Every 8th grader preparing for the LGS — Turkey's national high school entrance exam taken in June of 8th grade — eventually notices the same reality: some topics cost more wrong answers than others. These topics are usually labelled "hard", but more often the problem is not their difficulty; it is the way students study them. A student who knows exactly where the marks are lost can invest study hours where they pay off most.
Below you will find the topics where Turkish students most frequently lose marks in the LGS, why these mistakes happen, and a correct study method for each one. The list reflects patterns that experienced teachers observe in nationwide practice-exam analyses, and it works as a checklist for building your own weak-topic list.
What costs marks in the LGS is not how hard a topic is, but the systematic mistakes students repeat in it.
Which Topics Cost the Most Marks in the LGS?
Here are the 7 topics where students most often make mistakes:
- Math: Square roots (kareköklü ifadeler). Simplifying radicals, operations with roots and approximate-value questions cause the most calculation errors. The usual cause: rules memorized without understanding the logic behind them.
- Math: Algebraic expressions and identities. Expanding identities and factoring trip students up when the question format changes. A typical error is applying memorized patterns such as the difference of squares before reading the question carefully.
- Turkish: Main idea and supporting ideas in reading passages. Attention fades in long texts, and students judge answer choices by their own assumptions instead of the passage. Reading-comprehension errors are the biggest single drain on Turkish scores.
- Science: Pressure (basınç). Questions comparing solid, liquid and gas pressure mix up concepts. Memorized formulas do not help when the exam asks for interpretation, and wrong answers pile up.
- Turkish: Verbal reasoning (sözel mantık). Table- and text-based logic questions punish slow readers under time pressure. These questions require speed-building techniques rather than being left to the very end.
- Math: Exponential expressions (üslü ifadeler). Negative exponents, scientific notation and ordering questions produce frequent order-of-operations errors — even students who know the topic lose points to carelessness.
- Science: Seasons and climate. The link between the angle of sunlight and the formation of seasons stays abstract for many students. Those who study without visualizing struggle on these questions.
How to Reduce Mistakes in These Topics
All seven topics share one trait: "memorize + solve lots of questions" does not work. The right approach has three steps:
- Build the logic first: Solving questions before understanding why a square-root rule works only reinforces wrong patterns. Learn each topic once with visual, concrete examples, then move to questions.
- Tag every mistake with its topic: Do not just copy wrong questions into a notebook — write the topic name and mistake type (knowledge/calculation/attention) next to each one. After two weeks, the notebook shows exactly which topics belong on your study list.
- Run a level-by-level revision round: Close each weak topic with easy and medium questions first, then LGS-style hard questions. Do not declare a topic "done" after one pass; verify it with a short test a week later.
Find Your Weak Topics with Practice-Exam Analysis
The most reliable way to discover which of these LGS mistake-prone topics apply to you personally is exam analysis. After every practice exam, group your wrong and blank answers by topic; if one topic keeps appearing for three exams in a row, it is at the top of your priority list. Never close an exam with "done" — give analysis at least as much time as the exam itself. An unanalyzed practice exam is like walking with a map you never look at.
Close Your Knowledge Gaps Faster with BenimRobot
Once you know which topics cost you marks, the only remaining task is plenty of correct practice in those topics. With BenimRobot's AI question generator you can create unlimited curriculum-aligned questions at any difficulty, from square roots to verbal reasoning. When a question stumps you, the AI solver walks through the solution step by step, and the optical answer-sheet reader turns your practice exams into topic-by-topic reports — so your weekly plan follows your real gaps, not your guesses.
FAQ: LGS Mistake Topics
Which topics are hardest on the LGS overall?
National statistics usually flag square roots in math and reading comprehension plus verbal reasoning in Turkish, but "hard" varies from student to student. The topic that produces the most errors in your own practice exams is the hardest topic for you. Rely on your personal exam analysis rather than general lists.
How do I find out which topics I keep getting wrong?
After every practice exam, enter your wrong and blank answers into a topic-by-topic table. If one topic appears for three exams in a row, it belongs at the top of your priority list. A single exam is not enough evidence; look for the common thread across at least three mocks to filter out one-off mistakes.
I keep making mistakes in one topic no matter what. What now?
Repeating the same method produces the same results — change your approach. Learn the topic from a different source, ask your teacher to explain it again, and split it into small parts, testing each part separately. Re-solve the mistakes from your notebook one week later to confirm the topic has truly stuck.
Conclusion: Build an Action Plan, Not Just a List
The topics that cost the most marks in the LGS differ from student to student; the seven above are your starting point. Take one practice exam today, compare your errors with this list, pick your own top three gaps and spend this week only on them. A student who studies with clear knowledge of his gaps raises his score with every exam — and that steady improvement is exactly what wins the LGS 2027.