Exam strategy to improve your test writing.
There are some simple do’s and don’ts you must follow to make sure you get a better mark in your multiple choice section of your exam. Remember, these exams are designed to confuse only if you don’t know what you have studied. If you read the questions too quickly, you will add to the confusion and also lower your mark. So, slow down, it is not a race. Rushing will make it more likely that you will forget something or make simple mistakes when you know that material.
Before the exam
- Make sure you have studied the material. Take your time with your studying because your brain can only take in so much (refer to my study habits guide).
- On the exam day avoid talking with people who want to ask you questions or want to tell you everything they know. Don’t let these people confuse you!
- Have all your materials ready. Running around looking for pens and pencils at the last minute will not help you.
- Set up your exam desk. For biology you will need a penny and a dime for luck. Make sure it’s a dime is for the Bluenose (I was born in Lunenburg, home of the Bluenose).
When you get the exam
Put your name and other information on the exam. Don’t rush, all that knowledge in your head will not escape – rushing will disorganize it. If you want to, jot down some words on the scrap paper they provide.
Working through the multiple choice - this is the most important part!
Get scrap paper. You need this for the multiple choice. It is very important that you cover the answers as you read the question. Read the question and write the answer you think is possible on the scrap paper (try it!).
Your brain needs you to write things down for a multiple choice exam. Write all over your exam (not the bubble sheet), it helps with the thought process and can help you figure things out – we are all smarter than our first impulse (think about that one!).
Why do this? Because, reading the answers right after you read the question will confuse you (that is a proven fact). Don’t do that!!! Take your time and trust that your brain will help you figure out the problem. Be methodical – you have lots of time!
- Responses that use absolute words, such as "always" or "never" are less likely to be correct than ones that use conditional words like "usually" or "probably."
- "Funny" responses are usually wrong.
- "All of the above" is often a correct response. If you can verify that more than one of the other responses is probably correct, then choose "all of the above."
- "None of the above" is usually an incorrect response, but this is less reliable than the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by double negatives.
- Look for grammatical clues. If the stem ends with the indefinite article "an," for example, then the correct response probably begins with a vowel.
- The longest response is often the correct one, because the instructor tends to load it with qualifying adjectives or phrases.
- Look for verbal associations. A response that repeats key words that are in the stem is likely to be correct.
- If all else fails, choose response (b) or (c). The same one every time!