Forms Completion Study Guide for McGraw-Hill's Postal Exams 473/473C (page 2)

Part B of Test 473 is called Forms Completion. It consists of 30 questions for you to complete in 15 minutes. In this part, your job is to answer questions involving a series of simulated Postal Service forms, such as mailing receipts and shipping instructions. The questions are designed to gauge your ability to complete standard Postal Service forms accurately and properly. More specifically, this part is designed to help you to fill in the various fields (lines and boxes) on the forms with the appropriate information for each field.

Here are some additional key facts about Part B:

• Expect to encounter about five different forms in Part B. (The total number of forms differs slightly from one exam to the next, but the average number is five.)
• Each form in Part B will be accompanied by about five to seven questions based on the form.
• The forms in Part B are not actual Postal Service forms. Rather, they are modified and, generally speaking, simpler versions of real forms.

Note: Why don’t the test makers use actual, unmodified Postal Service forms on the test? Well, if real forms were used, test takers could gain an unfair advantage by studying and memorizing the forms prior to taking the test. This would defeat the purpose of Test 473, which is designed as a test of skill, not of knowledge.

Here’s a form that’s typical of the ones you’ll see on Part B of your test. Just like the ones on the test, it’s a modified, simpler version of an actual Postal Service form.

Compared with the forms you’ll see on your exam, this example—Authorization to Hold Mail—is average in length and complexity. Some of the forms on your exam might be longer than this one (containing more fields), while others might be briefer (containing fewer fields). The example form here illustrates the following key features of each and every form you’ll encounter on Part B:

• The form is completed by providing various types of information, ranging from numbers and names to dates and check marks.
• Each distinct field is either a “box” or a “line” and is identified by either a number or a number-letter combination (such as “1a”). This is how all the forms on Part B will look. The questions based on each form refer to the form’s boxes and lines by number or number-letter combination.
• The fields are numbered in an organized way—from left to right (in rows) and/or from top to bottom (in columns). This feature helps you locate fields quickly according to their number as you answer the questions.

Identifying the Appropriate Field for a Given Type of Information

Another basic question type asks you to identify the appropriate field (a box or line) in which to enter a given type of information. Here are two examples of this type of question, based on the “Authorization to Hold Mail” form.

3. Where should the ending date for holding mail be entered on this form?

(A) Box 2

(B) Box 3

(C) Line 4b

(D) Box 6

4. The postal clerk’s name would be the correct entry for which box?

(A) Box 4

(B) Box 5

(C) Box 7

(D) Box 8

The correct answer to Question 3 is B. Box 3 of the form contains the phrase “Ending Date,” which means that the ending date for holding mail should be entered in Box 3.

The correct answer to Question 4 is C. Box 7 of the form contains the phrase “Clerk.” Also, notice that the bottom two rows of the form are for “Postal Use Only.” Clearly, then, the name of the postal clerk should be entered in Box 7.

Identifying the Type of Information and Where to Enter It

In a third type of question, you need to figure out both what type of information to enter on the form and where to enter it. Here’s a good example of this question type, based again on the “Authorization to Hold Mail” form.

5. How would the customer indicate that he wants delivery of mail to resume on the date that mail holding ends?

(A) Enter a check mark in Line 4a and in Line 4b

(B) Enter a check mark in Line 4a only

(C) Enter a check mark in Line 4b only

(D) Enter “Resume Delivery” in Line 3

The correct answer to Question 5 is C. Line 4b is the place on the form where the customer should indicate how the mail should be handled after the ending date. Line 4b should be checked in this situation because the customer wants the Postal Service to “resume delivery of accumulated mail and new mail on ending date.”

Did You Know?

Until the mid-nineteenth century, U.S. postage rates were based on both the number of sheets in a letter and the distance that a letter traveled. The more sheets and the longer the distance, the more postage you paid. In 1845, the rate structure was revised so that additional postage based on distance was paid only for letters traveling more than 300 miles. In 1855, that distance was extended to 3,000 miles. Finally, in 1863, rate differences based on distance were eliminated entirely.