![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2018\/10\/why-youre-getting-gmat-problems-wrong-what-do-chelsey-cooley.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Right GMAT answers are all alike; every wrong answer is wrong in its own way.<\/span><\/p>\n With apologies to both Tolstoy and MPrep instructor <\/span>Ceilidh Erickson<\/span><\/a>, from whom I borrowed that analogy: let\u2019s have a chat about getting GMAT problems wrong. It\u2019s not just about careless errors and forgotten formulas!<\/span><\/p>\n The most obvious way of getting GMAT problems wrong is by not knowing something! If it\u2019s a Sentence Correction problem, for instance, maybe you just forgot the rule about <\/span>like<\/span><\/i> versus <\/span>as<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Luckily, this is the easiest type of error to fix. Figure out what you didn\u2019t know and learn it! You can even head these errors off at the pass with resources like instructor Patrick Tyrrell\u2019s <\/span>GMAT Quant need-to-knows<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The other obvious type of mistake is the <\/span>careless error<\/b>. Let\u2019s get a clear definition of what a careless error is. A careless error is a <\/span>simple mistake<\/b> that makes you miss a problem you <\/span>knew how to solve<\/b>. In other words, you had the right approach, and you knew everything you needed to know, but you zigged where you should have zagged. Often, a careless error involves writing or copying something incorrectly, messing up a simple math procedure, or solving for the wrong value.<\/span><\/p>\n Some of us are more plagued by careless errors than others (ask me how I feel about digit & decimal problems)! Reducing your careless errors to almost zero is an important part of <\/span>pushing your GMAT score past the 700 level<\/span><\/a>. It <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> be done\u2014<\/span>this article from our GRE blog<\/span><\/a> describes a fantastic method.<\/span><\/p>\n Careless GMAT errors can be tackled with the approach above. But, not every mistake is a careless error. If you got a problem wrong because you used the wrong approach, or because you didn\u2019t understand what it was telling you, that wasn\u2019t a careless error. So, what was it?<\/span><\/p>\n A lot of wrong answers come from <\/span>flailing<\/b>. You know, flailing\u2014like what little kids do when they\u2019re trying to learn to swim. When you go into a GMAT problem without a clear plan, and you start frantically trying out random ideas, flailing is what you\u2019re doing.<\/span><\/p>\n Flailing is different from a lack of knowledge. You might very well have known all of the facts and strategies, you just didn\u2019t use them correctly, or efficiently, or at the right point in the problem. Flailing is also different from a careless error, because when you flail, you <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> have the right approach to the problem! Your approach\u2014not just your handwriting or your addition skills\u2014is what needs to change.<\/span><\/p>\n Fix a flailing problem with a study technique called \u201cwhen I see this, do this.\u201d Every time you review a GMAT problem, break it down into two columns: what you <\/span>saw <\/b>in the problem (or what you were supposed to see), and what you <\/span>did about it<\/b> (or what you were supposed to do about it).<\/span><\/p>\n This article<\/span><\/a> walks through an example of the \u201cwhen I see this, do this\u201d technique. (It\u2019s from our GRE blog, but also applies to the GMAT.) If you know a lot of content, but you\u2019re still flailing when faced with real problems, you need to get better at <\/span>recognizing<\/b> what to do. That\u2019s what this study technique will help with.<\/span><\/p>\n You can also benefit from the technique if you didn\u2019t flail on a problem but you simply used the wrong rule or wrong strategy. Use it to train yourself to recognize <\/span>when<\/span><\/i> to use different rules or strategies, or when to look out for particular mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n A lot of getting GMAT problems wrong comes from <\/span>making assumptions<\/b>. Maybe you were solving a geometry problem and you assumed that a triangle was a special right triangle. Maybe you were solving a Reading Comprehension problem and you assumed that the author of the passage had a certain opinion she didn\u2019t actually express.<\/span><\/p>\n Assumptions are especially dangerous on <\/span>Data Sufficiency<\/span><\/a>, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension problems. In general, you can\u2019t assume anything while solving these problems, other than what\u2019s written there in the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n You can sometimes spot an assumption by looking for the place where your solution became simpler than the real solution. In Verbal, you\u2019ve found an assumption if you catch yourself thinking <\/span>Oh, I guess I figured that\u2026<\/span><\/i> Whenever you make an incorrect assumption, write it down in your notes! If you\u2019re making a lot of these, practice adding some extra skepticism to your approach.<\/span><\/p>\n You might also fall for a <\/span>trap<\/b> answer. Trap answers are wrong answers that are intentionally written to look right. It\u2019s possible to avoid trap answers, but you need to know why you\u2019re falling for them!<\/span><\/p>\n If you fall for a lot of traps, add these two columns to your <\/span>error log<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat looked good about the wrong answer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy did I eliminate the right answer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If you can answer both of those questions, you\u2019ve learned two things: a reason <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> to pick an answer in the future, and a reason <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> to eliminate an answer in the future. Keep a log of these learning opportunities and review it often!<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, keep a log of every one of your errors, including what type of error it was. Every error is an opportunity to learn something new about the GMAT, and something new about yourself as a test taker. Treasure your errors! Why not start an error log today? ?<\/span><\/p>\n Want more guidance from our GMAT gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free! We\u2019re not kidding.\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> Right GMAT answers are all alike; every wrong answer is wrong in its own way. With apologies to both Tolstoy and MPrep instructor Ceilidh Erickson, from whom I borrowed that analogy: let\u2019s have a chat about getting GMAT problems wrong. It\u2019s not just about careless errors and forgotten formulas!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[873,929,52871,930,2,8,9,10],"tags":[53626,178,53625],"yst_prominent_words":[53703,53709,53700,53708,53714,53705,53702,53699,53635,53716,53706,53701,53713,53704,53707,53712,53710,53682,53711,53715],"class_list":["post-16426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-current-studiers","category-gmat-prep","category-gmat-strategies","category-gmat-study-guide","category-how-to-study","category-quant-on-gmat","category-taking-the-gmat","category-verbal-on-gmat","tag-careless-errors","tag-error-log","tag-getting-gmat-problems-wrong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16426"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16465,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16426\/revisions\/16465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16426"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=16426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Obvious Ones<\/b><\/h4>\n
What a Careless GMAT Error Isn\u2019t<\/b><\/h4>\n
Traps and Assumptions<\/b><\/h4>\n
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\n![\"Chelsey](\"https:\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Chelsey")
<\/a>\u00a0is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170\/170 on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GMAT prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"