Making stupid mistakes Forum

[foodlaw]

What do you do to mitigate stupid/silly mistakes? For PT 80, I made the most annoying mistakes on the second LR. I got #1,4, and 21(really easy MBT) wrong, bringing my -2 to -5 These were all incredibly easy, level 1 questions! UGH

OK, here's what happened:
For 1, I didn't read the wrong answer choice I chose critically.
For 4, I didn't read the argument with scrutiny and confused the concepts, thus choosing the wrong answer.
For 25, I drew the diagram right and everything, but I think the way I diagrammed [/unworthy] might have tripped be up.

I guess the takeaway for myself is to read with scrutiny. Is there anything else I can do so I never make this type of mistake again? Thanks!

[somethingElse]

meditate

[foodlaw]

meditate

Yup, I meditate everyday.

[Barack O'Drama]

You need to learn and practice reading/being more careful. Not sure what else you can do?

[Platopus]

.

[foodlaw]

There is no such thing as a stupid mistake. The test is designed to intentionally get you to mix up concepts and encourages you to read too quickly. Part of mastering the LSAT is realizing that the test is actively working against you. When you start to realize that there are no stupid mistakes, you'll actually make less.

Exactly! Which is why I'm look for advice on how to tackle this issue

[somethingElse]

meditate more and know for every question why the right answer is right and specifically why every wrong answer choice is wrong

[Platopus]

.

[Barack O'Drama]

http://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/stupid-mistakes

[somethingElse]

meditate more and know for every question why the right answer is right and specifically why every wrong answer choice is wrong

and do this during your timed PT (like I mean as you're going through a question, you should be crossing out the 4 wrong choices for a substantive reason every time and knowing why the right is right)

then if you get one wrong after BR really delve into that question and know why you got it wrong

also if you're going through a PT and let's say you know what the right answer is but you're not able to cross out all of the wrong ones definitively (maybe your scratched for time, idk) then do go back and cross those out during your BR

[JazzOne]

http://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/stupid-mistakes

Thanks for this. I am sharing it with one of my chemistry students who is so frustrated by careless errors on tests.

[Barack O'Drama]

http://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/stupid-mistakes

Thanks for this. I am sharing it with one of my chemistry students who is so frustrated by careless errors on tests.

Of course! I found this article invaluable for my harder math classes during undergrad. I'm sure it will be very helpful for your chem students too.

[Deardevil]

Some of my errors come from misreading or feeling so confident about an early answer choice that I do not read the remainder.
In the end, not rushing into things and managing your time well would be, at the very least, useful in minimizing certain mistakes.

[JazzOne]

Some of my errors come from misreading or feeling so confident about an early answer choice that I do not read the remainder.
In the end, not rushing into things and managing your time well would be, at the very least, useful in minimizing certain mistakes.

This is a very common phenomenon. I think it has to do with confirmation bias. I have a method for dealing with this. Whenever I like an answer choice, I INCREASE the threshold of certainty I need to eliminate later answers. In the past, when I liked an answer, I would kind of go on cruise control as I read the other answers. I wasn't really thinking about them critically. I was just passing over the text so I could confirm what I already thought I knew: the later answers are wrong. Now, when I like an answer, I spend MORE time analyzing the remaining answers so that I don't overlook another plausible answer.

[foodlaw]

Some of my errors come from misreading or feeling so confident about an early answer choice that I do not read the remainder.
In the end, not rushing into things and managing your time well would be, at the very least, useful in minimizing certain mistakes.

This is a very common phenomenon. I think it has to do with confirmation bias. I have a method for dealing with this. Whenever I like an answer choice, I INCREASE the threshold of certainty I need to eliminate later answers. In the past, when I liked an answer, I would kind of go on cruise control as I read the other answers. I wasn't really thinking about them critically. I was just passing over the text so I could confirm what I already thought I knew: the later answers are wrong. Now, when I like an answer, I spend MORE time analyzing the remaining answers so that I don't overlook another plausible answer.

This is really helpful!