TAKING THE TEST LOOK OVER THE TEST AND PACE YOURSELF WHEN YOU FIRST...

9.

TAKING THE TEST

LOOK OVER THE TEST AND PACE YOURSELF

When you first get the exam, don't just plunge into answering test items. Instead, thumb through the

pages and get the lay of the land. How many questions are there? How many different sections? Are

some questions worth more points than others? 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 careless mistakes like skipped

questions or misread items.

Some of the worst problems occur when students enter a time warp and forget to check the clock, or

when they spend too much time on one or two difficult items. To prevent this from happening, one

trick you can use is to scribble 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.

TAKE SHORT BREAKS

Try taking a few breaks during the exam by stopping for a moment, shutting your eyes, and taking

some deep breaths. Periodically clearing your head in this way can help you stay fresh during the

exam session. 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.

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).

FIRST ANSWERS ARE USUALLY CORRECT

Don't speed through the items with the idea of going back to change answers you are unsure of. If you

take time to think through each question, your initial answer will usually be the correct one. Although

there are always exceptions to this rule, the best approach in most cases is to carefully answer each

question the first time you go through the exam, and change only those answers that are clearly

mistakes.

WHAT TO DO IF MORE THAN ONE ANSWER SEEMS CORRECT

If you're utterly stumped by a question, here are some strategies to help you narrow the field and

select the correct answer: