How to

During your college career, you will take many of exams of all sorts: essay, multiple choice, short answer, true/false, etc. Becoming savvy about preparing for and taking tests during your first terms of college will certainly enhance your level of success and contribute to a competitive GPA at graduation.

• Find out about the test beforehand by asking what type of test will be given (essay, multiple choice, short answer, etc.).
• Be sure of what textbook material, lecture topics, or outside reading assignments will be included on the exam.
• Plan your study time well in advance of the exam and schedule review sessions frequently throughout the term.
• Organize the needed review activities into a logical sequence and set deadlines for meeting them.
• Get a good night's sleep the night before the exam.
• Stay away from such stimulants as coffee, tea and cola drinks before an exam.
• Prepare for an exam by creating sample questions about the material that will be covered and formulating answers to those questions.
• Listen to the directions given very carefully and read over all written directions before beginning an exam.
• In the exam room, choose a seat away from friends and distractions.
• In approaching multiple-choice exams look for such qualifying words as "always", "never" and "only" to give clues about the correct answer.
• Read through the entire exam before beginning to see if information in one question will help with an answer a question whose answer you are unsure of.
• If there is no penalty for guessing, make an educated guess by eliminating answers which are clearly incorrect.
• Eat lightly before an exam and stay away from foods with high sugar content.
• For true-false exams pay close attention to every detail of the question.
• Connect with other students in class to form a study group at least a week in advance to prepare for an exam.
  
  2/05/03