i got my maths results back recently and i made so many silly mistakes/didn’t recognise simple concepts
i made sure i had 8 hours of sleep, i wasn’t that nervous before or during the test, did lots of practice questions and i usually do well for maths so i don’t know what wrong
i want the most unhinged way to train myself to not make silly mistakes cus at this rate i’m not even gonna teach my atar estimate
The actual fact is, silly mistakes arise from you going on autopilot. For a second you plug something into your calculator casually, shit, 9 instead of a 7, that’s one mark off.
so what it really means is to train your ability to remain intensely focused with your mind in constant working operation, completely present in the task at hand for extended periods of time. This reminds me of (just as an example) when I got 98.5/100 on my maths adv trial - with only half a mark of silly mistakes. One second I got comfortable , simply solving for x in a trig question, and I lost it all. Everything slipped. See the rigour you need to achieve to be the best- think of it not only as solving problems, but being alive and living within them, living within that sheet of paper which occupies it. Learn to be entirely present. That’s what will eliminate all silly mistakes. Practice past papers. Learn ahead. Get to the yearly/ trial exams early.
I remember when I was studying my mind would be in a constant internal monologue.
‘sub that in- does that look right?- yes, perfect that’s right , that’s correct’
This was incessant.
And- I would scan with the utmost precision BETWEEN lines of working, making sure they are concordant. You need to be razor sharp, in the mindset constantly that you EXPECT to make mistakes, so FIND them.
And lastly, if you have time at the end of the test, you MUST assume you made silly errors. Go through each line of working and scrutinise. Literally, pick it apart, squint your eyes and question.
that’s how it’s done . One number can change everything. A 7 and a 9 could be the difference between 1st and 2nd in the state.
it’s hard. It really is. But it’s practicable.
Good luck