Exam Preparation & Test Taking Strategies
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The truth is that even if you are on your last semester of college, the announcement of a test, exam, final or
quiz is generally disturbing. Now, whether you are the punctual-write-everything-down-never-miss-an-examtype-A-student or the rarely-graces-lectures-never-write-anything-down-no-planner-carrying-type-B student
you can take control of the outcome by using the right study strategies.
Exam Preparation
 Exam preparation begins on the first day of class.
 Keep in mind that everything mentioned in class is fair game. It’s not uncommon for a question like—
what’s your professors favorite tie?—to appear as an extra credit question on an exam. Every class that
you attend, assignment you complete, and contribution that you make in lecture will help prepare you for
any questions that may appear on an exam in the future. Throughout the semester you are adding to your
base of knowledge in a variety of subjects. The more involved you are in lectures the less information you
will have to cram the day before the exam.
 Hold on to and use your syllabus. Arguably, your syllabus is one of the most important sheets of paper
that your instructor will give you. A syllabus will help you organize the information as you take it in and
give you an idea about what topics will be emphasized on the exam. Depending on the detail your
professor(s) has placed on the syllabus, it can help you plan and prepare for the test. You syllabus can be
key in helping you create a study guide for your exam(s).
 Participate in class.
 Participation helps you get acquainted with course material.
 Participation demonstrates that you have read and are engaging the course material. It also demonstrates
interest in the subject. By participating in class you can ensure that your involvement and commitment to
the course is recognized.
 Keep copies of quizzes, essay questions, papers etc.
 Most papers handed out during class come in handy when preparing for an exam. Storing and reviewing
such handouts are helpful steps that will help you develop an efficient study guide.
Take Taking Strategies
1. Active Review
 Make summary sheets
o Anticipate questions and answers
o Do practice problems
o Write and recite what you know
 Make 3x5 cards using topics on summary sheet(s)
 Review past exams
 Study with a group
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2. Before the Exam
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Get plenty of sleep the night before.
Eat a balanced breakfast the morning of the exam.
If you begin to feel anxiety, inhale and exhale slowly until you feel more settled.
Do something that reduces anxiety for you (i.e. color on a coloring book; take a nice walk and head
early to the building where your exam will take place; listen to music).
 Do not panic. Develop a sound scape of encouragement for yourself.
 Avoid last minute interference (i.e. do not hang out with your friends; do not watch
television/stream programming; do not play video games, especially those on your mobile
devices).
3. During the Exam
 Be confident! Remind yourself that you have prepared well through Active Review and preparing
well before the exam.
 Look over the entire exam before you answer any question.
 Make sure to follow directions!
 Begin with the section/questions you know and/or find easy.
 Take your time! Remember that the test/exam is a measure of your knowledge not a measure of
your speed. Do not worry about your classmates. Your grade will be your grade.
 If you do not know an answer, leave it blank.
 If you have time, go back to those blanks and attempt to answer.
4. Essay Questions
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Make sure you understand the essay question you have selected.
Make sure to answer the question (and the embedded layers).
Outline what you plan on writing first.
If you have short answer, and you know these, answer these first.
Make sure that your main point/thesis is focused.
Answer the question in your first sentence or paragraph.
Be direct and specific.
Taking Multiple Choice Tests
Studying for a multiple choice exam requires a special method of preparation distinctly different from an
essay exam. Multiple choice exams ask a student to recognize a correct answer among a set of options that
include 3 or 4 wrong answers or distracters, rather than asking the student to produce a correct answer
entirely from his/her own mind.
Some students consider multiple choice exams easier than essay exams because:
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The correct answer is guaranteed to be among the possible responses; a student can score points
with a lucky guess.
Many multiple choice exams tend to emphasize basic definitions or simple comparisons, rather than
asking students to analyze new information or apply theories to new situations.
Multiple choice exams usually contain many more questions than essay exams making each question
have a lower point value; consequently less risk per question.
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Exam Preparation & Test Taking Strategies
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Nonetheless, multiple choice exams can actually be very challenging. Consider that:
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Multiple choice exams force students to be familiar with a much broader range of material than essay
exams do.
