Taking Tests: Strategies for Typical Test Questions

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To help you improve your grades, you should consider some tips on how to tackle typical test questions. You can approach questions (such as true-or-false or multiple choice) with specific strategies for evaluating the question and finding the right answer. This section shares some special techniques for answering common types of test items.

True-or-False Questions

When faced with true-or-false questions, keep the following tip in mind:

• Read the statement carefully. Often, one word can change a statement to true or false, so make sure you don’t skip over that word.
• Be on the lookout for key words that often signify a statement is false. Common qualifier words include “always,” “never,” “all,” “only,” “every,” and “none.” It’s usually difficult for “all” of something to be true — for example, “All Southerners are Democrats” — or something to be the “only” cause or reason — for example, taxation was the only cause of the American Revolution.
• If you have to guess, guess true. True statements are easier to compose, so statistically, tests usually include more true statements.
• Don’t look for a pattern; there’s unlikely to be one. Also, don’t try to read more into the question. Your instructor isn’t likely to ask trick questions (at least you hope not!).

Multiple Choice Questions

With multiple choice questions, you get to see possible answers; it’s just a matter of picking the right one from the list. When answering these types of questions, consider the following
suggestions:

• Anticipate the answer, and then look for it (or a close match) in the list of possible answers. Doing so will help you spot the correct answer and give you the confidence that you chose correctly (without second guessing yourself).
• If you don’t know the answer, read all the responses. If one stands out as correct, select that one. If you aren’t sure, try to eliminate the ones that are incorrect. Often, you can find the right answer by eliminating those that are wrong. Or at least you can improve your odds if you have to make a guess.
• Look for qualifier words and eliminate any incorrect answers. See the preceding section for a list of words to watch for. Also, look for answers that don’t make sense or that talk about a totally different subject. You can usually eliminate these answers.
• If more than one answer is correct (or none seems correct), check for a choice that says “all of the above” or “none of the above.” Also, if you see this as one of the possible answers, be sure to double-check your response to make sure it’s not “all” or “none.” For “all,” keep in mind that if you’re sure even one of the answers is incorrect, you know that the answer isn’t “all.”
• The hardest questions are those when the answer isn’t exactly correct, but you’re instructed to choose the “best” answer. The trick is to choose the one that you think your instructor would say was the best answer.

The Answer Is a Number

If the answer is a number, experts have found that the highest and lowest numbers are not usually the right answers. If you have to guess, choose one of the middle numbers.