Test-Taking Strategies

Preparing For the Test

• Begin studying 3 weeks in advance.• Complete long-term papers and projects ahead of schedule.• After each class session and homework assignment review notes.• Keep up with assignments. Go to class having done the homework. It is

easier to understand what the professor is saying if you are already familiar with the material.

• Don’t rush things. Stay patient.• Organize all your class outlines and all notes. You must use text books

and notes to study. Label your notes with book pages.

Communication with Instructor

Find out how your professor writes the test and what he/she is looking for.

Especially with essay tests the style is important.

Don’t be afraid to communicate with your instructor.

Group Study

• Study alone first. Complete all reading.• Then study with others.• Study groups:

– Provide feedback for what you know and don’t know– Allows you to use more parts of your brain and body to study– Allows you to be the teacher which is the best way to learn– Allows you to have fun while you study.

Study the Same Info Repeatedly

The brain likes to learn in repeated sessions, not all at once.

Every time you learn something there are actual structural changes in your brain. The more you study the same information the more neuronal connections are created to that information. But you need to leave time for the brain to integrate the information.

Study the Whole Brain and Body

Study With the Whole BodyDance your PhD: John BohannonThesis: "The role of the WSS operon in the adaptive evolution of experimental populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25" (University of Oxford, 2002)

*Make up a dance*Draw a picture*Make up a story

*Walk while listening to recorded lecture*Anatomy coloring book

More Pre-Test Tips

• Review past quizzes and correct past mistakes.• Take facts and apply to a case study.• Get enough sleep. Don’t cram.• Don’t stimulate the fight or flight response.• Don’t stimulate the frozen response.

Pre-test Diet

• Eat a balanced meal with protein and slow-burning sugar like carbs.

• Don’t forget to drink water. Bring it to the test.• Eat as much caffeine as is normal for you. • Smoking constricts blood vessels for hours which

deprives your brain of blood and oxygen.

Relax

• If you have studied correctly you can have faith in yourself.• Do muscle relaxation and deep breathing.• Remember your successes. • Only positive self talk.• Never panic, never rush.• Breathe, breathe, breathe.

How to Take a Multiple Choice Exam

• The Three-Part Method– Step 1: Read the question and all the answers all

the way through slowly and carefully. • Do not skim.• You must read all the details or you will not understand

the question or the answers.• Most questions you read quickly you get wrong.• We read fast when we are afraid we will run out of time

or we have anxiety.• Then we get answers wrong.

Three-Part Method of Test-Taking: Step 2

• Underline all the important words in the question in order so that it reinforces the meaning of the sentence.– Topics, diagnoses, times, places, numbers– Words like always, never, best, first, safest– Adjectives are very important, nouns, verbs– These words connect directly with words or

concepts in the answers.

Using Your Imagination is Key!

• Now stop and imagine that what is happening in the test question is happening to you.

• Imagine you are there, making this decision for real.• What does the client look like? What is wrong with him/her?• Feel the person and the problem with your whole self.• Don’t try to just remember what the teacher or book said.• Use ordinary common sense.• Use clinical reasoning and critical thinking.

Three-Part Method of Test-Taking: Step 3

• Cross out the most wrong answer.• Then cross out the next wrong answer.– Sometimes you know all the wrong answers

and you are then left with the right answer.– We are trained since kindergarten to find the

right answers first but resist this old pattern.

Multiple Parts to Notice

• Some questions have more than one part to them. The answer must answer ALL parts of the question.

• Some answers have more than one part to them. ALL parts of the answer must be correct.

Safety

• If this is a health science type of test the correct answer will always be the safest for the client in the question.

• You may even see the word safe, safely, or something similar in the answer.

• There will probably be an answer that sounds better but it will be wrong.

• Correct answers are often more mediocre than the other choices but they address safety.

What Do the Question and Answer Really Say?

• Notice what the real test question is.• Do not make assumptions.• Do create a realistic picture based on what is written, not on

what your emotional reaction is.• See what is really there.

True/False Tests

• Most true/false tests contain more true answers than false answers. When in doubt, guess true. You have more than a 50 percent chance of being right.

• Negatives are confusing. If the question contains negatives, like “no, not, cannot,” circle the negative and read the sentence that remains. Decide whether that sentence is true or false. If it is true, the opposite or negative is usually false.

True/False Tests

• Pay close attention to qualifiers, negatives, and long strings of statements.

• Qualifiers are words that restrict or open up general statements. Words like “no, never, none, always, every, entirely, only” restrict possibilities and usually imply false statements. They imply a statement must be true 100 percent of the time. Qualifiers like “sometimes, often, frequently, ordinarily, generally” open up the possibilities of making accurate statements and usually indicate true answers. They make more modest claims that are more likely to reflect reality.

True/False Tests

• Every part of a true sentence must be true. If any one part of the sentence is false, the whole sentence is false, despite many other true statements. Therefore, read long sentences carefully and pay attention to each group of words set off by punctuation. Sentences with long strings of words are most likely—but not always—false statements.

• Providing correct information is important, but the presentation and logic of that information is also important. Planning your test is the key to doing well.

• Write down everything you don’t want to forget to include on scratch paper or on your test.

• When describing a process or event, write in correct sequence and build a logical argument.

Essay Questions

• Read all test questions carefully. Estimate how much time you will need for each question.

• For each question you choose, write down or underline key phrases and terms. These phrases will give you a clear indication of what you need to include in your answer.

• Begin the essay with a strong first sentence that states the main idea of your essay. Your first paragraph presents a plan for the rest of the answer by presenting all of your key points. Later on, develop each point in a compete paragraph.

Questions

• If you are describing a physiological process such as cell mitosis, begin at the beginning, and logically and in order, clearly proceed to the end of the process.

• Emphasize the key points in your answer at the beginning of each paragraph.

• End your essay with a strong conclusion. Restate your central idea and indicate why it is important.

• Proofread your paper for spelling and punctuation, and to be sure your ideas read smoothly. Points are usually taken off for these mistakes.

• If you don’t have time to finish, outline your answer.