Hello Doctors!
• Multiple choice exams also usually expect
Studying for a multiple choice exam requires a
special method of preparation distinctly different
from an essay exam. Multiple choice exams ask a
student to recognize a correct answer among a set of
options that include 3 or 4 wrong answers (called
distracters ), rather than asking the student to
produce a correct answer entirely from his/her own
mind. For many reasons, students commonly
consider multiple choice exams easier than essay
exams.
Perhaps the most obvious reasons are that:
• The correct answer is guaranteed to be among
the possible responses.
• A student can score points with a lucky guess.
• Many multiple choice exams tend to emphasize
basic definitions or simple comparisons, rather
than asking students to analyze new
information or apply theories to new situations.
• Because multiple choice exams usually contain
many more questions than essay exams, each
question has a lower point value and thus
offers less risk.
Despite these factors, however, multiple choice
exams can actually be very difficult and are in this
course.
Consider that:
• Because multiple choice exams contain many
questions, they force students to be familiar
with a much broader range of material than
essay exams do.
students to have a greater familiarity with
details than most essay exams do. Students
cannot easily "bluff" on a multiple choice
exam.
• Finally, because it is much more difficult for a
teacher to write good multiple choice questions
than to design essay questions, students often
face higher risks due to unintended ambiguity.
To prepare for a multiple choice exam,
consider the following steps:
Begin studying early
• Multiple choice exams tend to focus on details,
and you cannot retain many details effectively
in short-term memory. If you learn a little bit
each day and allow plenty of time for repeated
reviews, you will build a much more reliable
long-term memory.
• Make sure that you identify and understand
thoroughly everything that your
instructor emphasized in class.
Pay particular attention to fundamental terms
and concepts that describe important events
or features. Tie related ideas and observations
together. These are the items that most
commonly appear on multiple choice exams.
• As you study your class notes and your
assigned readings, make lists and tables.
Concentrate on understanding multi-step
processes, and on ideas, events, or objects
that form natural sequences or groupings. Look
for similarities and differences that might be
used to distinguish correct choices from
distracters on an exam.
 • If your textbook highlights new concepts or key
definitions, be sure that you understand them.
Sometimes new concepts are collected at the
end of a chapter. Check to be sure that you
have not left any out by mistake.
• Do not simply memorize the book's definitions.
Most instructors will rephrase things in their
own words as they write exam questions, so
you must be sure that you really know what
the definitions mean.
• Brainstorm possible questions with several
other students who are also taking the course.
• Practice on sample questions, if you have
access to a study guide or old exams.
Answering Multiple Choice Questions
There are many strategies for maximizing your
success on multiple choice exams. The best way to
improve your chances, of course, is to study carefully
before the exam. There is no good substitute for
knowing the right answer. Even a well-prepared
student can make silly mistakes on a multiple choice
exam, or can fall prey to distracters that look very
similar to the correct answer.
The basics
• Before you begin taking the exam, enter all
pieces of required information on your answer
sheet (If you are so eager to
start that you forget to enter your name and ID
number, your results may never be scored.)
• The surest way to pass any examination is to
know the answers to all the questions, but it is
equally important for the candidate to be able
to communicate his knowledge accurately
through the medium of the response sheets.
For the clear-headed candidate this should
pose no problems, provided that he
understands the form of the questions and
follows certain specific and simple instructions.
Nevertheless, all too often one finds that
candidates suffer through an inability to obey
these instructions precisely, to read and
understand the questions, or to organize their
time. Multiple choice questions are not
designed to trick or confuse the candidate;
they aim to test his knowledge of medicine,
obstetrics, psychiatry or whatever. Examiners
do not deliberately include hidden meanings,
catches or ambiguities- it would be pointless
and unfair to do so.
• Once you have read the question and are sure
you understand it, you should indicate your
answers by marking the response sheets
boldly, correctly and carefully.
• Take great care not to mark the wrong boxes
and think very carefully before indicating your
answers.
Here are a few tips to help reduce these perils:
• First Priority: The Question, not the
answer
(Spend 30-45 seconds)
Read the question, don’t assume, but understand,
read questions carefully before you choose your
answer.
 a) Test makers usually include "attractive disaster"
answer choices to distract you from the correct
answer. "Attractive disaster" answer choices are
close to the right answer, making them attractive,
but lack some vital piece of information that
keeps them from being correct.
b) Ask yourself – “What is this question asking?”
c) Summarize or paraphrase the question in your
own words:
Include
i) All key words such as: “given diagnosis”,
“priority”, “chronic”, “best response”,
“initial action”
ii) If given a scenario, make sure to include it in
your paraphrase.
iii) Reread question if you cannot do a) and b)
• Second Priority - Answering the Question
a) Try to answer the question without looking at the
multiple choice answers – cover the multiple
choice answers.
b) Ask yourself, “Where have I have been exposed
to this information?”
i) Try to visualize
ii) Relate key words to lecture, course
material, textbook,
experience PowerPoint, graphs/charts,
discussion group, etc.
c) Come up with your own answer.
d) Read multiple choice answers
e) Find the closest match between your own answer
and multiple choice options and pick that
answer.
• Test Questions in the Negative
1. Change the question from
negative to positive:
a) Cross out the negative word in the question:
“not”, “except”.
b) Restate question without
using the negative word:
“do”, “always”
c) Cross out the answers that are
true to the restated question
without the negative word
d) Only one answer should remain
– the only one that is true/correct
2. Double check by stating the answer first then
paraphrase the question
• Do not change your answer
a) 90% of the time your immediate answer is correct
b) Even though first answers are often correct, you
shouldn't be afraid to change your original answer
if, upon reflection, it seems wrong to you.
Dozens of studies over the past 70 years have
found that students who change dubious answers
usually improve their test scores. For example, a
May, 2005, study of 1,561 introductory
psychology midterm exams found that when
students changed their answers, they went from
wrong to right 51% of the time, right to wrong
25% of the time, and wrong to a different wrong
answer 23% of the time (Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, Vol. 88, 725-735).

