Welcome to multiple choice questions Part Two Strategies for Success. I'm going to discuss a little different approach to answering multiple choice questions. It's one that you probably already intuitively utilize at least to some degree, but I just want to cover it in detail, just to solidify a few points here and to hopefully help you gain an understanding that by sticking to a consistent format and the quote rules, you're more likely to be successful. Finish the questions with some time left over to review the ones you've marked and improve your odds significantly for improving the score. So the four step approach, it's broken down as follows. Step one is to read the stem.

Step two is to guess or predict the answer that you think the question writer is looking for. Step three is to evaluate the options and look at the answer choices. And finally, step four is to decide. So reading the stem, be careful and read it fully. Take your time students that Read the stem most carefully, often spend the most time on this part of answering questions and taking tests. Some data indicates that the most successful students on an academic basis spend almost 75% of the exam time reading just the stem and the question themselves, processing the data.

Remember, in the section about information versus data, the stems can be wordy and lengthy and some of the information is valid and valuable. Other times it's just distractions, foils and in things that are designed to confuse you or pull you away from assimilating the correct answer. Look for key words, and really try to understand what is being asked make sure that you understand the question at hand. Students oftentimes will answer questions that are not being asked. And a simple way to do that is just to paraphrase the stem after you read the stem to synthesize it and break it down into something much more concise and shorter battle Oftentimes help you answer the question being asked. After you read the stem, most often, you'll have an idea of what is being asked and what the potential answer is.

Try to predict what the question writer is looking for. And you do this by synthesizing the information in the stem. And it helps you to sort of think like the writer to get insight inside the mind of the writer. And by focusing on your answers, this really helps you prevent distractions. After all, skilled test writers are trying to distract you and get you pull you away from the correct answer. And after you've sort of decided or come up with your own answer, just check and see if it's an option in the list below.

Make sure to read the other options just for completeness. And you want to evaluate those options carefully. Read them all. eliminate any obvious answers that are incorrect. And if you don't know to supply some of the rules that I've provided in other parts of this lecture. If your answers there, go ahead and select it and mark it most often.

And that is correct and rake. Don't overthink it. Students oftentimes when they come up with an answer after reading the stem, and they've located in the answer choices, they tend to overthink it that maybe the question is tricky that they're missing something that that maybe it seems too easy and they go back and sort of cast a shadow of adult dealt of doubt on themselves and sometimes Mark wrong answer. If two answers seem correct, it's likely that the both are wrong, there's probably something that you're missing or misinterpreting. And so just keep that in mind. If you're trying to narrow down options if you really don't know the answer to the question you can eliminate those that are very close to each other.

And fair tests are fair questions. The best answers should really be clearly correct. It's really stand out as being the correct option or choice. And then finally, going to decide, always pick I always choose don't move on without making a choice. Obviously the best choice Based on elimination, based on your assimilation of data and applying some of the rules covered in previous sections of this course, if you have no idea about the answer, do not go back and reread the stem. I want to emphasize that.

Take your time reading the stem the first time, look at the answers, try and predict. But do not go back and reread this down it wastes time, and statistically it's unlikely to improve odds. What happens is that many students go back and reread the stem hoping that they're going to be able to pull some other piece of information out of the stem and apply it to the answers to help them eliminate or choose more wisely. But what I actually often happens is students end up rewriting a question or actually creating a question that's not being asked and then picking an answer from the question that they themselves have created. Don't do this avoid this temptation. If you do not answer a question, the result is one thing failure so do not leave any questions.

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