Understanding word problems

The trick to understanding word problems is to simplify them as much as possible. Word problems often don’t require complex math skills and are just hard to understand because of how they are written. In this section, we’ll talk about how to make a word problem easier to understand and solve.

Annotating is effective if done in a way that matches the question

Most people annotate questions by circling and underlining. This is a fine approach for the other sections where the focus is more on the wording, but frankly, it’s not a very effective strategy for math questions.

For math questions, it’s better to take notes off to the side on the key information as you read it; this saves you from having to go back and re-read the question again to understand what you just marked up.

Write down key information

Have you ever read the same question multiple times and still not understood what it was saying? It happens to all of us, but we can fight against it.

As you read the question, take notes next to the problem, especially writing down any numbers that seem important! Extract all the necessary information so you can focus on the facts and ignore the distractions of the wording.

Connect what you have written

After you’ve pulled out all the facts of a word problem, it often becomes quite simple. You have puzzle pieces of information, and the question asks you to assemble them. Think of formulas and math topics that relate to the facts you’ve written down and use them to discover how it all fits together.