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iii) Reread question if you cannot do a) and b) a) 90% of the time your immediate answer is correct
If you do not see a response that you expected, then • What to Do If More Than One Answer
consider some of the following strategies to eliminate Seems Correct
responses that are probably wrong.
If you're utterly stumped by a question, here are
some strategies to help you narrow the field and
select the correct answer:
a. Ask yourself whether the answer you're time is of the essence accuracy is even more
considering completely addresses the question. important.
If the test answer is only partly true or is true
only under certain narrow conditions, then it's
probably not the right answer. If you have to
make a significant assumption in order for the • Process of elimination.
answer to be true, ask yourself whether this
assumption is obvious enough that the
instructor would expect everyone to make it. If
not, dump the answer overboard. Sometimes the best method of attack is to get rid
b. If you think an item is a trick question, of answer choices that you definitely know are
think again. Very few instructors would ever wrong. You may very well whittle your choices
write a question intended to be deceptive. If down to the correct answer.
you suspect that a question is a trick item,
make sure you're not reading too much into
the question, and try to avoid imagining
detailed scenarios in which the answer could • By extension, don't ignore facts.
be true. In most cases, "trick questions" are
only tricky because they're not taken at face
value.
c. If, after your very best effort, you cannot The correct answer choice for a multiple choice
choose between two alternatives, try vividly question will include any relevant facts from the
imagining each one as the correct answer. If question. Eliminate answer choices that skew
you are like most people, you will often "feel" those facts.
that one of the answers is wrong. Trust this
feeling -- research suggests that feelings are
frequently accessible even when recall is poor
(e.g., we can still know how we feel about a • Don't assume it's a trick question.
person even if we can't remember the person's
name). Although this tip is not infallible, many
students find it useful.
• Don't skip the directions. Quite frequently the answer that first stands out
to you is the correct answer. If you have properly
prepared for the exam all the right answers are in
your head so they should stick out more among
Silly mistakes are often the result of not the wrong answer choices.
thoroughly reading the directions for an exam.
One word in the directions can change what you
will be looking for in the answer choices. While
questions first, hard questions after method.
Ideally you should be able to finish the easy
questions in less than the average time leaving
you extra time to handle the hard questions.
e) Always have a sense of how many questions you
have to tackle and how long you have to do it in.
Take a quick flip through the pages of your exam
and note how much time you have left (wearing a
watch on test day is a good idea). One eye on the
clock isn't meant to stress you out; it just ensures
that you have enough time to get through
everything.
• Time Management f) Take the time to check your work before you
a) Try to leave some time to go over your hand in the answer sheet.
answers again before the end, paying g) Effective time management leads to a
particular attention to questions that you have successful testing experience
found difficult. At the same time you can check
that you have filled in your responses correctly.
b) However, repeated review of your answers
In addition to the general advice
may in the end be counter-productive. Answers
that you were originally confident were given earlier, you might find the
`absolutely correct' often look rather less following hints helpful.
convincing at a second, third or fourth perusal.
In this situation first thoughts are usually best, • Miscalculations.
and too critical a revision might cause
confusion. Do not start counting up the number of responses
c) If you cannot answer a question within a you think that you have got `right', calculating a
minute or less, skip it and plan to come back score and then (if you think your score is `safe')
later. Transfer all responses to the answer indicating `don't know' for all the remaining items.
sheet at the same time, once you have marked This procedure is .very dangerous, because:
all questions on your exam. (If you try to do a) Some of the answers you are `certain' of
several things at once, you increase the will surely be wrong so you will not have scored
probability of making a mistake. Saving the as highly as you think you have. Candidates
relatively mindless job of filling in bubbles until who adopt this approach tend to be uncritical
the last step reduces the probability of making and superficial. Remember that if items that
silly errors.) you are `confident' you have answered
correctly are, in fact, wrong, you will not only
d) Pacing. As the test is timed you should
fail to gain those marks but will lose them.
determine on average how much time you
Thus, if you think that you have answered 80
have per question. Then follow the easy
out of 150 items correctly yet have actually
been wrong in as few as 10 instances (probably • Grand Finale
an underestimate); you will end up with only
70 marks. Rather than wasting your time doing
No amount of strategy can compensate for
misleading sums, you will be better off trying
poor study habits, understanding the structure
to work out the answers about which you were
of a multiple-choice test and using good test-
initially uncertain.
taking techniques can only improve your
performance. Combining these techniques with
b) In any MCQ examination, you must try to
preparation and knowledge of the subject is the
score as high a mark as possible.
best route to academic success.
• Take a Break