Test Taking

Lecture 4

“Strategies for Answering VariousTypes of Test Questions”

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The Four Basic Types of Test QuestionsWhat color is the sky?A. whiteB. blueC. grayishD. all of the above

2. The sky is sometimes grayish.(T or F)

3. The ________ is blue.

4. Item Color1. sky a. white2. trees b. yellow3. clouds c. blue4. dirt d. green5. dandelion e. brown

1.

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Multiple Choice (Educated Guess)Questions

• Answer ______ quest. first.• Answer a quest. in _________ before you look at the options.• Eliminate the obvious wrong choices first, especially foolish or insulting ones.• Do NOT select the 1st

correct answer you find. Read ______ list.3

More Tips for Answering Multiple ChoiceQuestions:

•Mark questions you cannotMark questions you cannot answer immediately and ____answer immediately and ____ ______ to them.______ to them.

•Eliminate any options with absolute Eliminate any options with absolute qualifiersqualifiers (also called (also called ““absolute modifiersabsolute modifiers””).). What are absolute qualifiers?What are absolute qualifiers? __________________________________________.__________________________________________.

Some examples:______________________________ Some examples:______________________________

A sample multiple choice option with an A sample multiple choice option with an absolute mod.:absolute mod.: Why would you want to Why would you want to eliminateeliminate the above sort the above sort ofof options first in a multiple choice question?options first in a multiple choice question?

Nobody sleeps all day!Nobody sleeps all day!

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More Strategies for Multiple Choice:

Eliminate any options with unfamiliarterms (this is to be used ONLY if youstudied well beforehand).

Eliminate the _______ and ________ numbers innumber options.

If there are look-alike options, choose one ofthem.If one option is ______ or more inclusive, chooseit.If “all of the above” is given, choose it.

If you are desperate and have run out ofstrategies, ________. Now, turn to pp. 14-16 of the

packet and try out these tips.5

How to Approach True/False Questions•If there is an If there is an absoluteabsolute modifiermodifier, guess ______., guess ______.

Example: Women leftbehind during the Revolution-ary War would always runthe family farm or businessuntil the men returned.

•If there is a If there is a generalgeneral qualifierqualifier, guess TRUE., guess TRUE. What is a general qualifier?What is a general qualifier? EXAMPLES:

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Continuing with T/F Test Questions…

Why do you think it’s advisable to guess TRUE ona statement that contains a general qualifier?

Women left behind during the Revolutionary War wouldoften run the family farm until the men returned.

If you have NO idea and must take a wild shot,go for TRUE.

Watch out for _____________ in a statement…They can make it very confusing…so change it toa positive statement.

Example: It is not illogical to be a little nervous about test taking.

Go to pp. 18-19 of your Packet to practice T/F questions.

Example of statement with general qualifier:

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Practice with T/F Test Question Qualifiers:

100% NEGATIVEAbsolute Qualifiers

100% POSITIVEAbsolute Qualifiers

GeneralQualifiers

no, never, none,nothing, only

generally, probably,sometimes, usually

completely, entirely,always, best, every

*Use the above knowledge to help you decide if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.

Honda makes cars. True or False ?Honda only makes cars. True or False ?All Pit Bulls are aggressive. True or False ?Nobody reads the dictionary for fun. True or False ?

(This page is NOT in your Packet!)

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NOW, let’s talk about strategiesfor fill-in-the-blank questions(sometimes called “completion questions”).

1.Read question to yourself, so that you can ____ what’s being asked.2.If a 2nd answer also comes to mind, write _____ answers in the margin. Come back later, and choose the one you want.3.Be sure that your choice fits in logically and grammatically.

EXAMPLE: The _______ caught the ball.

POSSIBLE CHOICES: pretty, ran, friendly, happiness, dog, skillful, jump

4.Remember that your answer may require more than one word.

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Strategies for Matching Questions*Although most students think

matching is one of the easier types of

--With T/F questions, you have a _______ chance of guessing the right answer.--With multiple choice questions, you have a

_____ chance before you begin to get rid of incorrect options (also called distracters.)*There ARE some techniques, however, that you can apply:

--___________ all possibilities before answering any questions.--Determine if an answer can be used more than once.

test questions, your chances of ___________ thecorrect answer are very slim. Why is this?

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More Strategies for MatchingQuestions…

•Answer the items you are ___ about 1st.

•Cross out options as you use them (so you don’t keep ________ them!).

•Use ______ and common sense to decide what is being asked for: a person? a place? a date?, etc.Now turn to page 17 of

your Packet to practice Fill-In and Matching questions. 11