1. “Strategies for Answering Various Types of Test Questions”
Test Taking
Lecture 4
“Strategies for Answering Various
Types of Test Questions”

2. Test Taking Humor

3. The Four Basic Types of Test Questions
What color is the sky?
white
blue
grayish
all of the above
Multiple Choice
(also called “Educated
Guessing”)
2. True/False
The sky is sometimes grayish.
(T or F)
3. Fill-in-the-Blank
The ________ is blue.
Item Color
sky a. white
trees b. yellow
clouds c. blue
dirt d. green
dandelion e. brown
4. Matching

4. Multiple Choice (Educated Guess)
Questions
Answer easiest quest.
first.
Answer a quest. in
your head 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 entire list.

5. More Tips for Answering Multiple Choice
Questions:
Mark questions you cannot
answer immediately and come
back to them.
Eliminate any options with absolute qualifiers
(also called “absolute modifiers”).
What are absolute qualifiers?
They are words that indicate 100% absolute certainty.
Some examples: no, never, only, always, all, entirely
A sample multiple choice option with an absolute mod.:
Why would you want to eliminate the above sort of
options first in a multiple choice question?
Nobody sleeps all day!

6. More Strategies for Multiple Choice:
Eliminate any options with unfamiliar
terms (this is to be used ONLY if you
studied well beforehand).
Eliminate the highest and lowest numbers in
number options.
If there are look-alike options, choose one of
them.
If one option is longer or more inclusive, choose
it.
If “all of the above” is given, choose it.
If you are desperate and have run out of
strategies, choose “c.”
Now, turn to pp of the
packet and try out these tips.

7. How to Approach True/False Questions
If there is an absolute
modifier, guess FALSE.
Example: Women left
behind during the Revolution-
ary War would always run
the family farm or business
until the men returned.
If there is a general
qualifier, guess TRUE.
What is a general qualifier?
Word that does NOT show
100% absolute certainty:
some, generally, many,
usually, most, few, seldom

8. x Continuing with T/F Test Questions…
Example of statement with general qualifier:
Women left behind during the Revolutionary War would
often run the family farm until the men returned.
Why do you think it’s advisable to guess TRUE on
a statement that contains a general qualifier?
If you have NO idea and must take a wild shot,
go for TRUE.
Watch out for double negatives in a statement…
They can make it very confusing…so change it to
a positive statement.
Example: It is not illogical to be a little nervous about
test taking. x x
Go to pp of your Packet to practice T/F questions.

9. Practice with T/F Test Question Qualifiers:
(This page is NOT in your Packet!)
no, never, none,
nothing, only
generally, probably,
sometimes, usually
completely, entirely,
always, best, every
100% NEGATIVE
Absolute Qualifiers
General
Qualifiers
100% POSITIVE
Absolute Qualifiers
*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 ?

10. NOW, let’s talk about strategies for fill-in-the-blank questions
(sometimes called “completion questions”).
Read question to yourself, so that you can hear
what’s being asked.
2.If a 2nd answer also comes to mind, write BOTH
answers in the margin. Come back later, and
choose the one you want.
3.Be sure that your choice fits in logically and
grammatically.
(noun)
dog
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.

11. Strategies for Matching Questions
*Although most students think
matching is one of the easier types of
test questions, your chances of guessing the
correct answer are very slim. Why is this?
--With T/F questions, you have a 50%
chance of guessing the right answer.
--With multiple choice questions, you have a
25% chance before you begin to get rid
of incorrect options (also called distracters.)
*There ARE some techniques, however, that you
can apply:
--Preview all possibilities before answering
any questions.
--Determine if an answer can be used more
than once.

12. More Strategies for Matching
Questions…
Answer the
items you are
sure about 1st.
Use logic
and common
sense to
decide what
is being
asked for:
a person? a
place? a
date?, etc.
Cross out
options as you
use them (so
you don’t keep
re-reading
them!).
Now turn to page 17 of
your Packet to practice Fill-
In and Matching questions.