Post by The Big PINK One♥ on Nov 28, 2007 12:03:17 GMT -5
Understanding How Exams Are Written Can Improve Your Score
Many classes, especially in freshman level college courses, have too many students for "open" question exams to be practical. In these classes, most exams are made up of multiple choice questions which can be quickly graded by the teaching assistant (TA). Knowing how college instructors write multiple choice questions can give you a "leg up" in answering questions you're not sure about. Follow the first seven tips below for such questions, and the final three tips to reduce the number of questions where you need help guessing. Together, the ten tips should help you ace your multiple choice exams.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #10: Guess intelligently.
In multiple choice exams each question has the correct answer given, along with three or four wrong answers. The wrong answers, also known as distracters, are meant to attract students who do not know the material into choosing them. In many cases, college instructors penalize you for each wrong answer to discourage guessing. For example, if each correct answer is worth 4 points and there are 4 distracters, your grade will be decreased by one point for each wrong answer. This brings the average score to zero if you are guessing completely at random. If you don't know the right answer, but you do know at least one of the answers is definitely wrong, go ahead and guess from among the others. In the above example, if you can eliminate two answers, your chance of guessing right goes from one in five to one in three. For every three such questions your score will increase by two points.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #9: Ignore obviously ridiculous answers.
When writing a multiple choice question, most college instructors will first write the question, then the right answer, and only then the distracters. Writing good distracters can be very hard to do. By the time they are on their fourth, many will just throw in anything that pops into their mind. Once you identify and eliminate this ridiculous distracter, you can use tip #10 above.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #8: Check for language consistency.
Since most of the instructor's concentration is on getting the correct answer right, you may find an inconsistency between the question and some of the distracters. This could take the form of one being written in plural while the other is singular. It could be that the question asks for a range of values, while one or more of the distracters give a single value. Another possible mismatch might be where the question is asked in past tense, and the distracter is written in future tense, etc. If you identify such an inconsistency, ignore that answer and let tip #10 increase your score.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #7: Paired answers usually include the right one.
Once the instructor has written the correct answer, a quick and easy way to make up a distracter is to write an answer that is paired to it. This could be its opposite, or a nearly identical wording with just one critical word or number value changed. The other distracters are usually very different from the pair and from each other. When this happens, you have just been given a hint to rule out three of the four distracters! Use tip #10 and collect the extra points. Some instructors know this, and will pair up two of the remaining three distracters, in which case you can only rule out the "odd man out" answer.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #6: "None of the above" is usually wrong.
One easy way to write the last distracter is to use the well-known "none of the above". Since most instructors are not actively trying to trick you by not giving the correct answer at all, this is very unlikely to be the correct answer. Ignore it and use tip #10.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #5: "All of the above" is usually correct.
If the correct answer has several aspects, many instructors will write partially correct answers as distracters. They will then put "All of the above""or "A and C" or something similar as the correct answer. The trap here is that if you are in a hurry you will see that A is correct and mark it. In doing so you will fail to realize that so are B, C, and/or D, implying that none of them is the "most correct." If two or more answers seem at least partially correct, and there is an answer that includes both, choose that one. Be careful though, and make sure none of the answers included in "All of the above", "A, B and D", or the like is wrong.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #4: If all else fails, guess C.
No matter what you do, there will almost always be at least one question where you are left completely clueless. In these cases, assuming there are between three and five possible answers, C is more likely than the others to be correct. The reason behind this seemingly odd statement is that instructors like to "hide" the correct answer between the distracters. Some do put the correct answer in strictly random places, in which case you will not gain anything by guessing C. However, on average you should not lose anything either. In most cases you will gain a slight edge by ignoring the first and last answers.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #3: Read carefully. Everything.
By now you realize that careful reading of the question and all answers is crucial. It is very tempting to quickly answer and move on to the next question as soon as you see what seems to be a correct answer. Do that and you will fall into traps set for the unwary student.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #2: Prepare thoroughly.
After teaching the same course several times, many college instructors have a file of old exams. Visit with the instructor ahead of time and ask for copies of these. You will have a very valuable tool in preparing for the exam. If old exams are not available, ask the instructor for a good source of practice questions and spend at least five to ten times the length of the exam working on those.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #1: Know the material.
No list of tips on how to ace an exam would be complete without the simplest, if not easiest, of them all. The first seven tips can help you guess better if you don't know the correct answer. However, even using all seven will not let you ace a well written exam without knowing the material. So, take good notes in class, and review them carefully before the exam. Finally, come to the exam well rested and after a good meal. This will help you avoid distractions as well as distracters.
Good luck!
