Chapters 19 and 20 Preparing for and Taking Tests
Why Learn to Prepare and Take Exams?
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You’re going to take lots and lots of tests while your’re in school! And you’ll probably take
tests after school too.
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Preparing for exams helps you to tie together the facts and concepts you have learned
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Better preparation will help you achieve better grades
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If you prepare well for exams, you will minimize stress
Learning Principle
One of the best ways to prepare for a test is to simulate the test conditions
Organizing Your Study and Review
Find out about the exam
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When will the test be given?
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What type of test? Objective? Essay? Both?
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What material will be covered?
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What does the instructor expect of you?
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Grading policy—points, etc.?
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Are there practice tests available?
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What materials will be needed?
Organize Your Time
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Schedule review sessions in advance
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Identify what to study and plan a specific time for review
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Reserve time the night before the exam for a final, complete review. Reinforce your
visual memory of the material
Attend the class before the exam
Consider studying with others
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Who do you want to study with?
Consider Studying with Others
Advantages
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Group study helps you to become actively involved with the course content
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One of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else
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Consider Studying with Others
Disadvantages
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Unless everyone is serious, group sessions turn into social events in which little studying
occurs
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Studying with the wrong people can produce negative attitudes
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If someone has not been conscientious about keeping up, you waste time reviewing basic
material
Identifying What to Study
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Textbook chapters
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Lecture notes
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Previous exams and quizzes
– Look for patterns of errors
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Are you missing certain types of questions?
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Are there certain topics on which you lost points/
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Are you missing questions at a particular level of thinking?
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Instructor’s handouts
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Outside assignments
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Talk with other students
Analyzing and Synthesizing Information
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Get a perspective on the course
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Look for relationships
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Look for patterns and the progression of thought
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Interpret and evaluate
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Prepare study sheets
– Theories and principles
– Complex events with causes and effects
– Controversial issues - pros and cons
– Summaries of philosophical issues
– Trends in ideas or data
– Groups of related facts
SIMULATE TEST SITUATIONS (see page 424)
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The methods and procedures you use to learn and to remember information depend on the
type of exam for which you are preparing
Reviewing for Objective Tests
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Use highlighting and marking
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Use recall clues in your lecture notes
– Mark in red ink things you had trouble remembering
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Use study aids
– Read through it several times
– Take the first topic or item and try to write in the relevant information
– If you can’t recall something, keep reviewing and retest yourself
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Use the index card system
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Test yourself
– Use recall clues for your lecture notes
– Draw and label maps
– Write partially completed outlines
– Use vocabulary cards
– Write your own practice test, and share with members of your study group
Reviewing for Essay Exams
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Select probable topics
– Use boldfaced headings to identify topics
– Use end-of-chapter discussion questions and recall clues to predict topics
– Use the course outline (syllabus)
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Study the topics selected
– Identify aspects of each topic that might be tested
– Use clues from your instructor as a guideline
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Write possible questions
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Write outline or rough-draft answers; organize the information you would include in your
response. Consider showing your work to your instructor
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Use key word outlines to trigger memory
The night before the test….
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Reserve the night before the exam for a final, complete review. Reinforce your visual
memory of the material
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Do get adequate rest—no cramming! NO! NO! NO!
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Assemble necessary materials (pens, pencils, calculators, etc.)
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Set your alarm so you have plenty of time to get to the classroom
General Suggestions for Taking Exams
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Bring necessary materials
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Get there early, or at least on time
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Sit in the front of the room
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Preread the exam
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Plan your time
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Read the instructions carefully
General Hints for Taking Objective Tests
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Read the directions
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Leave nothing blank
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Look for clues
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Don’t change answers without a good reason
Hints for Taking True/False Tests
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Watch for words that qualify or change the meaning of a statement (absolutes)
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Read two-part questions carefully
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Look carefully at negative and double-negative statements
– It is not unreasonable….means that it is reasonable
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Make your best guess
– Absolute statements tend to be false
– Mark statements that contain unfamiliar terminology or facts as false
– When all else fails, it is better to guess true than false
Hints for Taking Matching Tests
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Before answering any items, glance through both lists
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Answer items you are sure of first, crossing off items as you use them
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Don’t grab the first answer; items later in the list may be better
Hints for Taking Multiple-Choice Tests
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Read all the choices first
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Use logic and common sense
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Study any items that are very similar. Try to put each in your own words
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Look for qualifying words
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Be alert for questions that require application of knowledge
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Answer items using your own words
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Avoid selecting answers that contain unfamiliar terminology
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Pick the choice that seems most complete
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Make educated guesses—use process of elimination
Essay question: Describe the stages involved in the memory process.