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Multiple choice exams usually expect students to have a greater familiarity with details such as
specific dates, names, or vocabulary than most essay exams do. Students cannot easily "bluff" on a
multiple choice exam.
Answering Multiple Choice Questions
There are many strategies for maximizing your success on multiple choice exams. The best way to improve
your chances, of course, is to study carefully before the exam. There is no good substitute for knowing the
right answer. Even a well-prepared student can make silly mistakes on a multiple choice exam, however, or
can fall prey to distracters that look very similar to the correct answer.
Here are a few tips to help reduce these perils:
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Before you begin taking the exam, enter all pieces of required information on your answer sheet.
Don’t forget to enter your name and/or ID number; your instructor will not be able to identify you by
handwriting or similar text clues.
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Cover up the possible responses with a piece of paper and work to anticipate the correct response
before you are distracted by seeing the options that your instructor has provided. If you see the
response that you anticipated, circle it and then check to be sure that none of the other responses is
better. If you do not see a response that you expected, then consider some of the following strategies
to eliminate responses that are probably wrong.
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If you cannot answer a question within a minute or less, skip it and plan to come back later. Save the
bubbling in answers until the end to reduce the probability of making errors.
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Take the time to check your work before you hand in the answer sheet. Unlike an essay exam, on
which you may later appeal a grade on the grounds that the instructor misunderstood your response,
a multiple choice exam offers you no opportunity for "partial credit." If you filled the wrong bubble,
your answer is 100% wrong.
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Responses that use absolute words, such as "always" or "never" are less likely to be correct than ones
that use conditional words like "usually" or "probably."
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"All of the above" is often a correct response. If you can verify that more than one of the other
responses is probably correct, then choose "all of the above."
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"None of the above" is usually an incorrect response, but this is less reliable than the "all of the
above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by double negatives.
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The longest response is often the correct one, because the instructor tends to load it with qualifying
adjectives or phrases.
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If all else fails, choose response (b) or (c). Many instructors subconsciously feel that the correct
answer is "hidden" better if it is surrounded by distracters. Response (a) is usually least likely to be
the correct one.
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Your GOAL with multiple choice exams
Your GOAL with multiple choice exams is to answer as many questions correctly as possible (not to finish the
test on time). Treat each question as if it were to decide your final grade. Keep the following in mind:
1. Look Over the Test and Pace Yourself
Don't just plunge into answering test items, thumb through the pages and get assess how the test is
structured. How many questions are there? How many different sections? Are some questions worth
more points than others?
2. Pace Yourself
Once you've looked through the entire test, try to estimate what pace you should maintain in order to
finish approximately 10 minutes before the period is over. That way, you'll have a little time at the
end to check for mistakes like skipped questions or misread items. Some of the worst problems occur
when students forget to check the clock, or when they spend too much time on one or two difficult
items. To prevent this from happening, write the desired "finish time" time for each section right on
the test booklet. That way, you'll be prompted to check the clock after completing each part of the
exam.
3. Take Short Breaks
Try taking a few breaks during the exam: stop for a moment, shut your eyes and takeg some deep
breaths. Remember, you get no points for being the first person to finish the exam, so don't feel like
you have to race through all the items -- even two or three 30-second breaks can be very helpful.
4. Don't Skip Around
Skipping around the exam can waste valuable time, because at some point you will have to spend
time searching for the skipped questions and re-reading them. A better approach is to answer each
question in order. If you are truly baffled by a question, mark the answer you believe to be right,
place a question mark next to the question, and come back to it later if you have time. Try to keep
these flagged questions to a bare minimum (e.g., fewer than 10% of all items).
5. Don't Be Afraid to Change Your First Answer
Even though first answers are often correct, you shouldn't be afraid to change your original answer
if, upon reflection, it seems wrong to you. Dozens of studies over the past 70 years have found that
students who change dubious answers usually improve their test scores. For example, a May, 2005,
study of 1,561 introductory psychology midterm exams found that when students changed their
answers, they went from wrong to right 51% of the time, right to wrong 25% of the time, and wrong
to a different wrong answer 23% of the time.1
1
Kruger, J., Wirtz, D. and Miller, D. T. (2005). Counterfactual Thinking and the First Instinct Fallacy in Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, Vol. 88, 725-735.
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