Studying Is Only Half The Battle by Lena Katina

Good preparation is only half the battle in a Multiple Choice Question exam. When you sit down from the exam, you’re not necessarily thinking of the exam months prior. That is where we come into.

When we get ready to start a practice test, we think about the examiners. We think about how they may try to trip you up. We learn their goals and what they want to accomplish.

With all certification exams (http://www.certdaddy.com/), the main goal is to sort the ‘wheat from the chaff’. When you are in there staring at a question and you get that sinking feeling that the test creator is out to trip you up, there is a good reason. That is because they are, and you need to be wise to their strategies.

Multiple Choice Question exams (MCQ) are found everywhere. High school, college and even that driving test that you passed by the skin of your teeth. Here is a list of tips that I compiled which will help you perfect your MCQ answering technique:

Most importantly, READ the questions. Careless reading results in needless - and potentially costly - mistakes. If you miss the word ‘not’ in the stem (which of these is not a symptom of…) you could end up getting the entire question wrong, just because of one word. This one trips me up the most. I have found a very simple solution. In this scenario

“Which of the following tasks would James not do to accomplish …..”

When I read the question, I put a picture of James in my head and I picture him trying to accomplish something and then I see him “not” doing it. Look for the words that provide the negatives, or heck, even the dreaded double negative. When you read a question and you skim it and you go “Wow, got this one nailed. Answer B, click next.” STOP!!! You read it to quick. Take a look for words such as not, cannot, won’t, usually, sometimes and other words that can change the entire position of the exam. The following is probably the most popular preface statement on exam.

“Which of the following best describes ….”

At first glance, I know I am looking for the answer that is TRUE. However, if I take the question a step further “Which of the following best describes what James would not do to enable ….”

Latching on to the preface statement without catching the clause would cause me to miss the question. I would say on average I see these types of “not” clauses on 20 to 30% of a typical IT certification exam(http://www.certdaddy.com/).

Pace yourself and don’t spend too long on one question. I learned this bad trait in High School. I would encounter a question that I had absolutely no idea the answer of. So I decided it was war. It was that question against me. I would stare at the question forever, in hopes of out staring the paper and a magical answer coming out of it. Next thing I know the test is over and I am still fighting with a random question. Talk about a losing battle. Not only did I not beat the question, but it took me down in relation to other questions.

If you don’t know the answer, move on and return to the question at the end. All exams include a “Mark” capability for you to mark the question for you to review later. It’s there for a reason. Don’t avoid it, it is your friend!

Here’s a funny one that I still don’t understand. I’ll blame James and say he does this (okay, it’s me, but I like to blame him for some things). I run into a question that I have no clue about. I click the “Mark” checkbox and say “hmm, I bet the answer is A.” Now, I have marked a question saying I don’t know this, but yet, I have selected an answer. This is the wrong approach. If you leave a question, be extremely careful to leave the corresponding answer box blank. I have decided to come back to it for a reason. Plus, when I am reviewing the questions that are marked, and I note the checkbox on an answer. I am going to read into that as a suggestion of what the correct answer is.

Trust yourself. Your initial answer (or guess) is most likely to be right. The psychology behind this is subconsciously you have an inclination of the correct answer, so don’t doubt yourself.

An educated guess or an attempt to deduce the right answer is often better than leaving it blank.

Be on the lookout for double negatives. Two of my favorites:

• not uncommon
• not infrequently

Both mean often.

Answers that contain words like always and never are less likely to be correct. Statements that contain sometimes, may or might are more likely to be correct.

Beware of the word typically; this means ‘usually’. There might be an option given that’s correct, but rare - this is not ‘typical’.

About The Author

Cert Daddy (http://www.certdaddy.com/) - Certification Practice Tests for the IT Industry. Cert Daddy Practice tests are the best study and learning tools to prepare for certification exams. The four testing modes of Exam, Explanation, Adaptive and Practice Test, will help you overcome the challenges presented by today's IT Certification exams (http://www.certdaddy.com/).