If you're stuck on a difficult question, trying to guess the answer strategically can increase your chances of choosing the right one. Look for clues in the context of the test that can help you solve a complex problem. Choose the answers that seem most familiar to you, even if it's just a faint feeling of dèjà vu. Try to find a pattern in the answers true or false and choose the latter if the sentence contains absolutes, such as "all" or "none". When guessing in multiple choice questions, try to go for elimination, look for clues in the syntax and, if you still have doubts, choose the more detailed answer.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Guessing the True or False Tests
Step 1. Answer the questions you know first
Clearly, you want to give as many answers as possible in the time you have available. Also, knowing the right solutions before and after a complicated question can help you find a pattern. Guessing like this is better than doing it randomly.
When answering questions you know in a test that has a separate solution sheet, be sure to skip the same ones you skip in the original sheet. This way they will not be offset
Step 2. Choose the opposite answer if the neighboring ones are the same
Let's say you know that the solutions before and after a difficult question are both true. Most likely, the correct will be false. The same answer is unlikely to appear three times in a row.
Step 3. Assume the solution is false if an absolute word is present
These are terms that leave no exceptions, like everything, everyone, never and always. There aren't many things that happen without exception, so the sentences that contain them are usually false.
When a question in which an absolute is present is true, it often refers to a well-known, common-sense fact that does not constitute good evidence for a test
Step 4. Suppose the answer is true if you see words like some, most, or some
They are called relative and, unlike absolutes, they are more likely to be true. If a statement allows for exceptions, it is more likely to be true, at least sometimes.
Other related terms are: usually, often, rarely and frequently
Step 5. If you are totally blocked, select true
Do this if you can't apply any other advice and have no clue to answer. Remembering a fact is easier than coming up with falsehoods, so test creators tend to include more true answers than false ones.
For example, if you are stuck on a question that contains no relative or absolute words, your best bet is to guess by choosing true if the answer above is true and the one below is false
Method 2 of 3: Guessing in Multiple Choice Tests
Step 1. Take a guess before looking at potential solutions
Trick answers are often put in place. When you read the question for the first time, try not to read the solutions, or cover them with your hand, to avoid raising doubts and getting stuck. Try to have an intuition by making a local mind. Then read the choices and check if any of them come close to your hypothesis.
Step 2. Eliminate the anomalous choices and the highest and lowest numbers
Avoid responses that are funny, clearly incorrect, or that seem totally out of context. If you have to choose from a list of numbers, exclude the highest and the lowest, then guess among the ones left.
Step 3. Look for grammar clues
It might seem like a no-brainer, but occasionally test takers don't notice that a question makes grammatical sense with just the right answer. Read carefully the possible choices and eliminate the ones that are incompatible.
For example, if there is a question like "a salamander is a" and "amphibian" is the only masculine answer, you will know it is the right one
Step 4. Choose "all above" if it only appears once in the test
If there is only one question that has "all" or "none of the above" as a possible answer, choose it, it will probably be the right one. However, you must be the one to judge if at least one of the other answers is incorrect
If you are completely stuck and don't know how to decide, try choosing "all" or "none" to have a good chance of succeeding. When these answers are present in all the questions, they are correct only in 65% of cases
Method 3 of 3: Making Correct Assumptions
Step 1. Ask to see past exams
Ask your teacher if he keeps his previous tests and is willing to share them with you. You can get an idea of the type of questions present and look for patterns in the correct answers.
Remember that it is always better to study than to try to outsmart your teacher. If you have to choose between studying or trying to figure out how often "true" is the right answer, study
Step 2. Find out if answers left blank are marked incorrect
Ask the teacher if points are deducted for those not given. Some discourage behaviors such as guessing, only subtracting points for the wrong solutions. If they are not deducted, it is best to avoid guessing.
- In the SAT typology there was a penalty if you tried to guess. Answers left blank were ignored, while points were deducted for wrong ones. In 2016 this penalty was removed. The PSAT, ACT and AP exam types also do not use them. In these cases you get one point for each wrong answer and zero for one left blank or wrong.
- Exam methods may change, so always make sure there are no penalties.
Step 3. Answer the questions you know before taking a guess
Time management is often a key factor when testing. Rather than wasting a lot of time guessing about a complicated question, skip ahead and complete the ones you are sure of. Don't go out of time by leaving simple answers blank.
Step 4. Look for clues in the rest of the test
You may find hints in the other questions. Some may remind you of the right answer or may help you by giving you a clue to complicated questions.
For example, suppose a multiple choice question wants to know whether a weta is a plant, insect, fish, or mammal. If you are later asked, "How many species of weta have entomologists identified?", Knowing that entymology studies insects, you will know the answer to the previous question
Step 5. Choose an answer that sounds familiar to you
Sometimes the right solution will make you feel like dèjà vu. If you're torn between a choice that sounds familiar to you and one that contains terms you've never heard of, pick the former.
