Turn mistakes into focused practice
Review Maths and Thinking Skills questions, practise writing in its own studio, and keep a record of learning. Each area shows what is supported and what its feedback means.
For parents: learning approach and sources
Short lessons and original tasks practise writing for a purpose and a reader, informed by NSW Selective's public requirements. These are MistakeBook teaching activities, not an official course.
AI feedback suggests what to practise in this piece. It is not an examiner-calibrated score. The 30-minute mode is a practice timer, not an official mock test.
- Purpose & audience
- Practise answering the task for its stated purpose and reader.
- Structure
- Practise organising and connecting ideas so the reader can follow the text.
- Developing ideas
- Practise developing ideas with relevant details and examples.
- Voice & word choice
- Practise choosing a voice and vocabulary that suit the purpose and reader.
- Sentence control
- Practise clear sentence relationships, grammar and punctuation.
- Editing & checking
- Check and improve your draft. This is a learning method, not a separate official marking category.
Original MistakeBook teaching examples and practice tasks, not official test questions or examiner-rated model answers. More than one response can work. Teaching methods draw on AERO and IES writing guidance. These six introductory lessons are not a complete high-score course and have not been independently teacher-reviewed or evaluated for Selective score improvement.
Lesson completion records practice. A growth badge records evidence in one piece, not lasting mastery. Independence is self-reported.
- NSW Department of Education · Selective High School Placement Test: public writing requirements and student guide
- Australian Education Research Organisation · AERO's writing instruction model
- Australian Education Research Organisation · Writing paragraphs
- Australian Education Research Organisation · Sentence combining
- Institute of Education Sciences / What Works Clearinghouse · Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers
Understand the skill to practise
See the skill behind a question, a checked explanation and possible reasons to discuss with your child. Maths support includes fractions, geometry and word problems. The Thinking Skills pilot covers argument flaws, synonyms and main ideas, with analysis and explanation for hidden assumptions.
Track practice over time
Track first answers and passed sets. Two different sets of three questions, each correct on the first try, meet the current mastery goal. Later spaced review is optional.
Checked practice for supported skills
For supported skills, practice candidates pass answer and structure checks before becoming available. AI-generated candidates receive an independent model review. If checks disagree, the question can be saved for review without publishing unreliable practice.
Parent-friendly progress insights
See results grouped by specific skill, including skills not yet practised. Follow a recommendation to an available practice set or review a saved explanation. Where there are too few answers, the page says more evidence is needed.
Private learning profile
Uploaded questions stay private and are used only for your child's personal learning analysis and practice tracking. MistakeBook does not create a public question bank from family uploads. Each account builds a private learning profile for one family.
One-question learning loop
Instead of overwhelming worksheets, MistakeBook focuses on one wrong question at a time to encourage deeper learning. This keeps each review session small, focused, and easier for parents to follow. It also helps children slow down and understand the reason behind a mistake.
How MistakeBook works
From one complete question to checked explanations, practice and progress.
Upload one wrong question
Choose Maths or Thinking Skills and upload one complete question you have permission to use, including its passage, options and diagram where relevant.
Check the question together
Review the extracted question, answer and explanation. Discuss the possible mistake with your child before practising.
Practise the same concept
Complete a small set of checked questions for the same skill when reliable practice is available.
Progress is tracked over time
Parents can see first-answer accuracy, skill-level learning status, review recommendations and when more evidence is needed.
A parent dashboard that shows what to do next
MistakeBook brings uploads, weak skills, recent questions, and progress insights into one simple parent view.
Illustrative learning example
Child profile
Chloe
Year 5 | Selective exam preparation
Next recommended action
Next focus: Fraction of a quantity
More answers to different questions will help show how Chloe is progressing.
Practice sets
2
First-answer accuracy
50%
Skills tracked
2
Questions analysed
2
Skills to revisit
Fraction of a quantity
First-answer accuracy: 67%
Sample representativeness
First-answer accuracy: 33%
Recent wrong questions
Finding three quarters of a quantity
Fraction of a quantityUsing a group of friends to represent a whole school
Sample representativenessStart with one question
Upload a Maths or supported Thinking Skills question to review its explanation and see whether checked practice is available.
What you can use today
Maths
Analyse supported maths questions, review the answer and practise the same skill when exercises pass our checks.
Selected Thinking Skills
Argument flaws, synonyms and main ideas can have checked practice. Hidden assumptions currently have analysis and explanation only. Spatial puzzles are not supported yet.
Writing foundations
Write or import an essay, practise six foundational skills, and keep drafts and AI feedback. Activities use general writing methods in the context of public NSW Selective requirements. Examples are original, not examiner-rated model answers.
Questions with diagrams
For supported diagram questions, practice may use a self-contained text question testing the same skill. We do not promise a new diagram for every upload.
Practice availability depends on the question and our checks. AI can still make mistakes, so review the answer and explanation together.
Use MistakeBook alongside your exam preparation. It is not a complete exam course or a score prediction.