Strategies for Taking Tests

Pace Yourself Don’t spend too much time on any one question. Do your best and then move on. Answers the easiest questions first, but be sure to go back to those questions you skipped.

The Process of Elimination After you have been through all of the questions once, go back and find questions you have some knowledge about and eliminate choices that you know are incorrect. I know C isn’t the answer!

The Process of Elimination If you can eliminate two wrong answers, your chance of choosing the right answer is greater.

Answering Questions Don't guess blindly, but if you have time to think about the best answer choice, make it!

Skip, Return, Check If you finish early, check to make sure you have answered all questions.

Key Words key wordsphrasesFind key words or phrases in the question that will help you choose the correct answer.

Are we communicating? Make sure you understand what the question is asking. Be sure you are responding to the question that is being asked.

Multiple Choice Questions If you do not understand the directions, ask for help. allRead the question and all answer choices before marking anything.

Multiple Choice Questions Do not change your answers unless you are very uncertain about your first answer choice. Try to answer every question. Make the most intelligent guess you can.

Reading Passages If the test requires you to read passages and then answer questions about what you read, read the questions first first. By doing this, you will know what you are looking for as you read. This also helps you go faster on the test.

Reading Passages cluesWhen there are several questions about a reading passage or chart, look for clues in other questions that will help you with those items about which you are unsure.

Identify Inference Questions First, you'll need to determine whether or not you're actually being asked to make an inference on a reading test. The most obvious questions will have the words "suggest," "imply" or "infer" right in the tag like these: "According to the passage, we can reasonably infer..." "Based on the passage, it could be suggested that..." "Which of the following statements is best supported by the passage?" "The passage suggests that this primary problem..." "The author seems to imply that…"

Some questions, however, will not come right out and ask you to infer. You'll have to actually infer that you need to make an inference about the passage. Sneaky, huh? Here are a few that require inference skills, but don't use those words exactly. "With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?" "Which of the following sentences would the author most likely use to add additional support to paragraph three?"

Let’s look at inferences: I wouldn't eat after that two-year-old if I were you. Inference: The two-year-old probably did something gross to the food you were about to eat or has a cold and you could catch it. Something bad will happen to you if you eat it! For Valentine’s Day, my fantastic neighbor gave his wife a poem that took him about two seconds to write. Sheesh. Inference: My neighbor is not very considerate since he didn't take his time writing the poem. A man ran after a retreating bus, waving his briefcase frantically. Inference: If she died, I wouldn’t go to her funeral. Inference: Jake almost wished that he hadn’t listened to the radio. He went to the closet and grabbed his umbrella even though he would feel silly carrying it to the bus stop on such a sunny morning. Inference:

True or False? In most instances questions which have terms such as usually, generally, often, frequently and sometimes tend to signal a true statement The words cannot, no and not tend to be confusing. Take these terms out of the sentence and concentrate on what remains.

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