SAT error log

How to use it

1. Write the entry the same day you miss the question, while you still remember which step you took.
2. Keep the reasoning column in your own words. Copying an explanation hides the error that cost the point.
3. Redo the question 48 hours later with the explanation closed, then fill in the last column.
4. Before a practice test, read your last ten entries and name the error type that keeps repeating.

A worked example

This is a worked example from an original 1600.now worksheet question: the reasoning column names the exact step that went wrong, and the method column carries a check that would have caught it.

Question and source

1600.now linear equations worksheet, question 1

Skill tested

Linear equations in one variable

What I did

After expanding to $6x-15=21$, I moved $-15$ to the other side without changing its sign. I wrote $6x=21-15$ and got $x=1$.

Correct method and check

Undo the subtraction before dividing: $6x-15=21$ becomes $6x=36$, so $x=6$. Substitute into the original equation to check: $3(2(6)-5)=21$.

Redo date and outcome

Two days later: $x=6$. I added 15 to both sides and checked the answer in the original equation.

What each entry asks for

Question and source

Number the question and write where it came from: module, practice test, or worksheet.

Skill tested

Name the skill, not the topic.

What I did

The step where your work left the correct path.

Correct method and check

One sentence for the method and one check that would catch the error.

Redo date and outcome

Redo it later, then record the result and what changed.

Printing

Page 1 carries the instructions and the completed example. Pages 2–3 are blank entries: each page has 2 boxes, and every box has a line for the question and source, the skill, two lines for what you did, three lines for the corrected method and its check, and a line for the redo date and outcome.

Print at actual size. The layout is grayscale and uses light rules so handwriting stays readable.