If you got a question wrong because of an incorrect guess, review your guessing strategy.
Did you guess smartly? Could you have eliminated more answers? If yes, why didn’t you?
By thinking in this critical way about the decisions you made while taking the test, you
can train yourself to make quicker, more decisive, and better decisions.
If You Got a Question Wrong for Reason 3: Carelessness
If you discover you got a question wrong because you were careless, it might be tempting
to say to yourself, “Oh I made a careless error,” and assure yourself you won’t do that
again. That is not enough. You made that careless mistake for a reason, and you should
try to figure out why. While getting a question wrong because you didn’t know the answer
constitutes a weakness in your knowledge about the test subject, making a careless
mistake represents a weakness in your method of taking the test.
To overcome this weakness, you need to approach it in the same critical way you would
approach a lack of knowledge. Study your mistake. Reenact your thought process on the
problem and see where and how your carelessness came about. Were you rushing? Did
you jump at the first answer that seemed right instead of reading all the answers? Know
your error, and look it in the eye. If you learn precisely what your mistake was, you are
much less likely to make that mistake again.
If You Left a Question Blank
It is also a good idea to study the questions you left blank on the test, since those
questions constitute a reservoir of lost points. A blank answer is a result either of (1) a
total inability to answer a question or (2) a lack of time.
If you left a question blank for reason 1, you should see if there was some way you might
have been able to eliminate an answer choice or two and put yourself in a better position
to guess. You should also make a particular point to study up on that topic in physics,
since you clearly have a good deal of trouble with it.
In the second case, look over the question and see whether you think you could have
answered it. If you definitely could have, then you know that you are throwing away
points by working too slowly. If you couldn’t, then carry out the above steps: study the
relevant material and review your guessing strategy.
The Secret Weapon: Talking to Yourself
Yes, it’s embarrassing. Yes, you may look silly. But talking to yourself is perhaps the best
way to pound something into your brain. As you go through the steps of studying a
question, you should talk them out. When you verbalize something, it’s much harder to
delude yourself into thinking that you’re working if you’re really not.