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Test Preparation
- Go to review sessions and practice as much as
possible. Take notes and ask questions about
items you may be confused about.
- Eat before a test. Having food in your stomach
will give you energy. Eat a combination of
sugars (which give you energy quickly) and
complex carbohydrates (which take a while to
break down and supply energy for a longer
period). Don't overeat because that can
make you sleepy.
- Go to the bathroom before going to class. You
don't want to waste anytime worrying about your
bodily needs during the test.
Taking the test
- Bring at least two pens/pencils with good
erasers, a calculator with enough batteries and
any other resources that your test allows you
to.
- Bring a watch to the test with you so that you
can better pace yourself. (Some classrooms don't
have clocks.)
- Keep a positive attitude throughout the whole
test and try to stay relaxed. If you start to
feel nervous take a few deep breaths to relax.
- Keep your eyes on your own paper, you don't
want to appear to be cheating and cause
unnecessary trouble for yourself.
- When you first receive your test, do a quick
survey of the entire test so that you know how
to efficiently budget your time.
- Do the easiest problems first. Don't stay on a
problem that you are stuck on especially when
time is a factor.
- Don't rush but pace yourself. Read the entire
question and look for keywords.
- Write legibly. If the grader can't read what
you wrote, they'll most likely mark it wrong.
- Always read the whole question carefully.
Don't make assumptions about what the question
might be.
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If you don't know an answer, skip it (but make
sure you mark the question so you'll know which
ones you skipped). Go on with the rest of the
test and come back to it later. Other parts of
the test may have some information that will
help you out with that question.
-
Don't worry if others finish before you. Focus
on the test in front of you.
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If you have time left when you are finished,
look over your test. Make sure that you have
answered all the questions, only change an
answer if you misread or misinterpreted the
question because the first answer that you put
is usually the correct one. Watch out for
careless mistakes and proofread your essay
and/or short answer questions.
-
Double check to make sure that you put your
first and last name on the test.
Multiple choice questions
- Read the question before you look at the
answer.
- Come up with the answer in your head before
looking at the possible answers, this way the
choices given on the test won't throw you off or
trick you.
- Eliminate answers you know aren't right.
- Read all the choices before choosing your
answer.
- If there is no guessing penalty, always take
an educated guess and select an answer.
- Don't keep on changing your answer, usually
your first choice is the right one, unless you
misread the question.
- In "All of the above" and "None of the above"
choices, if you are certain one of the
statements is true don't choose "None of the
above" or one of the statements are false don't
choose "All of the above".
- In a question with an "All of the above"
choice, if you see that at least two correct
statements, then "All of the above" is probably
the answer.
- A positive choice is more likely to be true
than a negative one.
- Often the correct answer is the choice with
the most information.
Short answer / Essay questions
- Try not to leave an answer blank. Show your
work/write down your thoughts, even if you don't
get the exact answer, partial credit is usually
awarded.
- If you don't know the answer, come back to it
after you finish the rest of the test and make
an educated guess. Other parts of the test may
give you clues to what the answer may be.
- Read the question carefully and make sure that
you answer everything that it asks for. Some
short answer questions have multiple parts.
-
Read the directions carefully. Pay close
attention to whether you are supposed to answer
all the essays or only a specified amount (i.e.
"Answer 2 out of the 3 questions).
- Make sure that you write down everything that
is asked of you and more. The more details and
facts that you write down, the higher your grade
is going to be.
- Budget your time, don't spend the entire test
time on one essay.
- If the question is asking for facts, don't
give your personal opinion on the topic.
- Make an outline before writing your essay.
This way your essay will be more organized and
fluid. If you happen to run out of time, most
instructors will give you partial credit for the
ideas that you have outlined.
- Don't write long introductions and
conclusions, the bulk of your time should be
spent on answering the question(s) asked.
- Focus on one main idea per a paragraph.
- If you have time left at the end, proofread
your work and correct any errors.
- If you aren't sure about an exact date or
number, use approximations i.e. "Approximately
5000" or "In the late 17th century."
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