Exam periods are the most stressful part of the educational experience. Although multiple choice exams may feel less daunting than short essay tests, in truth, they often mean that students need to retain more detailed information about the subject matter. Multiple choice exams ask students to do more than simply memorize the material; students must be able to interpret, analyze, and apply their knowledge in order to make the right choices on the test. This can create a daunting and anxiety-inducing preparation and testing period.
Most students have been in exam situations where they stop thinking about the questions, and start analyzing how many “A”s or “B”s have been chosen in a row, searching for some sort of pattern to indicate that the questions are being answered correctly. When given several plausible answers to a question, it can become challenging to make the right decision. In an effort to be better prepared and less stressed for multiple-choice exams, there are a number of strategies that students can utilize to study smarter, including makenaexam.com where they can create their own personalized practice tests, focusing on challenging subjects and information they might have difficulty remembering.
The best way to prepare for a multiple choice test is to practice multiple choice tests
Researchers from the Washington State University and Simon Fraser University have found that practice testing, also known as retrieval practice is the most effective way to prepare for examinations. Multiple-choice exams seem to be the most effective form of testing because multiple choice questions are presented in a less cognitively challenging format. And the less demanding the form, the easier it is for the brain to retain and select correct information.
How to prepare for a multiple choice exam
It is not enough to just read the course material in order to prepare. Reading concepts and truly understanding them are two very different things. Test preparation planning should ensure that students are able to do more than just recognize facts, but to recall concepts, interpretations, interactions, etc. It is a good idea to consistently summarize the materials being read so that the brain is able to recognize and reformat the information.
Outlined below is a basic guide to studying:
How to create a multiple choice test
Identify the concepts you are having the most difficult time retaining. From there, create questions that investigate the material.
When creating answers, make sure to keep them varied (and randomly distributed). For some questions, you might want to have one clear, correct answer. For other questions, you might want to have a few potentially correct answers and one “best” correct answer. This strategy will allow you to handle both the obvious and challenging types of multiple choice questions.
When creating incorrect answers, don’t make them farfetched. You want to recreate a test environment in which it will not be easy to find the correct answer.
It is important to write multiple choice questions as they allow you to transform the information you’ve been learning into a new format. Writing practice questions can be helpful for memory recall. When using a platform like makenaexam.com, you’re also able to share these tests with schoolmates, who in turn can create their own. Taking each other tests is the ultimate study buddy move and an innovative way to examine the material from different perspectives.
Curbing anxiety
Most students face anxiety at some point in their examination career. Confidence can be built by preparing for a test well in advance, and avoiding cramming the night before.
In advance of the actual test, it is helpful to prepare yourself for those moments when your mind might go blank or experience frustration.
Aside from arming yourself with information about the material, you can also use the following strategies to keep focused and calm during the exam itself:
Get a good night’s sleep. Your brain will always function better after being well rested.
Fuel your body and brain with a healthy meal beforehand. Don’t go to an exam hungry as it will impair your focus.
Exercising in the days leading up to test can reduce anxiety substantially and release endorphins, putting you in a more positive state of mind.
Show up to the exam early so that you don’t have the “running late” jitters. Give yourself enough time to get comfortable.
Watch your caffeine intake. Too much coffee can lead to higher levels of anxiety.
Enter the exam experience with a positive attitude. When stuck on a question, focus on the possible solutions instead of repeating to yourself that you feel like you’re stuck. If in a pinch, focus on taking a few deep breaths and then looking at the material again.
Read the questions meticulously. Follow up with the instructor if you don’t understand. There’s no shame in asking questions.
Create an executive summary of the full test in your mind. If you know what awaits you, you’ll be able to manage time better. It is important to stick to a schedule in order to complete the test on time.
Don’t worry about the other people in the room. If they’re moving faster than you, it does not mean that they know better. The only person you’re competing with is yourself.
Leave 10% of your time to review your answers before handing your test in.
To reiterate, nothing will prepare you or calm your anxiety as well as studying. Study sessions should be taken seriously and done often, with minimal distraction. The recipe for success it to be mentally prepared, and to also be in a calm emotional and physical state.
A final reminder for those who suffer from anxiety. The likelihood of getting every question correct is low. You will encounter questions that stump you or that you will simply answer incorrectly. Do not allow panic to take over if you see a question you don’t understand. With all of the studying that you’re doing, you are more than capable of identifying a plausible answer and if you don’t get this question correctly, you will be moving through others with great confidence. Stay positive.
Before you begin your multiple choice test
It is best to scan the entire test in full. This is the opportunity to get a snapshot of all the material you’ll need to pull out of your memory bank. After scanning the test, you can estimate how much time you’ll need per section. Keep your eye on the clock and stay focused.
Pro tip: Create yourself an appendix on a scrap piece of paper, or exam book. This should be a short-form list of all of the information you think you’ll need, or you think you might forget.
Question by question
There are a number of methods for answering multiple choice tests. The simplest is to read the question and answer it in your head, before looking down at the options. You could even cover them if you are tempted to look. If your answer is one of the options, then perfect, you have your solution.
