Transcript Test Taking Strategies Presentation

Test-Taking Skills and
Preparation
Test-Taking Skills

Skills related not to subject
knowledge but attitude and
how a person approaches the
test.
1.
Establishing a good attitude
Knowing the different kinds of test items
Knowing the keywords and phrases
Following directions
Moving from item to item without wasting time
Difficult questions and “educated guessing”
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Follow the Oral Directions
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This explanation is extremely
important to hear and
understand because the teacher
(Test Administrator) is not
allowed to repeat instructions
once the test starts.
Quickly Scan Each
Test Section
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This will give you an idea of
what’s coming up in the allowed
time for the section.
Pace Yourself and Don’t Spend
Too Much Time On Any One Item
If you have 30 minutes to complete a
section that has 15 problems, use no
more than 2 minutes per problem on
average.
15 Problems X 2 Min. = 30 Min.
Learn To Manage Your Time
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Bring a watch to monitor time or
look at the wall clock so you
know when half, and then all of
your time is up.
Don’t focus only on the time.
Too much time clock watching
can be counter-productive.
Read the Directions Carefully
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There are many “description” words
that are absolutely essential to
understand and pay close attention
to.
Underline these words in the
directions so you can refer back to
them.
During timed tests, some directions
are hard to remember if there are
multiple questions. Underlining the
keywords is extremely helpful!
KEY WORDS & PHRASES
Courtesy of Wikipedia:
1. Keyword categories
2. What is it Signaling?
3. Examples.
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1. Conclusion or Cause and Effect
2. A summation of the thesis
3. Examples are as follows: therefore; thus; in conclusion;
believes; so; consequently; it can be seen that; can conclude
that; claims that.
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1. Continuation
2. More support for the same claim is coming up
3. Examples are as follows: and; also; moreover; furthermore;
plus; in addition; at the same time; as well as; equally; besides;
what is more; both...and; equally important; not only...but also.
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1. Contrast (Linguistics)
2. A comparison of similarities and differences
3. Examples are as follows: but; despite; yet; however;
alternatively; still; although; unless; otherwise; not; though; while;
nevertheless; by contrast; notwithstanding; rather; conversely; in
spite of; on the other hand; contrarily.
KEY WORDS & PHRASES
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1. Emphasis
2. What is considered important
3. Examples are as follows: I think; above all; essentially;
clearly; most of all; especially; primarily; particularly; in large
measure; indeed.
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1. Evidence
2. An upcoming claim
3. Examples are as follows: because; for; since; the reason is
that.
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1. Illustration/Exemplification
2. That an example is being given as support for a claim.
3. Examples are as follows: for example; for instance;
specifically; to illustrate; such as; In the words of; To "name"; For
"name"; According to "name"; as "name" says.
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1. Sequence
2. That there is a structure or order that has been formulated in
the writing
3. Examples are as follows:Firstly,...,Secondly,...Thirdly,...Lastly;
Next; Finally; On the one hand; Recently.
Don’t panic if your mind
goes blank on one
question. Remember
you can put a star next
to it and go back to it
later. Don’t forget to
also star the answer
document until you
bubble later on.
Check Your Answers After
Completing Each Section!
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Make sure you recheck these answers
before you move on to the next section
(USE ALL OF THE TIME GIVEN FOR
EACH SECTION).
If you still have time left over, check over
all of your answers that you did not put a
star or check next to. This will help
eliminate the simple mistakes that we
make when we rush or did not read the
directions correctly.
Answer All of the
Test Questions
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If you can’t make up your mind
between 2 answers or have no
clue at all, make an educated
guess.
If you limit it down to 2 choices,
you have a 50% chance of
guessing the correct answer!
Recognize When the Correct
Answer is Not Given or There is
More Than One Correct Answer
 When you see “none of the
above” as one of the answer
choices, check to see if there is
one correct answer or none of
them are correct.
 When you see “all of the above”
as one of the answers, check to
see if there is one correct
answer or if all of them are
correct.
“None of the Above”
Always notice if “none of the
above” is listed as one of the
choices for an answer!
 You can usually limit your
answer choices down to one
possible correct answer
other than “none of the
above”.
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“All of the Above”
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Always notice if “all of the
above” is listed as one of the
choices for an answer.
Put checks next to all answers
that you think are correct.
If you think that more than one
of the answers are definitely
correct, then the correct answer
will most likely be “all of the
above”.
Strategies For Dealing With
Reading Passages
1) Read the questions before
reading the passage.
 This will give you a good
idea of what to look for in
the passage.
Scan the Passage
2) Refer to the passage to find the
answers.
 Scan over the passage until
you find a specific word or
passage that is related to the
question.
 The sentence before and after
will usually give you enough
information to answer the
question correctly.
Always Look Back
at the Passage
3) Don’t simply rely on your
memory from scanning or
reading the passage once.
 Always refer back to the
passage when moving on
to the next question
Look For Negative Words
in the Questions
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“Which one is not included…”
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“What is the opposite of…”
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“All of these happened
except…”
Main Idea &
Topic Sentence
 The
main idea and/or
topic sentence is almost
always stated at the very
beginning of the passage,
and sometimes listed
again at the end.
Relax, Get Plenty of Rest the Night
Before the Test, and Eat a Healthy
Breakfast the Morning of the Test
Maintain Silence During Testing This Causes Distractions for Others
Deep Breathing Exercises
Reduce Anxiety
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Practice breathing in real slow
and exhaling real slow if you feel
nervous or anxious before or
during the test.
You are Now Ready to
the Test
 Be
Confident
 Use the Time Wisely
 Fill in All Answers and
Check Them