Test Taking

General Guidelines

• Preview the exam. Read the directions carefully. Look at the number of questions and allocation of points.
  
  
• Plan your time. Estimate how much time you will spend on each part of the exam, spending the most amount of time on questions worth the most points. If all questions are worth the same amount of points as in a multiple choice exam, calculate how much time you can spend on each question.
  
  
• Answer every question. Try not to leave any question unanswered.
  
  
• Don’t spend a lot of time on difficult questions (unless they’re worth a lot of points). Put a mark in the margin and come back to them later.
  
  
• When you’re finished, go back and answer questions you omitted initially and check for any careless errors (especially on math exams).
  
  
• Be hesitant to change an answer, your first instinct is usually correct.