<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>GMAT Errors – GMAT</title> <atom:link href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/tag/gmat-errors/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat</link> <description>GMAT Prep Course, Best GMAT Class & Study Books | Manhattan Prep GMAT</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:55:07 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2</generator> <item> <title>The GMAT Careless Error Blues (Part 1 of 2)</title> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/the-gmat-careless-error-blues-part-1-of-2/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Emily Madan]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2016 16:38:56 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Algebra]]></category> <category><![CDATA[For Current Studiers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Prep]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Strategies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[How to Study]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Quant]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Algebraic Errors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arithmetic Errors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[error log]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Errors]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/?p=11702</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. You know the concept, the setup, the steps. You have equations ready and a prowess with algebra. You solve the problem and come up with […]</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/the-gmat-careless-error-blues-part-1-of-2/">The GMAT Careless Error Blues (Part 1 of 2)</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-11732" src="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/07/7-12-16-blog-5-1-actual.png" alt="Manhattan Prep GMAT Blog - The GMAT Careless Error Blues (Part 1 of 2) by Emily Madan" width="676" height="264" srcset="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/07/7-12-16-blog-5-1-actual.png 676w, https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/07/7-12-16-blog-5-1-actual-300x117.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px" />Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Complete%20Courses%20Plug&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog">Check out our upcoming courses here</a>.</em></strong></p> <hr /> <p>You know the concept, the setup, the steps. You have equations ready and a prowess with algebra. You solve the problem and come up with what is certainly the correct answer, yet you quickly find that answer is not one of the answer choices. You, my friend, are in danger of having just committed a careless error.<span id="more-11702"></span></p> <p>If I can convince you of one thing in this post, it should be that careless errors are the worst named type of error. Did you really make that mistake because you didn’t care enough? If the GMAT were more important to you, your accuracy would increase? I doubt it. Yet students constantly look at a careless error and respond with a comment like “That was silly. I won’t do that again.” Care about this test as much as you want, telling yourself not to do something again has almost no impact on whether you will do it again or not.</p> <p>But how do you avoid falling in the careless error trap? You can’t learn your way around it. You can’t check every single computation you ever do.</p> <p>The solution is to employ strategies that target your particular brand of careless error.</p> <p>Before we go through what those strategies are, you should have a method for determining where the mistakes are coming from. Not all careless errors are created equal. The best method I’ve found for pinning down a weakness is to keep an error log. Check back soon for a post dedicated to how to create an error log, but in the meantime, for every problem you miss, explain where the mistake came from (why you made it) and what you will do to correct that mistake in the future. This post is going to focus on that final component: What corrective measures will you take.</p> <p>Each type of careless error has its own solution(s), so let’s tackle the top five types.</p> <p><strong>1. Arithmetic Errors</strong></p> <p>This is the brand of careless errors that I most had to overcome when I was studying for the GMAT. Arithmetic errors occur when you make mistakes while combining numbers. The equations and strategy may be fine, but at some point you’ll compute 4 * 7 to be 26. This is definitely going to impact your accuracy on problem solving (though fortunately, it’s not a huge hindrance on data sufficiency).</p> <p>If you’re seeing this error pop up with small number computations, my first suggestion would be to make flashcards drilling all the basic multiplication tables. I felt like a fool pulling out my cards that said “7 * 6 = ?,” but after a few weeks, I could automatically multiply and divide any number up through 12. This also let me make quick checks to my math such as:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">7 * 6 = 40, right? 40 / 6 = not 7 — I made a mistake. Try again</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">7 * 6 = 42, right? 42 / 6 = 7 — Ok, got it.</p> <p>For larger numbers, writing is your friend. Don’t be afraid to write out long division and multiplication. It’s better to write more and increase your accuracy. You can also look for ways to make the multiplication easier. For example:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">4,634 * 99 = ?