How to stop making stupid mistakes?

[78222]

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I've noticed that on nearly every exam I take there are 1 or 2 questions missed because I do something stupid like misread the question or don't notice an important piece of information (i.e. a drug they are on). Anyone have any techniques to avoid this?

 

[blz]

If you're making a lot of stupid mistakes you have to go back to the questions and ask yourself WHY you made the mistake. Once you identify why, you have to ask yourself "what can I do next time to not make this same mistake?" This could be as easy as making the conscious effort to read more carefully or highlight important words. Write down your strategies on a piece of paper and review your strategies just like study materials.

Identifying that you're making dumb mistakes isn't going to help if you're not making a conscious effort to understand why you made them and what you can do next time to make sure it doens't happen again.

 

[78222]

If you're making a lot of stupid mistakes you have to go back to the questions and ask yourself WHY you made the mistake. Once you identify why, you have to ask yourself "what can I do next time to not make this same mistake?" This could be as easy as making the conscious effort to read more carefully or highlight important words. Write down your strategies on a piece of paper and review your strategies just like study materials.

Identifying that you're making dumb mistakes isn't going to help if you're not making a conscious effort to understand why you made them and what you can do next time to make sure it doens't happen again.

It seems like my biggest problem is rushing through questions that seem easier so I can have time at the end to review marked questions. I am pretty slow on UW because some of the questions require a lot of thinking. I haven't figured out a way to speed up which is costing me points since I dont have time to review everything at the end (and make stupid mistakes trying to quickly get through the ones I know).

 

[lankysudanese]

you won't be rushed for time in the real test (compared to UW). so you can relax and give each question due attention.

 

[blz]

It seems like my biggest problem is rushing through questions that seem easier so I can have time at the end to review marked questions. I am pretty slow on UW because some of the questions require a lot of thinking. I haven't figured out a way to speed up which is costing me points since I dont have time to review everything at the end (and make stupid mistakes trying to quickly get through the ones I know).

Try this strategy (this is what I do):

For easy questions SLOW DOWN.

For hard, long questions SPEED UP.

The point of this strategy is to ensure you get your easy questions and to make sure you don't spend too much time on long hard questions (most of which you'll get wrong anyways because they are hard). When I took my test, if I was confronted with a question that seemed too hard or long, I always almost skipped them right away. I slowed down a bit for the easy questions to make sure I got them. Usually what happens is that you get to the end of the block and you have anywhere from 10-20mins left (because you skipped hard/long questions). So what ends up happening is that I'll have all that extra time to concentrate on those hard questions (usually around 5 that I skipped immediately). Using this aggressive strategy is how you minimize mistakes and give yourself the best opportunity to answer hard questions. Just remmeber that hard questions are hard for a reason. You can spend a lot of time on them and you'll probably get them wrong anyways. Save them for the end. Practice this method and see how it works for you. Getting really high scores comes down to test taking technique which is an area that students forget to study.

 

[lord_jeebus]

For easy questions SLOW DOWN.

For hard, long questions SPEED UP.

I do this too.

 

[lankysudanese]

Getting really high scores comes down to test taking technique which is an area that students forget to study.

i don't think that test taking techniques are skills which can be studied, but they can definitely be learned (and honed) through trial-and-error, especially since different techniques work for different people.
I, for one, couldn't just wizz past a difficult question without at least having read it carefully, considered each answer option, and jotted something indicating my "initial hunch". this made it easier for me to pick up from where I had left off of, when i returned to that question.

 

[78222]

Try this strategy (this is what I do):

For easy questions SLOW DOWN.

For hard, long questions SPEED UP.

The point of this strategy is to ensure you get your easy questions and to make sure you don't spend too much time on long hard questions (most of which you'll get wrong anyways because they are hard). When I took my test, if I was confronted with a question that seemed too hard or long, I always almost skipped them right away. I slowed down a bit for the easy questions to make sure I got them. Usually what happens is that you get to the end of the block and you have anywhere from 10-20mins left (because you skipped hard/long questions). So what ends up happening is that I'll have all that extra time to concentrate on those hard questions (usually around 5 that I skipped immediately). Using this aggressive strategy is how you minimize mistakes and give yourself the best opportunity to answer hard questions. Just remmeber that hard questions are hard for a reason. You can spend a lot of time on them and you'll probably get them wrong anyways. Save them for the end. Practice this method and see how it works for you. Getting really high scores comes down to test taking technique which is an area that students forget to study.

Thanks, that sounds like a great strategy - I'll start trying it today.

 

[underthebridge]

blz couldn't have said it better. Whenever taking a test, always answer the easy ones first and leave the hard ones for the end. This ensures that you at least get the points for the things you know well...

 

[ROBINHO]

Interesting. I have similar problems. for every block there are at least 3-5 questions that I shd have got. Probably becos I missed a key word or didn't finis looking at the other answer options.

My main worry is that I am sort of jinxed when it comes to standard. tests.
No Luck for me. When I am able to narrow my options down to 2 and there is no more criteria to use....my guess ends up being the wrong option. hahaha
Anybody feels the same way???
Any strat???

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Interesting. I have similar problems. for every block there are at least 3-5 questions that I shd have got. Probably becos I missed a key word or didn't finis looking at the other answer options.

My main worry is that I am sort of jinxed when it comes to standard. tests.
No Luck for me. When I am able to narrow my options down to 2 and there is no more criteria to use....my guess ends up being the wrong option. hahaha
Anybody feels the same way???
Any strat???

more reliable coin obviously

 

[Blesbok]

Interesting. I have similar problems. for every block there are at least 3-5 questions that I shd have got. Probably becos I missed a key word or didn't finis looking at the other answer options.

My main worry is that I am sort of jinxed when it comes to standard. tests.
No Luck for me. When I am able to narrow my options down to 2 and there is no more criteria to use....my guess ends up being the wrong option. hahaha
Anybody feels the same way???
Any strat???

Pick the other one? 😕

 

[PenguinHead]

Pick the other one? 😕

My exact thoughts

The other day my 2 friends and I were working old test questions. We came to a difficult one and each felt that a different answer choice was right. Among us, we picked choices A, B, C, and E (I picked two choices)

Of course D was the right answer. 😕

 

[blz]

My exact thoughts

The other day my 2 friends and I were working old test questions. We came to a difficult one and each felt that a different answer choice was right. Among us, we picked choices A, B, C, and E (I picked two choices)

Of course D was the right answer. 😕

underline the word EXCEPT when you see it in a question. lol

 

[PenguinHead]

underline the word EXCEPT when you see it in a question. lol

Oh I've definitely made that mistake before. 🙂 I don't even think this was one of those questions... which makes it even worse. We actually understood the question and picked all the wrong choices. 😉

 

[RedSoxSuck]

bump

 

[alternatego]

I find it helpful to use the underline function. I've used it on every NBME I've taken so far and it helps me keep my mind focused on the key aspects of the question. And the cross out function is also very useful.