Strategies & Basic Skills for Taking a Multiple Choice Test

When confronted with a multiple-choice question on a test, sometimes you are sure of the correct answer, sometimes you think you know what the answer is and sometimes you can only guess. When you are not sure, the challenge is figuring out which answer is the best guess. Develop the skills and strategies to improve your chances of picking the right answer and improve your test scores.
  1. Should I Guess?

    • Find out if there is a guessing penalty, which means that points are deducted for a wrong answer. If there is a guessing penalty, only answer questions when you are confident in your answer. If there is no guessing penalty, always make a guess -- you have nothing to lose.

    Answer the Question

    • Read the question, or stem, before you look at the possible answers. Decide in your mind what the correct answer might be before looking at the choices. Then look to see if your answer is included as an option.

    Read All Answers

    • Read all of the choices before selecting an answer. Even if you see the choice that you expected to see, read all of the choices to make sure there is not a better one.

    Narrow the Field

    • Eliminate from consideration the choices that you know are incorrect. Focus your attention on choosing the best answer from the choices that are left.

    The True-False Strategy

    • Read the stem along with each possible answer, treating each as a true-false question. Since you are looking for the best answer and may not find a perfect answer, select the one that is most true.

    Note the Wording

    • Doubt the choices where the wording of the choice does not fit with the wording of the stem. Test writers are not perfect and their small mistakes in wording may give you a clue.

    Avoid Absolutes

    • Give preference to choices where the wording is not absolute. For example, a choice with "frequently" is more likely to be correct than a choice with "always".

    All of the Above

    • Select "All of the above" when two of the choices seem correct and you are not sure that any choice is incorrect.

    Numbers

    • Guess at the middle range numbers. When the choices are numbers, eliminate the highest and lowest numbers and guess among the remainders.

    More is More Likely

    • Select the choice that contains the most information. You may do best by choosing the option with the most detail.

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