How to Study for Multiple Choice Exams

byAWEB MEDIA GROUP
July 20, 2022

How to Study for Multiple Choice Exams – Are you preparing for a multiple choice exam? Are you struggling to understand how to answer multiple choice questions? Do you what to learn how to study for multiple choice exams? If this is you, then you are reading the right article.

In this article, we will cover everything you need to know on how to study and answer multiple choice exam questions.

What are Multiple Choice Exams?

Multiple choice exams are exams that require students to choose the correct answer from given options. It is usually used in market research, elections, and educational testing. This type of exam was created to help people with dyslexia cope with biological and agricultural subjects that have Latin names for plants and animals. This usually includes a question followed by four or five options left for the candidate to select the correct answer. As easy as this sounds, it can be challenging.

Benefits of Multiple Choice Exams

Below are some of the benefits of multiple choice exams.

They are easier and quicker to score electronically or by hand.
Multiple choice exams cover a wide range of content areas in a single exam.
They can be answered during class periods.
Multiple choice exams help to test a wide range of outstanding thinking skills.
They help educators evaluate whether students are learning what is expected and if they are room for improvement.
Multiple choice exams aid to motivate measure and reinforce learning.
The probability of passing this type of exam is high because they are plenty of choices. So the chances of choosing the right answer are high.

Disadvantages of Multiple Choice Exams

Although multiple choice exams are great, they can lead to anxiety because it is emotionally charged.
It takes skill and time to construct a good and sensible question for multiple choice exams.
It leads to a lot of guesses and students who don’t know the answer can get it right by guessing. This means that a student can graduate by guessing answers but be unable to practice what they read.
Multiple choice exams are usually long and take a lot of energy and concentration.
It can be hard to understand multiple choice questions because some of them are worded awkwardly.
Due to similar options, it can be hard to pick the right answer in a multiple choice exam.
Some students don’t study hard for multiple choice exams and rely heavily on guesswork.

How to Study for Multiple Choice Exams

Begin studying immediately after school starts
Request for the multiple choice test content
Design a suitable study schedule
Arrange your lecture notes
Set a Timer
Learn the material
Request someone to quiz you

Begin studying immediately after school starts

To pass your multiple choice exam questions you need to start studying immediately after the semester starts. The more you study it, the more you become used to it. Learning it at the beginning of the semester will help you better prepare for the exams.

Request for the multiple choice test content

You should ask your professor or teacher for materials with multiple choice questions to enable you to adjust to them. Doing this will help you understand the right way to answer multiple choice questions.

It will also save you the time of cramming textbooks and help you memorize similar questions that can come up in the examination.

Design a suitable study schedule

It is important to create a suitable timetable to help you study for your multiple choice exams. You can create this schedule two weeks before the exam date. Do not start studying two days before the exam, start earlier to make most of your studying time.

Arrange your lecture notes

To study effectively, you need to arrange your notes properly. Doing this will help you find answers to the multiple choice question easily.

Set a Timer

Set a timer and answer your mock multiple choice exam question. This helps you manage your time properly. You will reap the benefits of this on the examination day. You should also set a timer while studying your materials with a break period. Setting a timer helps you to know how long it takes you to complete a test and memorize material.

Learn the material

This is one of the most important steps in studying for a multiple choice exam. Read and master the materials. Use different methods to memorize your material and make sure you can discuss the content of your material without looking at the material.You can use flashcards or mnemonic devices such as drawing or singing to memorize the material easily. Jot down any important information and memorize it.

Request someone to quiz you

After you have memorized your material, it is important to ask someone to quiz you from your material. This will help you see the extent of your knowledge. It will also show you if you need to improve or not.

How to Answer Multiple Choice Exam Questions

It is important to study for a multiple choice exam but it is more important to know how to answer multiple choice exam questions. The strategy or technique a student uses in answering multiple choice exam questions will determine if they are successful or not. Yes, knowing the answer is important in passing an examination but you need to also know techniques and strategies to help you ace the exam. Here are a few tips to help you answer multiple choice exam questions properly.

Read the questions carefully
Think up an answer to the question
Find familiar types of wrong answers
Remove answers in two rounds
Do not overthink your choices
Properly manage your time
Answer each question

Read the questions carefully

The first step to answering a multiple choice exam question is to read the question carefully and understand it. You cannot answer a question you do not understand. Many students fail multiple choice exam questions because they don’t understand the question. Once a student understands a question, answering it becomes easier.

