Taking Tests
Preparation:
For all tests:
Fill-in-the-Blank / Matching:
Multiple Choice:
Essays:
Preparation:
- Make and follow a schedule for studying.
- Learn to concentrate during class and study times.
- Take good notes and review daily.
- Keep current on assignments.
- Take enough time each week to review all your work.
- Make an appointment with an Academic Coach for tutoring
- Take time to talk to your teacher about study sessions
For all tests:
- Scan the entire exam.
- Answer the questions you definitely know first.
- If a question is taking more than a few minutes to complete, skip it for now.
- When you have answered all the "easy" questions, then scan all the unanswered questions. Prioritize the questions into categories such as "a little hard" and "really hard."
- Give yourself a few minutes on each "a little hard" question. Go with your gut for the answer.
- With the last of the time available, look at all the "really hard" questions and do you best. If there is no penalty for guessing, guess!
Fill-in-the-Blank / Matching:
- Read all your options before you answer.
- Answer all the easy ones first.
- Use the process of elimination to help you with the hard questions.
Multiple Choice:
- Read all your options before you answer.
- Most tests have 2 wrong answers and 2 right answers.
- Cross of the 2 wrong answers.
- Carefully review the 2 right answers and decide which is "more right."
- Pay close attention to absolute terms like "always", "never", "sometimes" which will help you decide.
Essays:
- Read the question twice. If you don't know what it is asking, ask the teacher to clarify.
- If there is more than one essay, start with the easiest.
- Make a quick outline before you begin the essay.
- Make the essay prompt your first sentence turned into a statement (for example, "What are the stages of photosynthesis?:" You would write, "The stages of photosynthesis are...")
- Keep track of your time to make sure you aren't spending too much time on each question.
- Key terms:
- comment - an invitation to express freely your opinion on the subject
- compare - to point out differences and similarities
- contrast - to point out differences only
- criticize - to judge as a critic
- define - to give meaning
- discuss - to present the various sides of a point relating to a subject
- describe - to list the characteristics of anything
- explain - to write into your own words and make it easier to understand
- evaluate - to express an opinion on worth or merit