How to Avoid Silly Mistakes in Exams

Silly Mistakes are often frustrating and can dishearten you to a large extent. Imagine yourself in a situation that you know how to solve a question. You feel that you will get full marks for that particular question. However, you make a silly mistake and your answer is slightly different tan the actual answer. How do you feel now?

Frustrated, right?

Let us see how to avid such silly mistakes in your entrance, college, school and university exams. In entrance exams with negative marking, you cannot afford to do silly mistakes, especially the topics that you know very well about. You don’t want to lose marks even though you had studied for that particular topic very well.

Just like you study all different methods for an examination, let us go through different types of Silly Mistakes.

Noting Down the Wrong Values from the Question Paper

There is nothing more frustrating than starting to solve a question and the realizing that you copied the wrong values from the question paper. If you start Wring, you are definitely going to end wrong. So, if you could sort this problem first, a lot of your silly mistakes could be eliminated.

So, you need to go through the question at least twice. Check the question, Copy down the values, now again cross-check between the values given in your question paper with the ones that you have copied down. Further more, you should re-check the values from the question paper every time that you use a value in your calculation.

Note: These cross-verification should be done quickly and do not waste a lot of time in staring at the question.

Writing down the Wrong Formula.

Now, You have written the question properly, you know how to solve the question; however you end up messing up with the formula and your answer goes wrong. A classic example of a common silly mistake.

This is not just a memory issue, but an anxiety issue as well. When anxiety takes over your mind during an exam, you start doubting yourself. You get confused between different formulae and end up writing a wrong formula. And wrong formula will definitely give you a Wrong answer.

The best way to eliminate this silly mistake, is to memorize formulae and their applications thoroughly. You should be able to recollect formulas confidently even when in anxiety.

Simplification Errors

Simplification errors are those that you make while writing the steps while solving a sum. These mistakes are also difficult to spot, since they are mostly made midway in the sum.

Check the steps one after the other before moving to the next. Practicing questions is the best way to be avoid simplification errors. Being comfortable with simplification steps helps you to solve a question without putting much effort, thinking and also prevents silly mistakes.

Calculation Errors

These errors are very common. Even if you are allowed to use calculators, you do end up making calculation errors, due to wrong syntax entered.

To prevent calculation errors, you need to focus on the calculation in hand. It would be a waste of time to do check all the calculations again. So, you should be able to get the calculations correct, the very first time that you solve them.

Try this: Online Tool to improve Calculation Skills

Practice More

Practice is the single best solution to all silly mistakes. After all it is said that “Practice makes one perfect” and in the perfect world, there is no place for silly mistakes.

The more you practice today, the lesser energy or thinking, you will need during your examination.

Read More: The Power of Practice

Presence of Mind

Your presence of mind is going to be very important. Tips for having Presence of Mind :

1. Be in the present. Focus only at the job at hand.
2. Put more focus and energy in what you are doing.
3. Observe more.
4. Be aware of your present situation.

Controlled Stress Levels

Anxiety/Stress is the leading factor behind most silly mistakes made by students in an exam. Anxiety limits the functioning of your brain. Many a times, people take wrong, crazy decisions when anxious. This is something you don’t want to do in an examination.

It is very important to maintain your calm during an exam, regardless of how good or bad the paper is going. If the paper is going good, there is no reason to be anxious. If the paper is going bad, again there is no need to panic, since that will take you from 35% to 25% score. On the contrary, being calm and having a greater presence of mind can turn your score from 35% to 45%. Same holds true for all kinds of examinations – be it JEE or NEET or University Exams.

1. Be positive throughout the paper.
2. Don’t lose hope midway in an examination. You need to fight hard. The battle is only 2-3 hours long.
3. Keep your energy level high throughout the examination. This will guarantee you more presence of mind and positivity.
4. Read point no. 1,2,3 loudly again.