Test-Taking Strategies Flashcards

When a reading question asks about the author's tone, where should you look?

Answer: Word choice and descriptive language in the passage

Tone is revealed through the author's word choices and descriptions, not outside clues.

A good strategy for the most difficult questions in a section is to:

Answer: Answer the easy ones first, then return to hard ones

Securing easy points first guarantees you do not run out of time before reaching them.

When plugging answer choices into a math problem to test them, where is it smart to start?

Answer: The middle value, so you can rule out a direction

Starting with a middle value lets you eliminate whole ranges based on whether it is too big or small.

Why should you trust your first instinct only when you have no clear reason to change?

Answer: Random second-guessing often replaces a correct answer with a wrong one

Change an answer only when you find a real error, since aimless second-guessing tends to hurt scores.

For a sentence-completion vocabulary question, what helps you predict the missing word?

Answer: Context clues and signal words in the sentence

Predicting the word from context before reading options keeps distractors from misleading you.

If you accidentally skip a question on the answer sheet, what is the immediate priority?

Answer: Stop and realign your remaining answers right away

Fixing the misalignment immediately prevents a cascade of wrongly marked answers.

What is the value of reading the question stem carefully before the passage in some cases?

Answer: It tells you what information to hunt for

Knowing what a question asks helps you read with purpose and locate evidence faster.