Avoid These Mistakes While Preparing for Class 7 Maths Olympiad

During the preparation, there are some mistakes you need to avoid in order to score well in the Olympiad exam. Avoid these mistakes:

• Do not overlook the syllabus. It is very common to overlook the syllabus. One might feel it is unnecessary to spend time on the syllabus. It is very common that one might hop directly on the preparation without looking at the syllabus. Not reading the syllabus is a blunder mistake. It is very important to first understand the syllabus and then start the preparation.
• Another important mistake is to directly start with the books and read the concepts. It is first important first to understand the pattern of the examination and the nature of questions. This will help you in building a strategy for your preparation. Students think that it is not important to go through the papers. These papers will provide you with the base for your preparation.
• One should never skip any topic or section. No topic should be left untouched. It is important to cover all the topics given in the syllabus. Even if you have studied the topic as a part of your school curriculum, do not ignore it thinking that it is done. Olympiads require a different level of preparation which is quite advanced in nature.
• Math is one subject that requires consistent practice. You need to be consistent with the amount of effort you are putting into your preparation. There should be regular practice sessions to keep the formulas in mind. You cannot go like studying for straight 10 hours one day and then not studying at all the other day. The study schedule should be one to which you can stick with consistency.
• Time management is the key to planning your strategy. Students often are not able to use their time effectively. Time management should be done keeping in mind the syllabus. What are the areas you need to work on or which area requires more hard work? You should divide your day judiciously in order to have an integrated preparation approach covering all the sections and topics.
• During the examination reading, the question is as important as answering it correctly. It is common to overlook the minute details which are there in the question. This mistake is quite common because one always feels the hurry to start solving the question. Do not feel overconfident after reading the question. Be careful with the questions and try to write them down or piece them together in your mind.
• Never ever skip the mock papers and the previous year’s papers. These are very important to analyze your preparation. It gives you a fair idea about how well you are prepared for the final day. This step will help you to get comfortable with the exam pressure and the questions. Students often focus on reading and practising and ignore this aspect. To complete your preparation this is very important. Never skip the mock papers. Always try and solve as many previous year’s papers as you can, for example, the previous year’s paper for IMO Class 7 Math 2015 is one which you can solve.
• Relying on printed notes is another mistake that one should avoid. Handwritten notes are important. You should always maintain one notebook which contains all the important formulas chapter-wise. It will be helpful for you during your revision time. Students often try to look for easily available printed notes.
• Avoid multiple sources. It is not important to read 10 books or refer to n number of sources. It is important to understand the concept. It is good to keep your resources simple. Also one should start with the NCERTs which is the most basic book and the app test one to gain a basic understanding of. Do not just directly go on to the advanced level books. First, start with the basics and then move towards the advanced ones.
• Never skip the practice part when preparing for the math Olympiad. Math is one subject where practising the questions is very important for conceptual clarity. Apart from theoretical understanding, it is important to practice questions. The crystal clarity will only come with the solving of questions.
• Another mistake which should be avoided is to spend too much time on one question. You might feel stuck on one question, in this situation, you must approach the question with a fresh mind. Do not waste time on one question.
• Do not neglect the Logical Reasoning section. It is important and a scoring section. Students ignore this section and just focus on the mathematical part. This should be avoided. Every section is important.
• Another common mistake is to not analyze your own results. See the pattern of the question paper which you are doing wrong. Try and figure out the areas in which you are lacking. See how well you managed your time. It is very common that the focus is just on the fact that how much one scored. An in-depth analysis is more important here.
• One should avoid doing calculations in mind. Always use pen and paper to calculate. This will help you in minimizing the small silly mistakes which one might commit during the exam.
• During the examination, don’t be in a hurry to start solving. First, have a look at the question paper. See which questions look easy and which are the difficult ones. Try and solve the complicated ones first so that you do not panic at the end when there is less time left.
• The last mistake is to panic if you are not able to solve some questions. Never panic during the examination. Have a good 8-hour sleep before your examination day. Keep yourself calm.

Avoiding these mistakes will ace up your preparation and increase your chances of success. Good luck to all.