Advice on answering multiple-choice exam questions

First off, if the answer choices are short (i.e., one word or a short phrase), then glance over each choice before reading the stem. This will help focus your mind on the relevant part of the question. That way, you are likely to realize which answer is correct by the time you finish reading the stem, if not sooner.

Regardless of whether you read the answer choices first, you should read the stem very carefully. Losing concentration while reading the stem can result in misinterpreting what the question is asking. Oftentimes, this can point you to an incorrect answer choice since distractors are often almost the right answer to the real question.

If you are not absolutely sure you know which answer choice is correct after reading the stem and each choice, begin eliminating answer choices you know are wrong. This may point you to the one correct answer. But even if it doesn’t, each answer choice you can eliminate greatly increases your chances of guessing right.

Watch out for words such as “except,” “only,” “always,” “not,” and “but.” These little words can completely change the meaning of the question or of the answer choices, making you choose an incorrect answer if you miss them.

If you read a question and you have absolutely no idea what the answers is and you cannot eliminate any of the answer choices, just pick an answer and move on. If you think you may be able to think of the correct answer if you take some time to think about it, circle it and come back to it after you finish answering the other questions. (Note, if you get to the end of the exam and you’re out of time, make sure to go back and choose an answer for the question you skipped—don’t leave it blank!)

Similarly, don’t waste time on question you know the answer to. If you figure out which answer choice is correct, circle it or fill in the bubble (whichever applies) and move on. Time’s a tickin’!

If you are recording your answers on a separate answer sheet, make sure to mark the correct answer on the exam itself (if you’re allowed to write on the exam) before recording your answer on the answer sheet. If you have enough time at the end, double check that your marked answers on the exam and the answers you put on the answer sheet match up. If not, fix the problem.

If you find yourself with several unanswered questions and exam time is almost up, just fill in an answer for each of the remaining unanswered questions.[1] But don’t fill them in randomly. You are statistically more likely to at least get some points if you choose a letter (such as “C”) and marking that answer on all the unanswered questions. This way, you’ll almost surely get many remaining answers wrong, but you should also get some right. If you randomly choose answers for the remaining questions, you might get several right, but you also run the risk of getting all of them wrong. So, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya … punk?[2]

[2] Yeah, it was a cheesy idea to leave in this Dirty Harry reference—which is precisely why I did.