You walk into your third period class, and you immediately see your fellow students staring at note cards, murmuring vocab definitions to themselves, and sharpening pencils. This can only mean one thing: Test Day. This wouldn’t be such a big deal except you forgot to study. First thought? I’m done for. But here are a few tips to increase your chances of doing well when you’re unprepared.
True or false
Questions that have words in it like “always” or “never” are usually false: If you can’t come up with an exception to the statement, pick false.
Multiple Choice
When in doubt, choose C: The unspoken rule. Learn it, live it, pick it.
If “all of the above” is a choice, pick it: Obviously if your teacher puts “all of the above” as a choice for every question, this rule doesn’t apply. However, if it’s only a choice for a few choice questions it’s the best answer.
Never leave an answer blank: Even if you don’t know the answer, a guess has a 25% chance (assuming there’s only four options) of being right—not bad odds.
Essay
Try to make your sentences as long as possible: Fluff is always better than nothing, and using an extensive vocabulary doesn’t hurt either. And sometimes when you mix fluff with vocab teachers can’t tell the difference between that and actual facts.
All Tests
Answer the questions you know first: Spending 20 minutes on the hard questions and missing the easy ones costs too many points.
Read the directions: Hints or clues are sometimes hidden within. However, it is important to read the directions through anyway; too many points are lost by making simple mistakes that can be avoided.
Take advantage of every second before the test to cram: Looking over vocabulary and statistics usually causes them to stick, making them easy to recognize on a test.
Don’t second guess yourself: You pick an answer. You change your answer. Two days later you get your test back. It’s marked wrong. You kick yourself. Avoid the agony and go with your first instinct.
Skim the test right when you get it: You have a better chance of finding the easy questions if you make an effort to search for them at the beginning. You might not have time later.
photo by G. Smith
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