Many classes, especially in freshman level college courses, have too many students for "open" question exams to be practical. In these classes, most exams are made up of multiple choice questions which can be quickly graded by the teaching assistant (TA). Knowing how college instructors write multiple choice questions can give you a "leg up" in answering questions you're not sure about. Follow the first seven tips below for such questions, and the final three tips to reduce the number of questions where you need help guessing. Together, the ten tips should help you ace your multiple choice exams.
Takeaways
Knowing how multiple choice exams are written can give you an edge in taking such exams in college
or high school.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #10: Guess intelligently.
In multiple choice exams each question has the correct answer given, along with three or four wrong answers. The wrong answers, also known as distracters, are meant to attract students who do not know the material into choosing them. In many cases, college instructors penalize you for each wrong answer to discourage guessing. For example, if each correct answer is worth 4 points and there are 4 distracters, your grade will be decreased by one point for each wrong answer. This brings the average score to zero if you are guessing completely at random. If you don't know the right answer, but you do know at least one of the answers is definitely wrong, go ahead and guess from among the others. In the above example, if you can eliminate two answers, your chance of guessing right goes from one in five to one in three. For every three such questions your score will increase by two points.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #9: Ignore obviously ridiculous answers.
When writing a multiple choice question, most college instructors will first write the question, then the right answer, and only then the distracters. Writing good distracters can be very hard to do. By the time they are on their fourth, many will just throw in anything that pops into their mind. Once you identify and eliminate this ridiculous distracter, you can use tip #10 above.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #8: Check for language consistency.
Since most of the instructor's concentration is on getting the correct answer right, you may find an inconsistency between the question and some of the distracters. This could take the form of one being written in plural while the other is singular. It could be that the question asks for a range of values, while one or more of the distracters give a single value. Another possible mismatch might be where the question is asked in past tense, and the distracter is written in future tense, etc. If you identify such an inconsistency, ignore that answer and let tip #10 increase your score.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #7: Paired answers usually include the right one.
Once the instructor has written the correct answer, a quick and easy way to make up a distracter is to write an answer that is paired to it. This could be its opposite, or a nearly identical wording with just one critical word or number value changed. The other distracters are usually very different from the pair and from each other. When this happens, you have just been given a hint to rule out three of the four distracters! Use tip #10 and collect the extra points. Some instructors know this, and will pair up two of the remaining three distracters, in which case you can only rule out the "odd man out" answer.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #6: "None of the above" is usually wrong.
One easy way to write the last distracter is to use the well-known "none of the above". Since most instructors are not actively trying to trick you by not giving the correct answer at all, this is very unlikely to be the correct answer. Ignore it and use tip #10.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #5: "All of the above" is usually correct.
If the correct answer has several aspects, many instructors will write partially correct answers as distracters. They will then put "All of the above""or "A and C" or something similar as the correct answer. The trap here is that if you are in a hurry you will see that A is correct and mark it. In doing so you will fail to realize that so are B, C, and/or D, implying that none of them is the "most correct." If two or more answers seem at least partially correct, and there is an answer that includes both, choose that one. Be careful though, and make sure none of the answers included in "All of the above", "A, B and D", or the like is wrong.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #4: If all else fails, guess C.
No matter what you do, there will almost always be at least one question where you are left completely clueless. In these cases, assuming there are between three and five possible answers, C is more likely than the others to be correct. The reason behind this seemingly odd statement is that instructors like to "hide" the correct answer between the distracters. Some do put the correct answer in strictly random places, in which case you will not gain anything by guessing C. However, on average you should not lose anything either. In most cases you will gain a slight edge by ignoring the first and last answers.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #3: Read carefully. Everything.
By now you realize that careful reading of the question and all answers is crucial. It is very tempting to quickly answer and move on to the next question as soon as you see what seems to be a correct answer. Do that and you will fall into traps set for the unwary student.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #2: Prepare thoroughly.
After teaching the same course several times, many college instructors have a file of old exams. Visit with the instructor ahead of time and ask for copies of these. You will have a very valuable tool in preparing for the exam. If old exams are not available, ask the instructor for a good source of practice questions and spend at least five to ten times the length of the exam working on those.
Top 10 tips on how to ace multiple choice exams #1: Know the material.
No list of tips on how to ace an exam would be complete without the simplest, if not easiest, of them all. The first seven tips can help you guess better if you don't know the correct answer. However, even using all seven will not let you ace a well written exam without knowing the material. So, take good notes in class, and review them carefully before the exam. Finally, come to the exam well rested and after a good meal. This will help you avoid distractions as well as distracters.
Good luck!
