Understand the question
An error log is a short record of mistakes and what made them likely. It is useful when you repeatedly miss similar questions or feel unsure what to study next. The goal is not to collect evidence that you are bad at a subject. It is to identify a manageable next practice task.
For each selected mistake, record the question or situation, your answer, the correct explanation from a trusted source, and the point at which your reasoning went wrong. Distinguish an unfamiliar concept from a misread instruction, a calculation slip, or an answer remembered without understanding. These categories suggest different kinds of practice.
A practical way to evaluate it
Write one new question that requires the same idea in a different form. Attempt it later before reopening the explanation, then check and correct it. Research on retrieval practice supports making recall part of learning, but the practical design still depends on the subject. A procedure, a vocabulary item, and an argument need different kinds of questions and feedback.
Review the log periodically and retire entries you can now explain and use. Keep a few representative examples rather than copying every error indefinitely. If the same concept remains confusing, bring the example to a teacher or tutor and show where your reasoning stops. That is more actionable than saying that you do not understand anything. The log should direct attention toward the next useful step, not become another large collection of notes you never revisit.
Sources & further reading
- Roediger and Karpicke: Test-enhanced learning (original research)www.psychologicalscience.org