Is your child struggling to get consistent marks in their OC or Selective trial tests? Here are our top tips for minimising careless mistakes and smashing the Mathematical Reasoning section.

Write out your Working

• Make sure to write down all your working out rather than doing it in your head - without writing it down, students can easily make silly mistakes. This also makes it easier for students to retrace their steps and find mistakes when checking. By having it written down, you will be able to reread your train of thought instead of starting all over again.

Make sure you are on Schedule

• Unlike the Reading Test which has passages of different lengths, all the questions of the Mathematics test require roughly the same amount of time.

  • Therefore, it is useful to create a schedule for yourself. For example, if there are 40 minutes to complete 40 questions, each question should take under a minute. This way, you will easily be able to tell if you will have enough time to complete the exam.

• Do not spend too much time on one question - take a guess, mark the question and move on. If you have extra time at the end of the exam, go back to all the questions you have marked.

  • Spending too much time on a difficult question near the start may lead to you not having enough time to complete the test.

  • Remember that all questions are weighted equally!

Find the Best Approach

• Make sure that you are using the most efficient method for each question otherwise you will be wasting time and exposing yourself to careless mistakes!

• The Mathematical Reasoning section is multiple choice - for more time consuming and difficult questions, it is sometimes easier to work backwards from the answer via trial and error rather than jumping straight into the question.

  • The best way to do this is by testing a ‘middle’ answer (i.e. not the smallest and not the largest). You will be able to gauge whether you need to go higher or lower depending on the solution. By using this method, there will be no need to test all of the solutions and ultimately save you time.

Want to know more tips and tricks to help you ace your Mathematical Reasoning section? Contact us or claim a free trial today!

Published 31st July 2019, last edited 17th February 2022