here is the usage and explanation of the above
error log(as wriiten by bb, in qoutes
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just entering it if the link above does not work.......forgot to enter this info before(how silly of me
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"We often hear that the more we practice, the better we get. One reason why that's true is that as we practice, we make mistakes, and learn from them. So, it is often mistakes that help us learn, not the questions that we get right! The things that keep us from scoring high, can also help to score high if we know them.
If you catch yourself making same mistakes over and over again, I hope you realize that it is not good. For example, you may especially like the pickets problem from the Kaplan CD or the newspapers data sufficieny problem where you need to come up with 3 equations to answer the question. If this is true with you too, I recommend that you memorize the question that gives you trouble. Originally I had to drill a combination and a permutation problem because I had hard time coming up with an equation. Neverheless, if you can't get something right, memorize the solution, as good as you can, for the chances you will meet something like that will be quite high if you are aiming high, but who isn't?
Below you will find a tool that I have developed to keep track of the mistakes. I have kept records of my progress on scratches of paper that I regularly lost, so I relaly did not have any records, even though I kept them. This inefficiency started bothering me and eventually I came up with a spreadsheet. It is pretty self explainatory, but I will provide detailed instructions how to use the file. You will need the original Excel spreadsheet. Save it on your computer and open it. At the bottom there are 4 bookmarks: CR - Critical Reasoning, SC - Sentence Correction, RC - Reading Comprehension, and Math.
Let's go to math.This sheet combines both PS and DS. On top you have dates when a certain problem set was taken and on the left you have a list of mistakes (this is not full; you can create your own categories)
Each sheet has a list of dates that runs on top and a list of specific errors on the left. On the bottom and on the right you have statistics, which will help you to see trends. Two important things are Question Set# and Notes for cells of Total # of Q's (you will see the notes if you move your mouse over the cell). These two elements will help you to keep track of the exercises you were working on and question numbers that are troublemakers. This way, you can always come back after you finish with all the math and run a review and see if you can deal with the oldies. The cells that are filled with ORANGE have comments to them, move your mouse over them to read the comments.
You will see that ther eare some tracable trends to this person. Now she for sure knows that if she can improve Word Problems and Number Properties (whatever that is) she will score much better. By focusing on problematic areas rather than everything, you should be able to get results faster and arrange your studies in a more organized way.
!!! If you can improve the design or the layout of this spreadsheet and make it pretty, please send it to me so that we could all benefit from you artistic abilities. You will be given a credit.
Tips
If you are able to pinpoint some of the weaknesses, find problem sets that deal with them. If you don't have specifically targeted problem sets, make a few just by going over your GMAT books and picking problems. Make each set with no less than 15 and no more than 25 problems.
Another suggestion is to watch for position patterns. For instance, I used to make two errors in the first 5 CR questions, almost always. I can't give you a reasonable explanation why I did that, but I started checking my answers 2 or 3 times before moving on in the first 5 questions."
.........bb
thanx bb....... i am indebted to you..........