• Don't Skip Around
If none of the multiple choice options match, skip
and quickly move to the next question.
However Skipping around a lot in the exam can
waste valuable time, because at some point you will
have to spend time searching for the skipped
questions and re-reading them.
A better approach is to answer each question in
order.
If you are truly baffled by a question, mark the
answer you believe to be right in pencil & place a
question mark next to the question, and come back
to it later if you have time. It is silly to miss easy
points because you spent too much time on one hard
question.
Try to keep these flagged questions to a bare
minimum (e.g., fewer than 10% of all items). If you
spend a great deal of time skipping around, you are
likely to mistakenly leave some questions
unanswered.
• Guess!
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so never leave
any question on a multiple-choice test blank.
• Don’t miss
If you do not see a response that you expected, then
consider some of the following strategies to eliminate
responses that are probably wrong.
None of these strategies is infallible. A smart
instructor will avoid writing questions for which these
strategies work, but you can always hope for a lapse
of attention.
a) Responses that use absolute words, such
as "always" or "never" are less likely to be
correct than ones that use conditional words
like "usually" or "probably."
b) "Funny" responses are usually wrong.
c) "All of the above" is often a correct
response. If you can verify that more than one
of the other responses is probably correct, then
choose "all of the above."
d) "None of the above" is usually an
incorrect response, but this is less reliable than
the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not
to be trapped by double negatives.
e) Look for grammatical clues. If the stem
ends with the indefinite article "an," for
example, then the correct response probably
begins with a vowel.
f) The longest response is often the correct
one, because the instructor tends to load it
with qualifying adjectives or phrases.
g) Look for verbal associations. A response
that repeats key words that are in the stem is
likely to be correct.
h) If all else fails, choose response (b) or (c).
Many instructors subconsciously feel that the
correct answer is "hidden" better if it is
surrounded by distracters. Response (a) is
usually least likely to be the correct one.
• What to Do If More Than One Answer
Seems Correct
If you're utterly stumped by a question, here are
some strategies to help you narrow the field and
select the correct answer:
 a. Ask yourself whether the answer you're time is of the essence accuracy is even more
considering completely addresses the question. important.
If the test answer is only partly true or is true
only under certain narrow conditions, then it's
probably not the right answer. If you have to
make a significant assumption in order for the • Process of elimination.
answer to be true, ask yourself whether this
assumption is obvious enough that the
instructor would expect everyone to make it. If
not, dump the answer overboard. Sometimes the best method of attack is to get rid
b. If you think an item is a trick question, of answer choices that you definitely know are
think again. Very few instructors would ever wrong. You may very well whittle your choices
write a question intended to be deceptive. If down to the correct answer.
you suspect that a question is a trick item,
make sure you're not reading too much into
the question, and try to avoid imagining
detailed scenarios in which the answer could • By extension, don't ignore facts.
be true. In most cases, "trick questions" are
only tricky because they're not taken at face
value.
c. If, after your very best effort, you cannot The correct answer choice for a multiple choice
choose between two alternatives, try vividly question will include any relevant facts from the
imagining each one as the correct answer. If question. Eliminate answer choices that skew
you are like most people, you will often "feel" those facts.
that one of the answers is wrong. Trust this
feeling -- research suggests that feelings are
frequently accessible even when recall is poor
(e.g., we can still know how we feel about a • Don't assume it's a trick question.
person even if we can't remember the person's
name). Although this tip is not infallible, many
students find it useful.
• Don't skip the directions. Quite frequently the answer that first stands out
to you is the correct answer. If you have properly
prepared for the exam all the right answers are in
your head so they should stick out more among
Silly mistakes are often the result of not the wrong answer choices.
thoroughly reading the directions for an exam.
One word in the directions can change what you
will be looking for in the answer choices. While

