Proven Principles of Testmanship passing Ikes Tests Study Shortcuts for Comprehension & Retention:Always Read the Books

s Preface/Introduction. It gives you an important big picture of the authors intent. Always Skim the Books Table of Contents. It gives you an important big picture when studying. Skimming the Index is also very valuable for a preview of words that the author considers important information. This only takes afew minutes, but shortens the learning time because your brain already has the hooks to receive the information. Read or Skim the Book itself. If you own the book & workbook then Highlight only key ideas with a yellow highlighter. If you dont own the book, youre stuck with taking reading notes and jotting page numbers. A general understanding of content with Common Sense will answer many test questions. Underline any items that you want to. Whenreviewing/studying, skim those highlights/underlines plus review the diagrams. Yes, skip stuff you already know. Jargon is an important part of any vocation, and hence any training course. Instructors love to test definitions of terms. Study/Review the Diagrams & Figures. These explanatory & valuable diagrams are a shortcut to good Comprehension ! Make a Formulas Summary Sheet, Memorize & review them regularly.Make up your own General Summary Statements that cover many questions or principles of the subject in your own words. Involve as many senses in your study as possible sight, sound, writing, graphing, drawing, doing. Read stuff aloud. Its tempting, but if you want to actually learn the material and make a good grade, never skip the exercises . It aint a novel. Review Practice Test Questions (at the back of the chapter, book, or workbook) :Fill-in Questions When you are studying the questions, underline a very few key words in the question that determine exactly what is being asked. Also in your study, note any confusing parts or gotchas in the questions. Write in the short answer key words. Dont write in full answers. Use a yellow highlighter on just the answer.Review just the questions underlined key words & the answers highlighted key words. Speeds up review.Test Question Example: Statistics can feature in fallacious reasoning by not being further supported

. Multiple Choice - the objective is to 'recognize' the correct answer. When studying practice quizzes:Underline the few key words in the question that determine exactly what is being asked. (same as fill-in). Highlight only the correct answers main key word - Ideally, word(s) that are only in the correct answer.Only look at the RIGHT answer never peek at wrong answers. You dont want any memory of wrong answers."All of the Above" is correct if at least two are correct, but is not correct if one is clearly wrong. Choose the mostlikely of the remaining answers, or what you think you recognize. Longest answer is usually correct.Review just the questions underlined key words & the answers highlighted key words. Speeds up your review. True/False - False questions cause the most trouble Highlight the answer key word(s) and what makes it True or False Always , Never , and wrong words or numbers. Write in the CORRECT words or numbers for study so that youll recognize the wrong part of the question.Review just the highlight key words and your written in corrections. Speeds up your review. Problems & Charts & Graphs Underline the few key words in the question for what is specifically asked. This is very important. Write Out any formula (if applicable)Check all of the chart notes and special instructions (gotchas). This is very important.Plug and Chug. For graphs, be very precise using an acetate guide. A fat pencil can cause an error. Use the smell test (if something doesnt seem right, review your answer/recalculate) Danger! Question writers know the common mistakes, assumptions, and conventional wisdom, and they will have ananswer that matches yours. See gotcha above. You always wondered where those wrong answers came from. Reviewing :

Review the questions out loud (locked in your study). Hearing the right content reall y speeds retention!For difficult questions make a pencil checkmark for those youve had continuing trouble with. Memorize difficult answers.After the 2 nd or 3 rd time, Review only the questions with a pencil checkmark where youve had trouble. Erase the checkmark once you have that question down pat. You wont review as often if you have to review it all.Review your Formulas & Summary Statements regularly.Work one example of each type problem. Work another example next review time. Taking the Test : Just before the test , review Formulas & Summary Statements, and review only the questions youve had trouble with ( ). During the Test: Immediately write down your Formulas page from memory.Remember that you dont need 100% to pass the test. If youre baffled, move on. Dont sweat it!If you are unsure of an answer, sometimes another question answers it. Sometimes a memorized answer is better than understanding everything. I didnt say that.Stay to t he end and crosscheck answers and calculations. No prizes for the first failure out the door.The first answer you choose is generally right. Only change one if you misread the question or missed a gotcha .During the test, whisper just loud enough to be heard, Geez these are tricky questions! Itll spook the others!