For questions that leave students puzzled, there are a few suggestions on how to push ahead. Firstly, answer all of the questions you know off the bat. Leave the most difficult questions for last, as they can bring in waves of self-doubt. Get the easy stuff out of the way immediately.
Once you return to your first problematic question, re-read it and then eliminate all of the choices you know are flat out wrong, or irrelevant to the question. Then select the choice that you think answers best. This might lead you to one right answer. If you end up with two possible options, make sure you re-read the question. Choose the response that is more closely related to the question. Some answers might be correct but not directly related to the question being asked.
A few other tips:
Pace yourself. Don’t spend too much time on a question you’re uncertain of. Save it for the end.
Try the “true-false” test. Is the question looking for a true or false statement? If so, label all of your possible answers as “true” or “false” and scratch out the options that aren’t true to the question.
If “all of the above” is an option for a question in which a number of options could be correct, there is a strong possibility that you should select it.
Look at the grammar. If the questions end with ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’, then the correct answer will start with the right article.
Don’t be superstitious or look for patterns in your answers. Having 4 “A”s in a row does not mean you’ve answered something incorrectly. Keep each question separate and don’t worry about selecting too many “A”s one right after the other.
If you’re still stumped on some of the questions, you should double-check if the test has penalties for incorrect answers. If it does not, then you should follow the process of elimination and then make your best guess. Trust your instinct.
Before you hand in your test, make sure to double-check that you’ve answered everything, especially if there are no guessing penalties.
After the test is done
With some honest preparation and focus on the material, students should be successful in their multiple-choice exams.
When your graded test is back in your hands, it is a good idea to examine what was answered incorrectly and analyze why. In some cases, it’s simply because you were unfamiliar with that specific material. But in many other cases, it might be that the question was misunderstood or interpreted incorrectly. It’s helpful to figure out what challenges in your studying may have impacted your final score (even if it’s a great one). Did you encounter anxiety during the test? Was it more difficult than you had prepared for? Did you cram some material? Did you sleep enough the night before? Examining this information will help you understand your potential learning challenges and how to better prepare for future testing.
The most imperative takeaway for exam preparation is that students need to be well-studied to succeed. The most effective way to absorb and retain detailed information is to test yourself, repeatedly over a longer period of time. Cramming should be avoided at all costs. Students can always continue to practice and push themselves on makenaexam.com, creating new and more difficult tests to challenge both their knowledge and their confidence levels.
Exam periods are the most stressful part of the educational experience. Although multiple choice exams may feel less daunting than short essay tests, in truth, they often mean that students need to retain more detailed information about the subject matter. Multiple choice exams ask students to do more than simply memorize the material; students must be able to interpret, analyze, and apply their knowledge in order to make the right choices on the test. This can create a daunting and anxiety-inducing preparation and testing period.
Most students have been in exam situations where they stop thinking about the questions, and start analyzing how many “A”s or “B”s have been chosen in a row, searching for some sort of pattern to indicate that the questions are being answered correctly. When given several plausible answers to a question, it can become challenging to make the right decision. In an effort to be better prepared and less stressed for multiple-choice exams, there are a number of strategies that students can utilize to study smarter, including makenaexam.com, where they can create their own personalized practice tests, focusing on challenging subjects and information they might have difficulty remembering.
The best way to prepare for a multiple choice test is to practice multiple choice tests
Researchers from the Washington State University and Simon Fraser University have found that practice testing, also known as retrieval practice is the most effective way to prepare for examinations. Multiple-choice exams seem to be the most effective form of testing because multiple choice questions are presented in a less cognitively challenging format. And the less demanding the form, the easier it is for the brain to retain and select correct information.
How to prepare for a multiple choice exam
It is not enough to just read the course material in order to prepare. Reading concepts and truly understanding them are two very different things. Test preparation planning should ensure that students are able to do more than just recognize facts, but to recall concepts, interpretations, interactions, etc. It is a good idea to consistently summarize the materials being read so that the brain is able to recognize and reformat the information.
Outlined below is a basic guide to studying:
How to create a multiple choice test
Identify the concepts you are having the most difficult time retaining. From there, create questions that investigate the material.
When creating answers, make sure to keep them varied (and randomly distributed). For some questions, you might want to have one clear, correct answer. For other questions, you might want to have a few potentially correct answers and one “best” correct answer. This strategy will allow you to handle both the obvious and challenging types of multiple choice questions.
When creating incorrect answers, don’t make them farfetched. You want to recreate a test environment in which it will not be easy to find the correct answer.
It is important to write multiple choice questions as they allow you to transform the information you’ve been learning into a new format. Writing practice questions can be helpful for memory recall. When using a platform like makenaexam.com, you’re also able to share these tests with schoolmates, who in turn can create their own. Taking each other tests is the ultimate study buddy move and an innovative way to examine the material from different perspectives.
