How to take multiple choice:

1. Study the notes and readings the night before the test, so the ideas (and where they are written down if it is open book/open notes) is fresh in your mind.

2. Mark the correct choice on the ones you are sure of. (should be about half of all the multiple choice)

3. When you HAVE to guess, first cross off any answers you KNOW are wrong. About a third of the time, you can cross off all but one, Mark that one right.

4. When left with two or more, comparing and contrasting them will give some clues. Pick the one that is the best answer of those presented. List all of these questions and go back only at the end and if it is open book, notes etc, dig up the references. If not, re-read the question and try using a different paradigm to approach the question. (Studies show your first answer is right slightly more often than the one you change to when you go back.)

How to take True/ False:

1. EVERY PART OF A QUESTION MUST BE TRUE, OR THE WHOLE QUESTION IS FALSE.

a.Check each part of the question separately to see if any part is false. If so, the question is false

b. If you are getting lost in the long phrases (icons for an idea—e.g. “party of the first part”) just circle the first phrase everywhere it appears, put a square around the second one everywhere it appears (create simple “icons” for long phrases)

2. As a result of the above, look for “always” or “never” – the original question answer was intended to be false, but the question didn’t work, because students would point out the exceptions that were true, so the test designer added “always” or “never” so the exceptions KEPT IT FALSE, instead of making it sometimes true.

3. Pay special attention to names, dates, and numbers that are similar and could be easily confused (1429 for 1492, Sam and Pam)

How to take True/ False:

1. EVERY PART OF A QUESTION MUST BE TRUE, OR THE WHOLE QUESTION IS FALSE.

a.Check each part of the question separately to see if any part is false. If so, the question is false

b. If you are getting lost in the long phrases (icons for an idea—e.g. “party of the first part”) just circle the first phrase everywhere it appears, put a square around the second one everywhere it appears (create simple “icons” for long phrases)

2. As a result of the above, look for “always” or “never” – the original question answer was intended to be false, but the question didn’t work, because students would point out the exceptions that were true, so the test designer added “always” or “never” so the exceptions KEPT IT FALSE, instead of making it sometimes true.

3. Pay special attention to names, dates, and numbers that are similar and could be easily confused (1429 for 1492, Sam and Pam)

3. Pay special attention to names, dates, and numbers that are similar and could be easily confused (1429 for 1492, Sam and Pam)

4. Watch for double negatives. In many languages, the second negativve does not change the meaning. However, in English, the two negatives cancel each other, and the statement becomes a “positive”.

“Tom said he did not have any in the bag.” (he had none)“Tom said he did not have nothing in the bag” (he did have SOME)

How to take MATCHING tests• Read through both lists quickly before you begin answering. Note any

descriptions that are similar and pay particular attention to the details that make them different.

• When matching word to phrase, read the phrase first and look for the word it describes. (much faster than starting with the single word, reading lots of phases each time.)

• Cross out each answer as you find it – unless you are told that the answer can be used more than once. (Tests are designed to make you guess SOME answers- this will give you a short list to guess from, improve grade a lot.)

If you get stuck when matching, determine the part of speech of the

word. If the word is a verb, for example, try to match it with another verb in the phrase.

• Fill in the blanks with capital letters rather than lowercase letters since they are less likely to be misread by the person correcting the test.

We all have heard the tip that the SAT and ACT tests are designed to allow guessing. What is that about?

Each skill you are tested on is asked 3 times. The first time is an “easy” question. (1/2 of all

students in mid 11th grade should be sure of the answer very quickly)

The Second time is “medium”. (¼ of the same students should get it and know they did.)

The third time is “hard”. None of these students should be sure they got it, but some can eliminate 1, 2, or 3 answers before “guessing”.

How to eliminate answers before guessing. First, how not to- If you just pick one of the

answers without any thought, you are “wild guessing”. That is NOT what is meant. (Even with wild guessing, you still should get 1/5th of a long test right. If you knew ½ of the answers, as you should, and did this type of guess on the rest you would get 60% right overall, vs a 50% without any guessing) Many tests discourage wild guessing by taking off extra points for wrong answers. Lets call it “Strong” guessing.

Lets look at “Strong Guessing” for Math Here, we pick each of the given answers and substitute it into the problem. Any that “work”

are correct. We may not know how to work the problem forwards, but “checking” it is always easier to do.

It is ok to start with a hunch for the first one to check, but if more than one answer may be correct, don't forget to check them all.

The hard multiple choice questions often require knowledge you don't have to solve them, but you will know how to check all the answers.

This backward solving technique is being used by all the high scoring students, and the test writers expect you to get these right.

If you must “check”, all 5 answers, and for example, one is 2, the next two are 34 and 38, and the last is 367, toss out the wildly low and high, and pick one of the middle ones to “check”. Just remember that if the check answer for the lowest of the “middle” answers is too low, try the next higher of the middle answers as your next guess. (your first try teaches you what to try next. For this reason, chose the middle size answer to “check” first. At worst you need only try one more to know which of the two larger (or smaller) ones is right.

Lets look at “Strong Guessing” for Reading Here, we pick each of the given answers and rephrase the

question as answer, using this choice. Any that don't “work” are eliminated. If all but one is eliminated, this was an “easy” question. Usually, there is a sentence in the story that can be used to eliminate the wrong answers.

If more than one answer may be correct, you must chose the “best” answer. Here, they are looking for one that means the closest to what was said.

The hard test questions often require vocabulary or research you don't know to make a choice. Look at the meanings of the root words (for example “super” in superlative) for a clue. The best root word match is probably right. Also, when guessing, eliminate the “always” and “never” answers.

What to do on test day-Eat a good breakfast

-Bring the admission ticket, pencils, calculator you have practiced with, used every day. (2 line TI-30xIIs, FX 115ES, or equivalent)

-Get there early and find the test room.

-Drink a small caffeine beverage, eat some trail mix (Raisins, Crasins, M&Ms, Nuts).

-Use the restroom.

Don't get stuck on a tough problem. Once you have made a picture and or written down a few ideas, give it the strongest guess you can (just in case you run out of time) then mark it (one mark for should take only a little more time, or needs to be rechecked, two for “can do, but takes more time, and 3 for “have no clue”). Go on to the end of the section. With any time remaining in the section, come back to the one marks, then the twos, and if any time is left, the 3s.

Tips for taking the college entrance exams:

Go to the following web page and watch the slideshow there.

http://www.slideshare.net/sylvanlynchburg/sylvan-learning-center-tutoring-services-of-lynchburg-va-offers-student-tips-for-college-entrance-exams-3329872