Super Awesome Amazing Test Secrets, Volume 1

[Maniac Craniac]

Introduction
I have been asked on a few occasions to reveal my super awesome amazing test secrets. Consider this as the first installment of what may become a regular series eeya: Please add as much advice as you can on the topics I bring up, since I am only one person, and the collectivity of our experiences can make these threads extremely useful.

I have never found multiple-choice exams to be very difficult, and can consistently do well on tests that I have no background in whatsoever. This is not because I am some sort of exam prodigy, rather, because I know that exams are made by humans, and human beings can be defeated, so their tests can be defeated. Often times, the test will give you all of the information needed to receive a decent score on it, and other times, making not-so-wild guesses can pay off big time.

Tip: Approach the Question By Using Logic
THINK: What, exactly is the question asking for?
THINK: What parameters are there for a response to be correct?
THINK: Which response fits the parameters?

Before longwindedly trying to explain myself, I will give you the exact question which inspired my first tip. It is from Exam 1 of the Western Civilization I Peterson's practice test.

All of the following are prominent features of Greece's topography EXCEPT

a. extensive open plains

b. bays and harbors

c. high mountains

d. narrow valleys

e. a rugged and difficult terrain

I didn't know this answer from anything I had learned previously (I was taking this practice test cold), but I got the answer right. How?! By approaching the question logically. The correct response is the one response that isn't true. Even if you don't know the answer, you know that if one answer is true, its opposite can't be true. With questions like this, it is usually easy to find a pattern that only one answer doesn't follow. Take a moment to see if you can find the answer by using this information.

In the question above, it doesn't take long to realize that response "a" and response "e" are opposites of one another, with expressive adjectives that are there with the aim to make the distinction clear. Since we are looking for patterns, it is safe to assume that we aren't talking about a half/half situation. Either one or the other is true, not both. Since we are looking for the ONE response that isn't true, then one of them MUST be the answer.

Which one?

Read the other responses and then the answer becomes clear. Do bays, harbors, high mountains and narrow valleys make up a rugged and difficult terrain, or extensive open plains? At this point, you should strongly feel that the correct response is "a," since "extensive open plains" is inconsistent with the picture created by the rest of the responses.

At this point during my practice exam, I took a few seconds to justify my response. This is an ancient history exam, so this question must have some significance to ancient Greece. All I know of ancient Greece is that it was a great empire. Great empires can not exist if they are vulnerable to attack. Having such a terrain as described in the question would be a key advantage in allowing a great empire to exist. Of course, there may be some advantages to extensive open plains, but I am at least sure that I have chosen a response that makes sense.

The correct answer is A. Geography is often the key to a nation's history. High mountains, narrow valleys and relatively few open plains helps to explain why ancient Greece emerged as a civilization of independent city-states rather than as a politically united society.

Facinating, huh? My justification for this response was WRONG, but my answer was correct. Even though I didn't know the answer, and in fact, just demonstrated how I had no clue at all about it, I used simple logic to arrive at the answer.

With careful reading, it is possible to get an answer right, even when you don't know it. It is also possible to do this several times during a single exam. You can be confident to see at least a few of these on any CLEP, and can consider them to be bonus questions. Free points, everyone!!!!

[burbuja0512]

I love this idea and just bought a couple of 'test taking skills' books for my 15 yr old. I'll post some ideas from the books after I read a little more of them.

[jobee]

Maniac, you are my hero. While I practice this element of test taking without thinking about it, I'm glad you to clearly outlined your thoughts on this message. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

[MomOfMany]

Subscribing to thread..

[Chebasaz]

Outstanding explanation MC!

I have plenty of friends that are extremely intelligent, but can't take tests well. That's always fascinated me and I think these types of tips are what they're missing. Some of us do this without really thinking about it. If someone could make this type of answer-picking a habit, I'm sure higher test scores would inevitably follow.

Looking forward to the next installment!

[mwolfe77]

Good info. Let's hope that this stays in the free section and is not moved.

[burbuja0512]

Test taking tip: Go with your gut. Have you ever answered quickly only to re-think and then change your response? Don't do it. My belief is that if an answer pops into your head quickly, it's probably your subconscious.

Also, back from my high school days, I remember reading that if you absolutely have no idea whatsoever and can't eliminate any answers at all, guess B or C. Those responses tend to be correct just a little bit more often. Of course don't do this if you can use any other way to get a better answer.

Re-read the question if you aren't sure, but don't spend too much time. Pick your best guess and then mark for review. On my CLEP/DSST's that I've done so far (with math being the exception) I can think of at least one or two on each test that I have been able to answer after going through the entire test.

My weird test taking advice, although this could be a superstition... I don't know. I always try to take a test in the morning if possible and I do not do ANY study whatsoever in the morning before the test. Resist the temptation to do some last minute cramming as you're waiting in the test center lobby. While this may not be good advice for everyone, for me personally it is the key to keeping me calm and fresh for the test.

[Maniac Craniac]

Good info. Let's hope that this stays in the free section and is not moved.

They wouldn't dare. They know the power I wield.

[Chebasaz]

Good tips as well burbuja, I also subscribe to the "superstitious" train of thought. If I feel like I need an extra boost in score, I always click "Yes" on the "Can we report your score?" question. Try and get as much good karma as I can.

Test taking tip: Go with your gut. Have you ever answered quickly only to re-think and then change your response? Don't do it. My belief is that if an answer pops into your head quickly, it's probably your subconscious.

Up until a year ago, I followed this viewpoint as well. When I was putting together the Test Taking Tips PDF for Free-Clep-Prep, I did a lot of research on this subject. Surprisingly enough, there's been quite a few studies done that disprove the above. The studies found that those students who went back and changed their answer did better (consistently) than those who didn't. The caveat was that they could only change their answer once. Those that made more than one change ended up doing worse than those who made no changes at all.

Here's one of the studies:

BioMed Central | Full text | Answer changing in multiple choice assessment: Change that answer when in doubt - and spread the word!

I started testing the theory with the Pederson tests (marking the ones that I later changed) and sure enough, over half of the time I change the answers on the one's I'm kind of "iffy" about, I change it to the right answer. Kind of freaky, but I can't argue with the results. I've since started paying more attention to the gut feeling that something is wrong when I mark questions for review. Usually I'm down to two possible choices by that time anyway, but I always make sure that I never change it more than once. If I decide to go with another answer, it's because I've already worked out the justification in my head and I stick with it.

For those interested, you can d/l the entire Test Taking Tips PDF here (it's free) :

http://www.free-clep-prep.com/support-fi...g-tips.pdf

Feel free to share all you like. It was created to help, after all.

Edit: Typos and formatting

[cookderosa]

I always did something which seemed a little funny, but in retrospect probably saved me a few points. When my time got down to ~20 minutes I marked every remaining answer "B" and then went back and (slowly without panic) answered the questions for real. This way, I didn't get rushed and frustrated that I'd have a blank (100% chance of error) and I could keep my cool as I finished. I know that helped me on more than one test.