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Tips for Writing Multiple Choice Tests

Tips for Writing Multiple Choice Tests

Tips for Writing Multiple Choice Tests Teaching Staff

Learning how to perform well on multiple choice tests can be difficult. Here are some tips to do better on your next test.

Read the question carefully. If you read the question too quickly or skip reading information provided before the specific question is asked, you may miss important information needed to find the correct response.

Try to answer the question for yourself before reading through the possible answers.

Do not spend too much time on any one question. If you find yourself spending a long time on one particular question, circle the question number so you know you need to come back to it and move to the next question. While writing any test, you want to ensure you have answered all the easiest questions first. After you have read through the entire test once and answered as any questions as you could, return to the questions you skipped.

Do not keep changing your answer. Sometimes it may seem as if a question has two correct answers, choose the answer which seems the best to you and move on to the next question.

Never leave a test early. Take advantage of all the time you have for the test. Be sure to use any extra time at the end of the test period to reread your test and check your answers. You should only ever leave a test early if you are sure you have answered every question correctly.

If you are struggling to answer one particular question, here are some tips to help:

• Eliminate options you know to be incorrect.

• Eliminate options that you are totally unfamiliar with.

• If you believe two or three options seem correct, “all of the above” is a strong possibility.

• If the question involves a number answer, eliminate the highest and lowest answers and consider the middle range numbers.

• If you are having trouble understanding double negatives, create the equivalent positive statements to help you.

• If two options are opposite each other, it is likely that one of them is correct.

This article was written for you by Mia, one of the tutors with SchoolTutoring Academy.