Memory is very complicated in how it works. It involves remembering things that are
stored in your mind and being able to pull them out when you want to remember them. When
you pull information out of your memory, it is called retrieval. How well you can remember
something is affected by how you keep the information in your mind and how you put it in.
When keeping, or storing, information you have to realize that this information will be affected
by old information already in your memory. Putting information in your memory is called
encoding, and it means that you store facts and ideas in word form in your memory. Information
stored in your memory can also be influenced by information that you add to your memory later.
There are two ways you can retrieve information. You can either recognize it or recall it.
When you recognize information, you are able to spot the correct information among other
information. When you recall information, you have to pull information out of your head.
Recall is what you do when you write an essay exam.
Essay question: Describe the stages involved in the memory process.
Psychologists believe that memory has three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
In the encoding stage, you are putting facts and ideas into a code, usually words, and
filing them away in your memory. Encoding involves preparing information for storage in
memory.
The second stage of memory is storage. It is the stage that most people call memory. It
involves keeping information so that it is accessible for use later in time. How well information
is stored can be affected by old information and newer information that is added later.
The third stage in memory is called retrieval, which means the ability to get back
information that is in storage. There are two types of retrieval—recognition and recall. In
recognition, you have to be able to identify the correct information from several choices. For
example, taking an objective test with true/false or multiple choice items requires recognition of
learned information. In recall, you have to pull information directly from your memory without
using the recognition type of retrieval. For instance, writing an essay during an essay test
requires students to recall information.
The Writing Process
1. Prewriting
– Choose a topic
– Narrow the topic
– Write a tentative thesis statement
– Brainstorm
– Create a bare-bones, tentative outline
– The Writing Process
2. Write a draft
3. Revise for content
– Are the ideas clearly expressed?
– Is the information well organized?
– Are the ideas supported or developed with facts, details, examples?
4. Proofread
– Check for mechanical errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation)
Hints for Taking Essay Exams
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Read the directions first
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Read the question carefully for clues
o The question tells you the topic of your essay
o The question often includes a limiting word that restricts and directs your
answer
o The question often includes a key word that indicates how to organize your
answer (tells you what expository style is needed)
o Watch for questions with several parts
o Key Words Used in Essay Questions—partial list from page 445
Essay Question
Contrast the health-care systems in the United States with those in Great Britain.
Enumerate the reasons for U. S. withdrawal from Vietnam.
Essay Questions
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Discuss the long-term effects of the trend toward a smaller, more self contained family
structure
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Trace the development of monopolies in the late nineteenth century.
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Explain the effects of the Industrial Revolution on transportation.
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Describe the events leading up to the War of 1812.
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Summarize the techniques a speaker may use to emphasize the important concepts and
ideas in a lecture.
Hints for Taking Essay Exams
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Convert the question into the thesis statement for your essay
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Brainstorm
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Organize your answer—make a bare bones outline. Be sure you address all the parts of
the question
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Begin your essay with your thesis statement
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Use correct paragraph form
o Every paragraph should have a topic sentence. Use transitions!
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Make your points easy to find—be clear and direct
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Include sufficient explanation—develop your ideas; don’t just list them.
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Unless specifically requested to do so, avoid opinions and judgments
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Don’t plan to rewrite your essay, but make your answer as readable as possible
– Use ink
– Use clean, neat paper
– Number your pages and write your name on each
– Write on only one side of the paper
– Leave space between questions and between paragraphs
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Save a few minutes to proofread your answer
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If you run out of time…
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If you don’t know the answer….
Controlling Test Anxiety
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Be sure your anxiety is not an excuse
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Get used to test situations
– Become familiar with the building and room
– Develop practice or review tests
– Practice working within time limits
– Take as many tests as possible, even if you hate them
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Control negative thinking
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Compose yourself before the test begins
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Answer easy questions first