Testmanship
Testmanship
Testmanship
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MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
• the objective is to 'recognize' the correct answer
• Underline the few key words in the question that
determine exactly what is being asked.
• Only look at the RIGHT answer - never peek at wrong
answers. You don’t want any memory of wrong answers.
• "All of the Above" is correct if at least two are correct, but
is not correct if one is clearly wrong.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
• Choose the most likely of the remaining answers, or what
you think you ‘recognize’.
• Longest answer is usually correct.
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What to Do if More Than One Answer Seems
Correct
• Ask yourself whether the answer
you’re considering completely
addresses the question. If the test
answer is only partly true or is true
only under certain narrow conditions,
then it’s probably not the right answer.
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What to Do if More Than One Answer Seems
Correct
• If you think an item is a trick question, think again. Very
few examiners would ever write a question intended to be
deceptive. If 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 be true. In most cases, “trick questions”
are only tricky because they’re not taken at face value.
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What to Do if More Than One Answer Seems
Correct
• If after your very best effort, you cannot choose between
two alternatives, try vividly imagining each one as the
correct answer. If you are like most people, you will often
“feel” that one of the answers is wrong. Trust this feeling.
Research suggests that feelings are frequently accessible
even when recall is poor. For example, we can still know
how we feel about a person even when we can’t
remember the person’s name!
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Look for Clue Words and Numbers
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CHOOSING THE RIGHT ANSWER
Difficult Words
• Be alert for “switchback words such as “but”, “although”,
nevertheless” which indicate a shift in thought and alters
the nature of the question.
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CHOOSING THE RIGHT ANSWER
Difficult Questions
• Don’t waste too much time on questions that appear too
hard or difficult. Try to identify any obviously incorrect
answers and guess at the remaining answer choices
before giving up.
• Brainstorm each possible choice independently from the
other choices. Ask yourself if it is possible that it could be
the correct answer. When you systematically go through
each answer you are often able to discover things you
might have overlooked by only scanning the answers. 17
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ANSWER
New Information
• Correct answer choices will rarely have new information
included. If new information is included that doesn’t seem
to relate to the topic being asked about, then that choice
is likely incorrect, even if the rest of the answer is correct.
• Contextual Clues
• Look for and understand the context of the question. More
than one answer may look right, but one will fit the context
better.
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CHOOSING THE RIGHT ANSWER
Phrases
• Be aware of answers that repeat word for word a portion
of the question. It’s usually a wrong answer. Most correct
choices paraphrase a point.
• Scientific sounding choices are better than ones using
slang language.
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Test Taking Skills
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• Cover the answers with your hand and then read the question.
• Ask, “What is this question asking?”
• Rephrase the question in your own words until you understand it.
• Without looking at the answers ask, “What do I know about that?”
• Ask yourself a question that will start you thinking about the
subject of the question and jot down what you can remember in
the margin of your paper.
• Now look at the answers and mark out those that you know to be
incorrect. You can usually narrow it down to two answers.
• Ask yourself about the two remaining answers, “What do I
know about ...?”
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This interrogation process will guide your thinking into your
long-term memory where the knowledge is stored.
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