TakingMultipleChoiceExams

Studyingforamultiplechoiceexamrequiresaspecialmethodofpreparationdistinctlydifferentfroman
essayexam.Multiplechoiceexamsaskastudenttorecognizeacorrectansweramongasetofoptionsthat
include3or4wronganswers(calleddistracters),ratherthanaskingthestudenttoproduceacorrect
answerentirelyfromhis/herownmind.
Formanyreasons,studentscommonlyconsidermultiplechoiceexamseasierthanessayexams.
Perhapsthemostobviousreasonsarethat:
Thecorrectanswerisguaranteedtobeamongthepossibleresponses.Astudentcanscorepoints
withaluckyguess.
Manymultiplechoiceexamstendtoemphasizebasicdefinitionsorsimplecomparisons,ratherthan
askingstudentstoanalyzenewinformationorapplytheoriestonewsituations.
Becausemultiplechoiceexamsusuallycontainmanymorequestionsthanessayexams,each
questionhasalowerpointvalueandthusofferslessrisk.
Despitethesefactors,however,multiplechoiceexamscanactuallybeverydifficultandareinthis
course.Considerthat:
Becausemultiplechoiceexamscontainmanyquestions,theyforcestudentstobefamiliarwitha
muchbroaderrangeofmaterialthanessayexamsdo.
Multiplechoiceexamsalsousuallyexpectstudentstohaveagreaterfamiliaritywithdetailssuchas
specificdates,names,orvocabularythanmostessayexamsdo.Studentscannoteasily"bluff"ona
multiplechoiceexam.
Finally,becauseitismuchmoredifficultforateachertowritegoodmultiplechoicequestionsthan
todesignessayquestions,studentsoftenfacehigherrisksduetounintendedambiguity.[Thisis
NOTthecasewithVogeler'stests!]
Toprepareforamultiplechoiceexam,considerthefollowingsteps:
Beginstudyingearly
Multiplechoiceexamstendtofocusondetails,andyoucannotretainmanydetailseffectivelyin
shorttermmemory.Ifyoulearnalittlebiteachdayandallowplentyoftimeforrepeatedreviews,
youwillbuildamuchmorereliablelongtermmemory.
Makesurethatyouidentifyandunderstandthoroughlyeverythingthatyourinstructor
emphasizedinclass.
Payparticularattentiontofundamentaltermsandconceptsthatdescribeimportanteventsor
features,orthattierelatedideasandobservationstogether.Thesearetheitemsthatmostcommonly

appearonmultiplechoiceexams.
Asyoustudyyourclassnotesandyourassignedreadings,makelistsandtables.
Concentrateonunderstandingmultistepprocesses,andonideas,events,orobjectsthatform
naturalsequencesorgroupings.Lookforsimilaritiesanddifferencesthatmightbeusedto
distinguishcorrectchoicesfromdistractersonanexam.
Ifyourtextbookhighlightsnewvocabularyorkeydefinitions,besurethatyouunderstand
them.Sometimesnewwordsandconceptsarecollectedattheendofachapter.Checktobe
surethatyouhavenotleftanyoutbymistake.
Donotsimplymemorizethebook'sdefinitions.Mostinstructorswillrephrasethingsintheir
ownwordsastheywriteexamquestions,soyoumustbesurethatyoureallyknowwhatthe
definitionsmean.
Brainstormpossiblequestionswithseveralotherstudentswhoarealsotakingthecourse.
Practiceonsamplequestions,ifyouhaveaccesstoastudyguideoroldexams.

AnsweringMultipleChoiceQuestions
Therearemanystrategiesformaximizingyoursuccessonmultiplechoiceexams.Thebestwayto
improveyourchances,ofcourse,istostudycarefullybeforetheexam.Thereisnogoodsubstitutefor
knowingtherightanswer.Evenawellpreparedstudentcanmakesillymistakesonamultiplechoice
exam,however,orcanfallpreytodistractersthatlookverysimilartothecorrectanswer.
Hereareafewtipstohelpreducetheseperils:
Beforeyoubegintakingtheexam,enterallpiecesofrequiredinformationonyouranswersheet
IfyouaresoeagertostartthatyouforgettoenteryournameandIDnumber,yourresultsmay
neverbescored.Remember:yourinstructorwillnotbeabletoidentifyyoubyhandwritingor
similartextclues.
Alwayscoverupthepossibleresponseswithapieceofpaperorwithyourhandwhileyoureadthe
stem,orbodyofthequestion.
Trytoanticipatethecorrectresponsebeforeyouaredistractedbyseeingtheoptionsthatyour
instructorhasprovided.Then,uncovertheresponses.
Ifyouseetheresponsethatyouanticipated,circleitandthenchecktobesurethatnoneoftheother
responsesisbetter.
Ifyoudonotseearesponsethatyouexpected,thenconsidersomeofthefollowingstrategiesto

