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TAKING EXAMS 259Let’s now review specific strategies for improving performance on
true–false, matching, completion, and multiple-choice questions.Strategies for True–False Questions
True–false questions are statements that you must decide are correct
(true) or incorrect (false). Answer the following true–false questions
by writing True or False in the space provided:Efficacy beliefs refer to a student’s attitudes about an aca-
demic subject.The answer to this question is false, because efficacy beliefs refer to
the perceptions students’ have about their ability to master a specific
task.
The following are strategies for answering true–false questions:- Carefully read key words such as all, most, some, always, little,
none, completely, better, and more. A key word is a single word
that can determine the overall meaning of the statement. - Do not read too much into the statement. Base your response
on the information provided in the statement, not additional
knowledge you may know about the topic. - Carefully read questions that have two-part statements.
Remember that both parts of a statement must be true for you
to correctly mark it “True.”
Look at the following statement:Working memory is part of the information-processing
system and can hold from 7 to 10 units of information at
one time.The first part of the statement is correct, because the working mem-
ory is part of the information-processing system. However, the second
part of the statement is incorrect, because the capacity is from five to
nine units of information. Thus, the response to the statement must
be “False.”- Assume a statement is true unless you determine it to be false.
- Do not make decisions regarding a question based on the pat -
tern or number of true and false statements. Incorrect responses
to previous questions make such assessments inaccurate. - If you do not know the answer, guess. You have a 50–50 chance
of being correct.