If you are in college you know that
finally, after all your hard work and sacrifice, the day of the test will
inevitably arrive. The following test taking strategies may improve your test
taking ability:
MAKE EFFICIENT USE OF YOUR
TIME.
Make sure you know exactly how much time your professor has
allocated for the test. Check periodically to see if you are keeping up. For
example, when half of your time is up make sure you are half way through your
test.
Do not waste time on difficult problems. If one of the
questions is confusing or you do not know the answer, circle it or put a star by
it and come back to it later.
Review your answers if you have time. When you review them
more slowly you may find that there is a better answer. TRY NOT
TO READ INTO THE TEST.
Sometimes people read into a question, think that some items
are trick questions, or too easy. Instead of it being too easy, it may be that
you studied effectively and remember the material well.FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS:
Anticipate the answer before you look at them.
Read over all of your options.
Eliminate highly implausible answers.
Some examiners give away answers in their tests. By answering
one question, you may be able to deduce the answer to another.
If you must guess, keep in mind the following tips for
multiple choice tests:
- Sometimes lengthy or highly specific answers will be the
correct answer.
- Be aware of words like "always", "never", "only", "must",
and "completely". These are usually the wrong answers since there are many
exceptions to rules. These are extreme words which are more than likely to be
the wrong choice.
TO CHANGE OR NOT
TO CHANGE YOUR ANSWER ON MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS.
The popular belief is that "your first hunch is your best
hunch." Several of our students feel that they should not go back and change
their answers. This popular belief is wrong. Research has shown that changes
from a wrong answer to a right answer outnumber changes that go from a right
answer to a wrong answer by a margin of approximately 3 to 1. Research has also
shown that changing answers improve students scores!
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