</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Well, 99 = (100-1), which are much easier numbers than 99. Let’s substitute</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">4,634 * (100 – 1) = 463,400 – 4,634 = 458,766</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Did I make a mistake on the subtraction? Let’s check:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">458, 766 + 4,634 = 463,400 Looks good.</p> <p>The same trick works when multiplying or dividing by something like 5 (5, 50, 500, 0.5 ….)</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">4,634 * 50 = ?</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Well, 50 = (100/2), which are again easier numbers. Substitute:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">4,634 * (100 / 2) = (463,400 / 2) = 231,700</p> <p>The trick here is changing numbers into multiples of ten and small numbers so the arithmetic is much easier than it otherwise would be.</p> <p>I’d also recommend practicing with estimation for two purposes. First, you can sometimes just estimate the answer and avoid arithmetic entirely. Second, you can check that your arithmetic is in the ballpark. If your estimate says the number will be about 1,000, and you calculate a number that’s about 10,000, you can be pretty confident you made a mistake.</p> <p><strong>2. Algebraic Errors</strong></p> <p>Algebraic errors occur when there are mistakes manipulating the equations. For example, you may be solving “3x + 2z -5y = 54 +3z” and make the mistake of simplifying that to “3x + 5z – 5y = 54. These mistakes can crop up when you’re working with fractions, negatives, variables, exponents, or any number of problem areas. You may not fall prey to this error in all of these areas (or you may fall prey to it in an entirely different area), so see if you can narrow down your error type for a more focused approach.</p> <p>Regardless of where this error happens, however, you can employ a similar fix. The easiest way to overcome algebraic errors is to write down intermediate steps. Take the example I gave above:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"> 3x + 2z -5y = 54 +3z</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">write: <u> -3z -3z</u></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"> 3x – z – 5y = 54</p> <p>Because you wrote out what you were doing, it much harder to accidently complete the wrong function.</p> <p>These solutions are far more effective in specific circumstances. If you’re often missing a question type in a certain content area, check to see whether you don’t know the content, or whether it’s just your area for algebraic mistakes. One of the biggest content areas which people make algebraic careless errors in is exponents.</p> <p>Once you nail down where the mistake is being made and how you’ll correct it, I’d also suggest practicing this after you review a Data Sufficiency question. For the most part, you’re not solving these to completion (unless there’s a reason to) so you can go back and use it as a practice problem for arithmetic/algebra practice.</p> <p>Next time, we’ll wrap up with two other types of careless errors and their solution, but until then, keep a log of where you’re making careless errors. It’s best to catch these in areas where you already know the content so you’re not confusing content mistakes with careless errors, so try some easier problems or some of the problems in our <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/store/strategy-guides/foundations-of-gmat-math/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=Foundations%20of%20GMAT%20Math%20Plug&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog" target="_blank">Foundations of Math book</a> and question banks. ?</p> <hr /> <p><em><strong>Of course, the most in-depth way to learn the ins-and-outs of the GMAT is to <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Complete%20Courses%20Plug&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog">take a complete course</a> with one of our master instructors. You can try out any first session for free! No strings attached. We promise.</strong></em></p> <hr /> <p><em><strong><a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/emily-madan/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Blog%20Emily%20Madan%20Instructor%20Bio&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog" target="_blank"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-10901 size-thumbnail" title="Emily Madan Manhattan Prep GMAT Instructor" src="//d27gmszdzgfpo3.cloudfront.net/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/01/emily-madan-150x150.png" alt="Emily Madan Manhattan Prep GMAT Instructor" width="150" height="150" /></a></strong></em><em><strong><a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/emily-madan/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Blog%20Emily%20Madan%20Instructor%20Bio&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog" target="_blank">Emily Madan</a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Philadelphia. Having scored in the 99th percentile of the GMAT (770) and LSAT (177), Emily is committed to helping others achieve their full potential. In the classroom, she loves bringing concepts to life and her greatest thrill is that moment when a complex topic suddenly becomes clear to her students. <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Blog%20Emily%20Madan%20Upcoming%20Courses&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog#instructor/344">Check out Emily’s upcoming GMAT courses here</a>. Your first class is always free!</strong></em></p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/the-gmat-careless-error-blues-part-1-of-2/">The GMAT Careless Error Blues (Part 1 of 2)</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>