How to Ace a Multiple Choice Test

The human brain is a marvellous thing, and its capacity to store information is vastly superior to even the most advanced computer. However, when it comes to retrieving that information, we hit a stumbling block; the information is there, but we cannot always find it at the moments we need it most.

There are two ways in which we retrieve information - recall, and recognition. Recall is what happens when someone asks you what you had for dinner last night. Recognition, as the term suggests, is what happens when you pick the same brand of pasta sauce that you enjoyed last time.

Recognition is the method of retrieval at work in multiple-choice tests. And here's the good news: Recognition is much more accurate than recall, so multiple choice tests are much easier than short answer ones!

I'm sorry to say it, but the first and most important thing in acing that test is: knowing the answer. If the information was never in your brain in the first place, then you cannot possibly recognise it. So, get out those books. I'll wait here.

Done? Excellent - on to the good bits.

There is nothing quite like practice to help you learn something - multiple choice tests are no different. If you can get your hands on a practice exam, do so! Keep doing it until you get all the answers right, but take a break between to make sure you're really remembering it.

But there's even more you can do. If you can make yourself comfortable with the format of the test, you're well on your way to passing with flying colours. Let's try a sample question:

Remembering what you had for dinner last night is best described as:

A) Recognition.
B) Recall.
C) Retrieval.
D) Repetition.

If you answered 'B', congratulations! Even if you didn't, you've still helped yourself with the practice. Every little bit helps. Playing something like Trivial Pursuit helps a lot, because you get used to picking the best answer from a list. If you can train your brain to perform better at recognition, all recognition-based tasks will become easier, simple as that!

When it comes down to it, even if you don't know the answer, you have either a one in four or a one in five chance of getting the answer right. That's 25% or 20% - I think we can all agree that those are good odds.

This is probably not the best way to look at it, but it is one way. It is certainly a good starting point, because it means you don't have to panic at the beginning. Being calm and unworried is going to be a big part of your success - so take a deep breath, read the question again, and then move on to the next step.

Now that you've read the question carefully, and reassured yourself that you have good odds of getting it right, it's time to look at the answers carefully.

Sometimes, you look at one and think 'that can't possibly be right'. This is good! Because now you only have three or four to choose from, which not only improves your odds, but starts your brain up on retrieving the information you need. So, now that you've eliminated that one, have a look at the remaining answers and see which one makes the most sense.

Are there two answers that are worded mostly the same? There's a good chance that one of them is correct - pay close attention to the differences, and try to decide which one seems right. Read it out in your head or under your breath - does it still sound right? If it does, you've probably got your answer!

Otherwise, look carefully at each of the answers - do they all make logical sense? Try to work through the implications of each one, and see if there are any obvious problems with them. This should help you in picking out a few choices that could be correct.

The main thing to remember is that if you know the answer, it will present itself. If you don't know the answer, then your guess is as good as mine.

A last piece of advice - tests and exams are a part of life, but that doesn't mean they have to be a chore. Think of it as a chance to show off your hard-won knowledge, and you'll never worry again.