Robin Fogarty and Associates, education consultants, coaching, seminar leaders and keynote speakers

Test Taking Strategies

ESSAY EXAM

E xamine carefully and follow directions.
S urvey all questions prior to answering any of them.
S elect a title; get a focus.
A lways outline or use a graphic organizer
Y es! Read over what you have written!

E laborate; write long rather than short.
X exit with an ending.
A dd evidence to each general statement.
M anage your time; budget it.

MATH

B e sure to use all necessary information
E liminate unnecessary facts

A ttack the test with a positive attitude

M ake educated guesses
A lways estimate before you look at the answers
T ake the "givens" first
H ave a way to check your answers

W ork systematically; organize your work
I nspect the graphs, charts and tables carefully
Z ee the patterns and trends

MULTIPLE CHOICE

T ime counts! Work quickly.
E liminate unlikely answers.
S cout clues (words and numbers)
T ake a guess before you choose.

T ry to give the answers "they" want.
A lways choose the "closest" answer; don't get creative
K eep going! Never give up!
E xpect "traps"!
R evise answers; change your mind!

UNPACK THE LANGUAGE OF DIRECTIONS

I dentify.recognize, name, label

C ompare/contrast..find likenesses and differences
A nalyze.take apart; evaluate details
N ame.list

D efend.justify; present an opinion and support it
O ffer a proof.show the rationale

T race.delineate; follow the sequence
H elp define.differentiate
I llustrate.draw; show, sketch
S ummarize.give the main idea or a synopsisﾭﾭﾭ