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One of the most important factors determining success in an entrance exam is knowing how to properly review your mistakes before the actual exam. Despite hours and hours of preparation, we still tend to make the same mistakes. It is because most students focus only on the correct answer when reviewing their tests - neglecting why the other options are wrong and overlooking their past errors.

Therefore, it is extremely significant to identify your mistakes, understand why they are made and rectify them. Let us explore the importance of reviewing mistakes and how they can help us boost our academic performance.

WHY REVIEWING MISTAKES IS IMPORTANT:

By reviewing and revisiting certain mistake patterns, you can:

1. Reinforce the way you learn and bridge the knowledge gaps
2. Recognize patterns and attempt familiar questions with ease
3. Manage time effectively and gain question interpretation skills.

The following strategies can help boost your entrance exam score by reviewing mistakes.

IDENTIFY THE TYPES OF MISTAKE:

During practice from different resources, we come across different types of mistakes and it is essential to identify and realize what type of mistake you are making.

Some of these mistakes are listed below:

• LACKING THE RIGHT RESOURCES

The question may be from a topic outside your syllabus. In this case, trace the source of the question and see which province’s curriculum it came from. Note down the extra points from that book either on your textbook or somewhere else for later revision.

• CONCEPTUAL MISTAKE

This stems from not fully understanding or grasping a certain topic. It can be rectified by revisiting that topic and by practicing similar questions and seeking explanations from good sources and mentors.

• MISINTERPRETING OR OVERLOOKING THE QUESTION

This happens when you do not read a question carefully or when you mistake it for something else, essentially misreading the requirement. Make sure you look for the keywords in the questions and understand what the demand of the question is and answer accordingly. Avoid making assumptions based on partial reading.

• CARELESS ERROR

This includes reading mistakes, calculating issues and even marking the wrong option on the OMR sheet. It can be rectified by properly reading the statement and taking the right amount of time to answer it. Slow down and double check your answer. Avoid answering without proper thinking.

• TIME MANAGEMENT ISSUE

Sometimes you are stuck on some question and it distracts you from the entire paper. Try to mark such questions and instead of wasting time thinking about the solution, move onto the next question. Answer the easy questions first and return to solve the difficult ones later. Solve timed tests for this purpose as they help with time management.

Remember that each mistake is an opportunity to learn and you do not need to overlook it, but rather rectify it in a way that not only improves your accuracy, but also helps you boost your score and improves your preparation.

UNDERSTAND WHY YOU MADE THE MISTAKE:

After solving a test, most students simply check the correct answers and neglect the questions they get right. Instead of just checking the correct answer, ask yourself:

Why is the correct option right and why are others wrong?

Instead of just noting the correct answer, analyze why it is correct and why the other options are incorrect. Compare the options and see what works and what does not. Were the options misleading? Were they irrelevant? Were they partially correct? Checking improves your ability to eliminate wrong options.

Why did I select this option? What was my thought process?

You might have tried to be logical with your answer, but still got it wrong. It might be due to a misunderstood detail in the question, reliance on assumptions, or due to skipping a step. Do not be rash when it comes to answering questions.

Where did I go wrong? How can I avoid this mistake in the future?

Try to identify the exact reason for the mistake. Was it due to a rushed decision, due to a miscalculation or a general gap in understanding and concept? By pinpointing the mistake, you can avoid it later on and prepare for success.

Based on the error, you might need to:

1. Pevisit and revise key concepts
2. practice similar questions
3. Slow down and double-check your performance

After reviewing your mistakes, you need to take action. Track them and try not to repeat them.

NOTE DOWN YOUR MISTAKES (and actually rectify them):

One of the best methods to learn from your mistakes is to note them down, focus on why they were made and learn from them. Write your mistakes in a separate journal, register or somewhere else. Create a dedicated space where you can easily track down your errors and reflect on them periodically. It can be done through the following ways:

• Writing down the question and highlight its key points:

Focusing on your initial answer can help you know what you got wrong and what you got right. Highlight the key points or words both in the question and the actual answer. This will help you to answer familiar questions more accurately and rapidly.

• Explain all the options (primarily the correct one):

While explaining all the options can be time consuming, you need to have at least a general understanding of all the options. Break down the reasoning behind each option and understand what key concept is utilized in answering the question. Write down the correct explanation.

• Identify the patterns in your mistakes:

Identify the frequency of different recurring mistakes while solving paper. This includes lack of understanding certain topics, irrelevant questions (which should be ignored), misreading, conversion mistakes, time management among a few others. Try to give them extra time, revisit the fundamentals of the topic and solve similar questions in such a way that you do not forget them easily.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Once you realize your mistake, it is time for you to take action. Challenge yourself after revising the concepts and try to solve the question again without looking at the right option. Use your insights and solve the problem differently and apply various strategies (whatever works for you.) If you get it right, congratulations. You have learned from your mistake which is a great thing. If you get it wrong, you need to re-evaluate your methods. Try to read from your notes or other resources, watch a lecture, ask for assistance from a mentor or reach out to a friend. Try to grasp the underlying concept and solve similar questions to strengthen your grip on the topic.

REINFORCE LEARNING WITH SIMILAR QUESTIONS

After solving a paper, review the questions you get wrong and actively go through and solve multiple similar questions to strengthen your knowledge of the topic. This can be done by:

• Identifying the core concept behind the question
• Solving at least 5-10 similar questions
• Analyzing the patterns in the questions

By doing so, you’ll become more confident in solving similar questions in the exam and it will help you to reinforce your understanding.

MANAGE TIME EFFECTIVELY

With the additional pressure of getting the answers wrong, you might be taking more time to answer them and making mistakes due to time management. It is crucial that you develop time management strategies to overcome this issue by:

• Practicing timed tests occasionally
• Setting time limits per question
• Attempting easier questions first
• Using good elimination techniques
• Reviewing your practice tests

By managing time, you remain efficient and calm under pressure, avoid unnecessary mistakes and gain control of the test.

Reviewing your mistakes is not only about getting to know your errors, it is about understanding and learning from them to refine your approach. It is an opportunity to learn from the challenges of MDCAT/NUMS/AKU and effectively improve and grow. Embrace your mistakes and utilize them to pave a road of success to reach your destination. Every mistake you fix today brings you one step closer to success tomorrow.

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