Studying is a must for any exam. But for some students, even the best of students, all the preparation in the world might not be enough.

So what stands in their way? Anxiety and poor test-taking skills.

Certain tests, while not all, can cause students to stumble and fail the exam if the student isn't aware of how test makers phrase questions to make them more challenging. 

Another problem that can plague a student is anxiety. If the issue isn't addressed, you will be more prone to making careless errors, fail to recall what you've learned in your course materials or not finish the exam on time.

However, there is hope for home-study massage students. It comes in the form of test-taking strategies. These planned strategies can help you overcome some of the stressful obstacles you may encounter while taking a test.

Click Part 1 and Part 2 to read more in this three-part series.

Objective-style exams made easier

• Don't leave any question unanswered. Answer all of the questions you know first and then spend more time on the ones you don't. And if it's absolutely necessary, guess.
• Play the odds on true-and-false exams. If you are

unsure or don't know the answer on the test, answer true. Statistically, there are usually more true answers than false.
• On true-and-false tests and multiple choice exams, questions that have absolute statements (like all, none, always, everyone) are usually false.
• The reverse is also true for both types of tests, questions with guarded statements (like usually, most of the time, unlikely) are usually true.
• For any test, cross out the answers you know are incorrect. This will help you narrow down your choices and increase your chances of guessing correctly.
• Answers that have selections for "none of the above" are often incorrect. And answers with "all of the above" are usually correct.
• Look for the longer answers on multiple choice exams. The questions that use the most wording and descriptive detail are usually correct.
• Funny answer choices are typically the wrong answer. Test makers use these to make the test more entertaining.
• If all else fails you, and you can't narrow down any of the answers for a multiple choice exam, choose B or C. Statistically, these answer choices are correct more often than other choices.

--Jeremy Maready

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