Unlike the multiple-choice questions, you do not lose any points on the grid-ins for an incorrect answer. This means you should never leave those questions blank. Always just do the best you can, and enter your best guess if you aren't sure of the correct answer.
Take a look at the sample grid above. Notice how there is space for you to write in your answer above the bubbles. Understand that this is just for your convenience, and to help you do your bubbling correctly. Anything you write in the spaces above the bubbles is totally ignored by the scoring computer.
Never mark more than one circle in each column. If you do, the problem is automatically marked wrong. However, you will not always use all four columns, as described below. If you don't use a column, just leave it totally blank--don't enter zeroes.
If your answer is a whole number or a terminating decimal, such as 57 or 17.5, you can enter it starting in any column. Don't add any extra zeroes on the left, and certainly don't add any on the right of a whole number, as that will change your actual answer. Note that the correct answer will never be negative. If your answer is 0, just enter a 0 in column 2, 3, or 4. Column 1 doesn't have 0 as an option.
Notice that the columns offer the options for decimal points and fraction bars. If your answer is a fraction, you can either enter it as either a decimal or a fraction. For example, 1/4 and 0.25 are equivalent, and both would be marked correct if that is the answer.
You must grid your decimal answers as accurately as possible, omitting the 0 in the units place. For example, you must grid 1/8 as .125. If you gridded it as 0.12 or .12, it would be marked wrong.
You must grid repeating decimals as accurately as possible. For example, 2/3 could be gridded as a fraction, or as .666 or .667. A grid-in of 0.66 or 0.67 would be marked wrong.
Do not grid mixed numbers. You can't grid 7 1/4 as 71/4, because that will be interpreted as seventy-one fourths. You could grid the answer as 7.25 or as the improper fraction 29/4.
If you get a large or obscure answer to a problem, especially a large fraction, it is wrong. Your answer will always fit in the four grid columns.
You do not have to reduce your fractions unless they will not fit in the grid. For example, 15/20 would need to be reduced to 3/4, since the former would require 5 columns.
Some of the grid-in questions have several possible correct answers that are totally distinct. Just pick one of them, and certainly don't try to combine more than one answer onto the grid.
Spend extra time practicing the grid-in questions, since you won't have multiple choices to guide you. Also be sure that you fully understand all of these logistical steps so that you don't have to waste time on the actual exam thinking about them. Good luck!