Make sure to read the question severally and understand it perfectly before answering it. Make sure you take note of words like “not” and “except” when you are reading the question. Examine the question and take note of how the meaning of a sentence can change because of a single word. Does the question have negatives (not, none, e.t.c), qualifiers ( usually, sometimes), and modifiers ( always, never)

Think up an answer to the question

The next step after reading and understanding the question is to come up with an answer without looking at the options. This helps you to answer correctly without the confusion that the options might bring.Answer the question in your own words before checking out the options.

Make sure you read every answer option before answering even if you are confident in your answer. Select the choice that best suits your answer. Read the answer choices carefully to avoid a similar answer that is incorrect.

Find familiar types of wrong answers

Instructors add similar words in answer choices to confuse students. To ace a multiple choice exam, you need to find familiar types of wrong answers and avoid them. Some common wrong answers are true but irrelevant ( i.e information in the answer is true, but not applicable to the question asked), reversals ( the answer has an error in chronology. Characteristics that make up the answer are not placed the right way.

It is essentially the exact opposite of the truth), too extreme (the answer exaggerates a fact. For example it can insist that it is always false when it is sometimes false) and getting one detail wrong (this means that the answer is perfect but for one small detail. Many students spend so much time trying to figure this out.)

Sometimes answers that utilize absolute words like “never” or “always” are unlikely to be more correct than answers that utilize conditional words such as “probably” and “usually”. “All the above” is frequently the right answer especially if one or two of the answers are verified to be correct. “None of the above” is typically a wrong answer but not always.

Be careful when making your choice.If the question ends with the indefinite article “an” then the correct answer will start with a vowel in most cases. The longest answer can also be the correct answer because the instructor tends to add a lot of qualifying phrases or adjectives to it. An answer that repeats the keyword (s) in the question can be the answer.

Remove answers in two rounds

To help you answer multiple choice questions, eliminate two answers you believe are wrong. This brings you closer to the right answer. Take it one step at a time; remove the answer or answers that are wrong and then re-read the question and pick the answer from the remaining answers.

If none of the answers left make sense after reading the question, then check the eliminated answers to confirm. The answer could be in the eliminated answers. Do this until you find the answer.

Do not overthink your choices

Do not overthink your answer or the options. If you are stuck on a question, move on to the next question and come back to it later.

Properly manage your time

One of the most important to answering multiple choice exam questions is to manage your time properly. Some students end up not finishing their exams because they did not manage their time. Once you get the exam sheet, fill out your name and registration number (if required) and then start answering the questions.

Never allow yourself to get stuck in a question. If you don’t know it, move on to the next question and come back to it later. Always have in mind how many hours are available for the exam and make good use of it.

Answer each question

Attempt to answer every question you are given. This is where guessing work comes in ( not advisable). Make sure you answer all the questions you know first and answer the others later.When you are done answering all the questions. Go over your work and ensure everything is top-notch before you submit it.

Conclusion

Multiple-choice exams are created to test students’ memory and recall skills. It is also meant to help students with dyslexia. This type of exam makes the work of examiners easier. Although this type of exam sounds easy it can be difficult for a lot of students that’s why we covered “how to study for multiple choice exams” in this article. We hope you found the contents of this article informative.

Frequently Asked Questions

To study efficiency for multiple choice exams you need to create personal practice questions, convert the headings and subheadings in the textbook into questions, convert basic concepts from lecture notes into questions and analyze preceding midterms or tests to make out the question style preferred by your instructor.

Some of the simple ways to pass a multiple choice test are reading the question carefully and understanding it, answering the question without looking at the options, eliminating the wrong options, answering all the questions, skipping questions you do not know, and coming back to it later and manage your time correctly.

Students struggle with multiple choice questions because they don’t understand them. After all, it can be worded awkwardy. Plus, it can lead to anxiety and students need to expand so much time and energy on the exam.The options in multiple choice exams are always similar. This can confuse a student.

The ways to memorize multiple choice answers are using mnemonics to connect keywords and answers to questions with stories or pictures. You can also use spaced repetition to remember the mnemonics you made.