Writing down DS questions

[wmomand]

Basic question - Is it a best practice to write down DS questions even though they are in front of you on the screen? I tend to use shorthand to summarize questions, but it still eats up time to do so.

I'd love some guidance on what the best practice is.

Thanks!

[StaceyKoprince]

As a general rule, I don't do any quant in my head - I write everything down. This habit came out of learning the hard way that I will make more careless mistakes when I try to do more in my head... and I've found that this is true of almost everyone.

Now, that doesn't mean I literally copy down everything on the screen - definitely not. If I can rephrase, simplify, use shorthand, then I do so.

If you happen to be among the fraction of a percentage of the population that can really do this stuff without writing it down AND without increasing the incidence of careless mistakes or taking more time than necessary, then go for it.

If you are looking to improve your score, though, then this is one of the areas that you should be examining.

Besides, it really doesn't take any extra time if you are writing while you're thinking - just don't stop moving that pen. :) Try it out.