Test-Taking Strategies: How to Maximize Your Score on Any Exam

Before the Exam: Strategic Preparation

• Review past exams — professors reuse question formats and often themes. Old exams are better preparation than re-reading notes.
• Know the exam format before the day: how many questions, point values, time allowed per section. This determines pacing strategy.
• Create a "formula sheet" even if you can't use it — the act of creating it solidifies key formulas in memory.

Multiple Choice Strategies

• First pass: Answer questions you know immediately, skip/mark difficult ones. This builds momentum and ensures you don't run out of time on easy points.
• Elimination: Wrong answers are often easier to identify than correct ones. Eliminating 2 choices turns a 25% guess into a 50% guess.
• Absolute language: Options containing "always," "never," "all," "none" are often wrong (few things are absolute). Options with "usually," "often," "may" are more likely correct.
• Change answers only if you have a specific reason: Research shows first instincts are more often correct; changing answers based on anxiety typically hurts scores.

Essay and Short Answer Strategies

• Spend 5% of essay time on a quick outline — organized essays score higher than longer disorganized ones
• Answer what's asked: re-read the prompt, identify key verbs (analyze, compare, explain, evaluate)
• Allocate time proportionally to point values — don't spend 45 minutes on a 10-point question when a 30-point question remains

Managing Test Anxiety

If you freeze on a question: skip it, circle it, return later. Physical anxiety (racing heart, shallow breathing) responds to slow, deep breathing — 4 seconds inhale, 6 seconds exhale activates the parasympathetic system within 60–90 seconds. Mild anxiety actually improves performance; the goal is modulating severe anxiety, not eliminating all of it.