Curbing anxiety
Most students face anxiety at some point in their examination career. Confidence can be built by preparing for a test well in advance, and avoiding cramming the night before.
In advance of the actual test, it is helpful to prepare yourself for those moments when your mind might go blank or experience frustration.
Aside from arming yourself with information about the material, you can also use the following strategies to keep focused and calm during the exam itself:
Get a good night’s sleep. Your brain will always function better after being well rested.
Fuel your body and brain with a healthy meal beforehand. Don’t go to an exam hungry as it will impair your focus.
Exercising in the days leading up to test can reduce anxiety substantially and release endorphins, putting you in a more positive state of mind.
Show up to the exam early so that you don’t have the “running late” jitters. Give yourself enough time to get comfortable.
Watch your caffeine intake. Too much coffee can lead to higher levels of anxiety.
Enter the exam experience with a positive attitude. When stuck on a question, focus on the possible solutions instead of repeating to yourself that you feel like you’re stuck. If in a pinch, focus on taking a few deep breaths and then looking at the material again.
Read the questions meticulously. Follow up with the instructor if you don’t understand. There’s no shame in asking questions.
Create an executive summary of the full test in your mind. If you know what awaits you, you’ll be able to manage time better. It is important to stick to a schedule in order to complete the test on time.
Don’t worry about the other people in the room. If they’re moving faster than you, it does not mean that they know better. The only person you’re competing with is yourself.
Leave 10% of your time to review your answers before handing your test in.
To reiterate, nothing will prepare you or calm your anxiety as well as studying. Study sessions should be taken seriously and done often, with minimal distraction. The recipe for success it to be mentally prepared, and to also be in a calm emotional and physical state.
A final reminder for those who suffer from anxiety. The likelihood of getting every question correct is low. You will encounter questions that stump you or that you will simply answer incorrectly. Do not allow panic to take over if you see a question you don’t understand. With all of the studying that you’re doing, you are more than capable of identifying a plausible answer and if you don’t get this question correctly, you will be moving through others with great confidence. Stay positive.
Before you begin your multiple choice test
It is best to scan the entire test in full. This is the opportunity to get a snapshot of all the material you’ll need to pull out of your memory bank. After scanning the test, you can estimate how much time you’ll need per section. Keep your eye on the clock and stay focused.
Pro tip: Create yourself an appendix on a scrap piece of paper, or exam book. This should be a short-form list of all of the information you think you’ll need, or you think you might forget.
Question by question
There are a number of methods for answering multiple choice tests. The simplest is to read the question and answer it in your head, before looking down at the options. You could even cover them if you are tempted to look. If your answer is one of the options, then perfect, you have your solution.
For questions that leave students puzzled, there are a few suggestions on how to push ahead. Firstly, answer all of the questions you know off the bat. Leave the most difficult questions for last, as they can bring in waves of self-doubt. Get the easy stuff out of the way immediately.
Once you return to your first problematic question, re-read it and then eliminate all of the choices you know are flat out wrong, or irrelevant to the question. Then select the choice that you think answers best. This might lead you to one right answer. If you end up with two possible options, make sure you re-read the question. Choose the response that is more closely related to the question. Some answers might be correct but not directly related to the question being asked.
A few other tips:
Pace yourself. Don’t spend too much time on a question you’re uncertain of. Save it for the end.
Try the “true-false” test. Is the question looking for a true or false statement? If so, label all of your possible answers as “true” or “false” and scratch out the options that aren’t true to the question.
If “all of the above” is an option for a question in which a number of options could be correct, there is a strong possibility that you should select it.
Look at the grammar. If the questions end with ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’, then the correct answer will start with the right article.
Don’t be superstitious or look for patterns in your answers. Having 4 “A”s in a row does not mean you’ve answered something incorrectly. Keep each question separate and don’t worry about selecting too many “A”s one right after the other.
If you’re still stumped on some of the questions, you should double-check if the test has penalties for incorrect answers. If it does not, then you should follow the process of elimination and then make your best guess. Trust your instinct.
Before you hand in your test, make sure to double-check that you’ve answered everything, especially if there are no guessing penalties.
After the test is done
With some honest preparation and focus on the material, students should be successful in their multiple-choice exams.
When your graded test is back in your hands, it is a good idea to examine what was answered incorrectly and analyze why. In some cases, it’s simply because you were unfamiliar with that specific material. But in many other cases, it might be that the question was misunderstood or interpreted incorrectly. It’s helpful to figure out what challenges in your studying may have impacted your final score (even if it’s a great one). Did you encounter anxiety during the test? Was it more difficult than you had prepared for? Did you cram some material? Did you sleep enough the night before? Examining this information will help you understand your potential learning challenges and how to better prepare for future testing.
The most imperative takeaway for exam preparation is that students need to be well-studied to succeed. The most effective way to absorb and retain detailed information is to test yourself, repeatedly over a longer period of time. Cramming should be avoided at all costs. Students can always continue to practice and push themselves on makenaexam.com, creating new and more difficult tests to challenge both their knowledge and their confidence levels.
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