dragonbook

48 Taking Multiple Choice Exams Studying for a multiple choice exam requires a special method of preparation distinctly different from an essay exam. Multiple choice exams ask a student to recognize a correct answer among a set of options that include 3 or 4 wrong answers (called distractors ), rather than asking the student to produce a correct answer entirely from his/her own mind. For many reasons, students commonly consider multiple choice exams easier than essay exams. Perhaps the most obvious reasons are that: The correct answer is guaranteed to be among the possible responses. A student can score points with a lucky guess. Many multiple choice exams tend to emphasize basic definitions or simple comparisons, rather than asking students to analyze new information or apply theories to new situations. Because multiple choice exams usually contain many more questions than essay exams, each question has a lower point value and thus offers less risk. Despite these factors, however, multiple choice exams can actually be very difficult and are in this course. Consider that: 1. Because multiple choice exams contain many questions, they force students to be familiar with a much broader range of material than essay exams do. 2. Multiple choice exams also usually expect students to have a greater familiarity with details such as specific dates, names, or vocabulary than most essay exams do. Students cannot easily "bluff" on a multiple choice exam. 3. Finally, because it is much more difficult for a teacher to write good multiple choice questions than to design essay questions, students often face higher risks due to unintended ambiguity. To prepare for a multiple choice exam, consider the following steps: 1. Begin studying early 2. Multiple choice exams tend to focus on details, and you cannot retain many details effectively in short-term memory. If you learn a little bit each day and allow plenty of time for repeated reviews, you will build a much more reliable long-term memory. 3. Make sure that you identify and understand thoroughly everything that your instructor emphasized in class. 4. Pay particular attention to fundamental terms and concepts that describe important events or features, or that tie related ideas and observations together. These are the items that most commonly appear on multiple choice exams. 5. As you study your class notes and your assigned readings, make lists and tables.