eliminateresponsesthatareprobablywrong.
Noneofthesestrategiesisinfallible.Asmartinstructorwillavoidwritingquestionsforwhich
thesestrategieswork,butyoucanalwayshopeforalapseofattention.
1.Responsesthatuseabsolutewords,suchas"always"or"never"arelesslikelytobecorrectthan
onesthatuseconditionalwordslike"usually"or"probably."
2."Funny"responsesareusuallywrong.
3."Alloftheabove"isoftenacorrectresponse.Ifyoucanverifythatmorethanoneoftheother
responsesisprobablycorrect,thenchoose"alloftheabove."
4."Noneoftheabove"isusuallyanincorrectresponse,butthisislessreliablethanthe"allofthe
above"rule.Beverycarefulnottobetrappedbydoublenegatives.
5.Lookforgrammaticalclues.Ifthestemendswiththeindefinitearticle"an,"forexample,thenthe
correctresponseprobablybeginswithavowel.
6.Thelongestresponseisoftenthecorrectone,becausetheinstructortendstoloaditwithqualifying
adjectivesorphrases.
7.Lookforverbalassociations.Aresponsethatrepeatskeywordsthatareinthestemislikelytobe
correct.
8.Ifallelsefails,chooseresponse(b)or(c).Manyinstructorssubconsciouslyfeelthatthecorrect
answeris"hidden"betterifitissurroundedbydistracters.Response(a)isusuallyleastlikelytobe
thecorrectone.
Ifyoucannotansweraquestionwithinaminuteorless,skipitandplantocomebacklater.
Transferallresponsestotheanswersheetatthesametime,onceyouhavemarkedall
questionsonyourexam.(Ifyoutrytodoseveralthingsatonce,youincreasetheprobabilityof
makingamistake.Savingtherelativelymindlessjoboffillinginbubblesuntilthelaststep
reducestheprobabilityofmakingsillyerrors.)
BesurethatyouhavefilledtheappropriatebubblescarefullyINPENCIL.
ourinstructorwillprobablynevertakeacloselookatyouranswersheet,soifyoufailtofill
inbubblescompletelyorifyoumakestraymarks,onlythecomputerwillnotice,andyouwill
bepenalized.Eraseanyaccidentalmarkscompletely.
Takethetimetocheckyourworkbeforeyouhandintheanswersheet.
Unlikeanessayexam,onwhichyoumaylaterappealagradeonthegroundsthatthe
instructormisunderstoodyourresponse,amultiplechoiceexamoffersyounoopportunityfor
"partialcredit."Ifyoufilledthewrongbubble,youransweris100%wrong.
Source:CenterforTeachingExcellence

AnexamplefromGeography111,HumanGeography,onhowtofigureoutthecorrect
answer:
Question:Onaworldscale,livestockperformmanyfunctions.Identifytheleastimportantone.
Possibleanswers:A)draftpowerB)milkandmeatC)manureD)personalstatusE)buildingmaterials
Determiningtheappropriateanswer:IfyouareenrolledinGeography111,HumanGeography,youwill
havereadachapteraboutlivestockinIndiawhichwealsodiscussedinoneclassperiod.
AnswersA),B),andC)areobviouslycorrect.Youhavereducedthefivepossibleanswerstotwo:D)or
E).Evenwithoutknowingthecorrectanswer,youcanpickthecorrectanswer.Iflivestockprovidethree
A),B),andCimportantthings,thenlivestockmustalsogivetheownersoflivestockpersonalstatus
(D).Nowyouareleftwithbuildingmaterials(E)stuffusedtoconstructshelteraratherlimiteduseof
livestock,giventhattrees,mud,andstonesarefarmoreeffectivewaysofbuildingshelter.Theleast
importantuseoflivestockis,therefore,buildingmaterials(E)!Congratulations,youhavethought
throughthecorrectanswer.

AnexamplefromGeography188,CulturalLandscapes,onhowtofigureoutthecorrect
answer:
Question:Institutionshavegeographicalmanifestations,whichincludeallbutoneofthefollowing:
Possibleanswers:A)locationB)ecologicalC)materialstructuresD)spatialpatternsE)social
hierarchy.
Determiningtheappropriateanswer:IfyouareenrolledinGeography188,CulturalLandscapes,we
discussedthismaterialinclass.Geographyisaboutspaceandthematerialcontentofplaces.
AnswersA)andD)areobviouslycorrect.Materialstructures(C)arebuildings,incontrasttonon
materialstructures,suchas"thelaw"or"thefamily,"whichmeansthenthatE)socialhierarchycan't
becorrect.Furthermore,culturallandscapesincludebuildingsandallstructures,e.g.,walls,fences,
billboards,freeways.C)is,then,alsocorrect.Placesalsoincludeenvironmentalelementsoftopography,
climate,andvegetation.So,B)isalsocorrect.Congratulations,youhavethoughtthroughthecorrect
answer.