-6 in the second half. The only thing I've been able to think of is maybe psyching myself out or losing focus by watching the time more closely toward the end of the 35 mins.

It's also important to note that the second half of the section has questions of considerably higher difficulty than the first half. So while focus definitely plays a role in decreased performance as the section goes on, you're also going to lose accuracy because those questions are more difficult.

Oh. I thought the difficulty was scattered randomly. And here I thought the problem was all in my head.

Well, I guess it is anyway.

[Clyde Frog]

The Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 3-1 down against the Golden State Warriors.

[MKX]

Mine usually come between 12-20. I'll get 3 to 4 wrong in a row between those questions. Not sure how or why.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

Mine usually come between 12-20. I'll get 3 to 4 wrong in a row between those questions. Not sure how or why.

That's where the most difficult questions usually are in LR.

[Br3v]

Another thing to do is to start circling the small-but-important words that are easy to gloss over. Most stupid mistakes come from skimming over a "can", "some", "not", or similar word. If you get in the habit of circling them, your brain will automatically start lending them more importance.

This is good advice

[Clyde Frog]

Mine usually come between 12-20. I'll get 3 to 4 wrong in a row between those questions. Not sure how or why.

Well they are generally the hardest questions. Is there a specific question type you're struggling with?