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Multiple Choice Exam Strategies
Often students anticipate their first multiple choice exam to be simply a matter of recognizing
true statements. However, experience with these exams shows students that they are often asked to
do more than just recognize textbook material. Multiple choice questions, they learn, require fine
distinctions between correct and nearly-correct statements. They learn that these distinctions are not
only of Recognition, but are distinctions that involve the thinking for Synthesis, Analysis, and
Application. These higher-order thinking questions sometimes make the content of the questions
unrecognizable. Besides not being fully prepared for these types of thinking questions, students often
read the questions carelessly. Therefore, it is to the students’ advantage to learn about the thinking
required to answer multiple choice questions and to learn how to read the questions carefully.
Prepare/study
You need:
1. the course content (it really helps);
2. ways to recognize the various levels of knowledge the multiple choice items are
questioning; and,
3. strategies for learning, remembering, and thinking (i.e., receive, process, display
knowledge).
Then form a study group (not a test-prep group) and structure the meeting to do each of the
following:
1. review and summarize information at least once a week;
2.
practice making and answering multiple choice questions;
3. study old exams (if you can get them) and examine each question to determine:
 the level or type of thinking the instructor requires of you (recognition,
synthesis, analysis, application);
 the degree of difference typically found between incorrect and correct
alternatives.
When studying, group facts or ideas that are related in meaning. Then study these groups.
Pay attention to the differences among the facts and ideas within and between each group. Think in
terms of what each means or does not mean. For a concept, consider what is necessary or sufficient
to include be included as an example of the concept. Ask; ‘How do two similar concepts differ?’ or
‘Why is that difference important?’
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Taking multiple choice exams
1. On some instructors examinations “guessing” is penalized because points for
incorrect answers are subtracted from the total. Check with your instructor about this
because it will rule out some approaches. Don’t guess on a Howell test unless you are
sure the person with the highest obtained score is also guessing (which is unlikely).
2. Some students do best by covering the choices and trying to guess the correct
alternative before looking at them. If you do better on essay exams and hate multiplechoice you really should consider this. It lets you think about the question without the
confusion introduced by the foils (i.e., incorrect alternatives). Research shows that
one in three students score better using this approach, and the foils/distracters on
Howell exams can be particularly diverting.
3. Always pay particular attention to technical/professional terminology.
4. Do the multiple choice items first. Just reading the stems and alternatives can act as a
warm-up to the material. (The stem is the question and the alternatives are the choices
and foils/distracters). Ideas embedded in these may help your thinking on other parts
of the exam because they supply information; you don’t need to recall it.
5. Always read the directions carefully. Directions may say: “choose the most correct
answer” or “mark the one best answer.” Sometimes you may be asked to “mark all
correct answers.” This applies to any test item --- do what you are asked to do: if the
question says “Define and give an example of CAP,” you need to do two things:
define CAP; and, give an example of CAP.
6. Plan your progress through the exam. Often you are required to answer up to 70
multiple choice questions in an hour or less. (Some have 200 questions to answer in 3
hours). This means you may have less than a minute, on average, to spend on each
question. In some cases fluency is part of the exam structure and additional time will
not be allowed.
7. Go through the whole set of multiple-choice items carefully but quickly and only
answering those on which are 100% sure of the answer. Put a “?” on the others
8. Next, examine/study the unanswered questions. Answer those you are reasonably sure
of without taking too long on each. Erase the “?”
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9. Now study/read the remaining unanswered questions. If you run out of time, guess.
Erase the “?”. (Some examinations penalize “guessing” by subtracting points for
incorrect answers. Check with your instructor).
10. Eliminate the obviously incorrect alternatives.
11. Read the stem combined to every alternative. (See if any sound or flow correct)
12. Eliminate any alternatives that, when combined, do not agree grammatically with the
stem.
13. Consider “all of the above” and “none of the above.” See if all of them or none of
them apply totally. (If even one doesn’t; “all of the above” or “none of the above”,
can’t be correct).
14. Make sure statements directly apply to the question. They can be true, but not
relevant.
15. Note negatives. If a negative such as “none”, “not”, “never”, or “neither” occurs in
the stem, the correct alternative must be a fact or absolute. Also, the alternatives
could be true statements, but not the correct answer.
16. Note superlatives. Words such as “every”, “all”, “none”, “always”, and “only” are
superlatives that indicate the correct answer must be an undisputed fact. In the social
sciences, absolutes are rare.
17. Note qualifying words. “Usually”, “often”, “generally”, “may”, and “seldom” are
qualifiers that could indicate a true statement.
18. Study Qualifications. Break the stem down into grammatical parts. Pull out the bare
subject and verb (if it is in the stem), and then examine all the modifiers (qualifiers)
to the subject and verb. This process ensures that you will examine every part of the
stem.
Changing Answers. Research has shown that changing answers on a multiple choice or truefalse exam is neither good nor bad: if you have a good reason for changing your answer, change it.
The origin of the myth that people always change from “right” to “wrong” is that those (i.e. the
wrong ones) are the only ones you will see when you review your exam – you won’t notice the ones
you changed from “wrong” to “right.”
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Following-up after your exam has been returned Study your marked and returned exam in
order to learn from your successes and mistakes, and to improve your performance on the next exam.
This will pay dividends on future exams.
Examine each question you did get correct. Remember how you knew that the information
was important when you studied. How did you study?
Examine each question you did not get correct in order to understand the find distinction
between the correct alternative and the incorrect alternatives. Ask yourself why the correct answer is
correct and why the other alternatives are incorrect.
Determine the level of thought your instructor expects of you by reading through all of the
questions. Are you expected to recognize, analyze, synthesize and/or apply the material that has been
presented to you? Study accordingly for the next exam.
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