Get a better multiple choice test score

1. Read the entire question.  This seems obvious, but since multiple choice assesses familiarity with a subject more than mastery, students may assume they already know what the question is asking and then hastily select the first familiar answer. Only later does the student discover that, in this instance, the question asked for an exclusion or an opposite.

2. Underline the operant phrases in the question such as: all of the following except ; none of the following except; always includes...; never includes...;  These key phrases confuse many students because the question asks for the selection of the one answer that is unfamiliar.

3. Strike out two answers of a four or five answer offering that are clearly not in contention. If there are three answer offerings, only one will likely be out of contention.

4. Consider the remaining two answers. Both will most likely have elements of correctness to them.  The more correct answer is the one that best fits the entire question as well as continues the theme of the author's message within the work. If you can make a clear connection between the question, your answer, and the literary theme, you are probably making a "good guess," and, in general, multiple choice tests are about exactly that.