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11

Taking Exams

Now that you have learned how to

prepare for exams, you are ready

to improve your test-taking strate-

gies. Although you will learn a

number of strategies to help you

succeed on exams, it is important

to remember that these strategies

are most effective when you pre-

pare properly for an exam. Simply

stated: Test-taking strategies can-

not substitute for ineffective exam

preparation.

I will focus on two different types

of test questions—objective and

essay. Objective tests include true–

false, completion, matching, and

multiple-choice questions. These

questions require students to select

correct answers from given choices

or to supply an answer limited to a

word or phrase. On the other hand,

essay questions require students to

construct their own responses to

questions. Most instructors use

combinations of these two major

categories of questions.

How many times have you heard

the following statements: “I really

know the material, but I am a poor

test taker,” “The test was tricky,” “I

really knew that question, but I mis-

read it,” or “ I knew the answer, but

I did not organize my response ade-

quately.” Although many instruc-

tors often will empathize with your

predicaments about taking tests,

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