• Time Management
a) Try to leave some time to go over your
answers again before the end, paying
particular attention to questions that you have
found difficult. At the same time you can check
that you have filled in your responses correctly.
b) However, repeated review of your answers
may in the end be counter-productive. Answers
that you were originally confident were
`absolutely correct' often look rather less
convincing at a second, third or fourth perusal.
In this situation first thoughts are usually best,
and too critical a revision might cause
confusion.
c) If you cannot answer a question within a
minute or less, skip it and plan to come back
later. Transfer all responses to the answer
sheet at the same time, once you have marked
all questions on your exam. (If you try to do
several things at once, you increase the
probability of making a mistake. Saving the
relatively mindless job of filling in bubbles until
the last step reduces the probability of making
silly errors.)
d) Pacing. As the test is timed you should
determine on average how much time you
have per question. Then follow the easy
questions first, hard questions after method.
Ideally you should be able to finish the easy
questions in less than the average time leaving
you extra time to handle the hard questions.
e) Always have a sense of how many questions you
have to tackle and how long you have to do it in.
Take a quick flip through the pages of your exam
and note how much time you have left (wearing a
watch on test day is a good idea). One eye on the
clock isn't meant to stress you out; it just ensures
that you have enough time to get through
everything.
f) Take the time to check your work before you
hand in the answer sheet.
g) Effective time management leads to a
successful testing experience
In addition to the general advice
given earlier, you might find the
following hints helpful.
• Miscalculations.
Do not start counting up the number of responses
you think that you have got `right', calculating a
score and then (if you think your score is `safe')
indicating `don't know' for all the remaining items.
This procedure is .very dangerous, because:
a) Some of the answers you are `certain' of
will surely be wrong so you will not have scored
as highly as you think you have. Candidates
who adopt this approach tend to be uncritical
and superficial. Remember that if items that
you are `confident' you have answered
correctly are, in fact, wrong, you will not only
fail to gain those marks but will lose them.
Thus, if you think that you have answered 80
out of 150 items correctly yet have actually
 been wrong in as few as 10 instances (probably
an underestimate); you will end up with only
70 marks. Rather than wasting your time doing
misleading sums, you will be better off trying
to work out the answers about which you were
initially uncertain.
b) In any MCQ examination, you must try to
score as high a mark as possible.
• Take a Break
Try taking a few breaks during the exam by
stopping for a moment, shutting your eyes, and
taking some deep breaths. Periodically clearing
your head in this way can help you stay fresh
during the exam session. Remember, you get no
points for being the first person to finish the
exam, so don't feel like you have to race through
all the items -- even two or three 30-second
breaks can be very helpful.
• Make your mark
Be sure that you have filled the appropriate
bubbles carefully. A multiple choice exam offers
you no opportunity for "partial credit." If you filled
the wrong bubble, your answer is 100% wrong.
(Our instructor will probably never take a
close look at your answer sheet, so if you
fail to fill in bubbles completely or if you
make stray marks, only the computer will
notice, and you will be penalized. Erase any
accidental marks completely)
• Grand Finale
No amount of strategy can compensate for
poor study habits, understanding the structure
of a multiple-choice test and using good test-
taking techniques can only improve your
performance. Combining these techniques with
preparation and knowledge of the subject is the
best route to academic success.
Summary.
Tip no 1: Try to attempt max questions.
Tip no 2: Give max time to the easiest question.
If the first option is a correct one, look at the last
option to make sure it is not an "all of the above"
option. The same is true for the "none of the
above"
Tip no 3: Read every option, even if you are
more than 100% sure about the 1st option.
Tip no 4: Try exclusion mechanisms in case of
confusion.
Tip no 5: Always try to imagine the topic (in your
notes or book) .After reading the question cover
the answers with your hand and now try to answer
it .when you come with some look for it in the
given options.
Tip no 6: Always use true or false method in case
of negatively worded question (as in "which of the
following are NOT . . .”), or the questions having
“all except” put a T or F beside each option, then
simply select the odd statement.
Tip no 7: Before marking the option ask yourself the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to
“reason to mark it right “or “does it make any be trapped by double negatives.
sense or not”

Tip no 8: If while dealing with the question, your

logic says something and your knowledge says
something else, in this confusion always follow
your knowledge.

Tip no 9: when guessing, do not change answers.

Research indicates your first answer is usually the
correct one. However, don't be afraid to change
answers when you have a good reason for doing
so.

Tip no 10: Allow time at the end to check for

carelessness and Silly mistakes

Tip no 11: Read the question carefully! The

most common exam errors occur when students
fail to accurately or thoroughly read each
question.

Tip no 12: Even if you are unfamiliar with the

question, try to use common sense or logic
when selecting the best possible answer.

Tip no 13: Take notice of all-or-nothing words

or phrases. Examples include words such as
“Every” and "Always". These are less likely to be
correct than words that offer room for exceptions
or alternatives such as "Some," "Many" or "Few."

Tip no 14: All of the above" is often a correct

response. If you can verify that more than one of
the other responses is probably correct, then
choose "all of the above."

Tip no 15: None of the above" is usually an

incorrect response, but this is less reliable than