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Essay
Exams
Essays can be some people's favorite
or least favorite type of exam. The good part
of the essay exam is that you can truly explain
your knowledge of the subject matter in many
ways. If you forgot a single word, then it will
not cause you severe loss of points (as it would
in a multiple choice test). Usually, essay exams
are difficult to grade because they can be subjective.
Therefore, people with better writing skills
tend to favor these types of exams, as they
know how to structure an essay. If you need
help on writing essays, please read our section
on How to Write an Essay. The tips below will
help you prepare for an essay exam.
Multiple Choice
Multiple-choice exams are easy for some and
death for others. Some people can sail through
on them without studying at all. Others think
too hard on each question and miss the obvious
answer sitting before them. The beauty of a
multiple-choice test is that all the information
you will need is given to you. The drawback
of a multiple-choice test is that the additional
information given to you is designed to confuse
you. It takes a specific mindset to excel in
this type of testing. See below for tips on
how to prepare for a multiple-choice exam. These
exams are like sports; they take a lot of practice,
but you can master them. True or False questions
may also fall into this category, where you
will be given a fact and have to choose one
or the other.
Matching
Matching exams are rather student friendly exams.
They are generally given in high school, infrequently
in college, and almost never afterwards. They
come in two formats: equal questions and answers,
and trick question and answers. When there are
equal sets of facts to match up, then you will
more than likely excel. However, many tests
are designed to truly test your knowledge and
will place a few extra categories on one side
of the matching plane. When this occurs, you
must rely on your factual knowledge and not
simply your ability to filter out bad answers.
Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blank exams are also more prevalent
in high school and earlier. Occasionally you
will find this type of exam in college and beyond.
If so, you are lucky, for you will increasingly
wish you may have this type of exam. In this
case, you must know the factual information
in order to fit it into the sentence. However,
in these tests, you can rely on your context
clues of the sentence to see what works. If
you have a general enough basis of knowledge
on a subject matter, you will more than likely
fill in the correct blank. True or False questions
may also fall into this category, where you
will be given a fact and have to choose one
or the other.
Oral Exams
Oral Exams are generally held for graduate school.
In law school, students are questioned aloud
in class often, and in order to complete a PhD,
doctoral students must pass their "Orals."
These oral exams, also given in college and
high school, are stressful examinations. You
are sitting in front of professors who will
ask you questions on the spot. You cannot formulate
ideas in your head, test them out on paper,
and erase. You must come up with ideas and speak
fluidly and succinctly. You will have little
ways out of answering questions you don't know,
aside honesty.from
Of these six basic testing procedures, we will
outline different ways to prepare, depending
on your time schedule, your patience, and of
course your type.
Essay Exams
Ask your teacher/professor for a few practice
questions
Time yourself and write a sample essay or two
a couple days ahead of time
Look over old essay questions (if available)
Multiple Choice
Practice practice practice
Go over several old exams to get used to the
format
Memorize facts using flashcards or group questionnaires
Do not cram (for you will inevitably forget
information)
Matching
Memorize facts using flashcards
Group question-answer studying
Try your own matching tests, test yourself
Fill in the Blanks
Test yourself with self-made tests
Ask your teacher for old tests and practice
on those
Study with flashcards of facts
Test friends in a study group
Oral Exams
First outline all you plan to say on paper
Practice it aloud to yourself
Practice in front of a mirror (to see body language,
hand gestures)
Practice aloud to an audience (of family or
friends)
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