This article will help you answer multiple choice questions more effectively.
Task description
You job is to simply choose the correct answer from a list of possible choices.
How to approach this task
- Read the questions carefully.
- Skim the text to get the general meaning.
- Underline any keywords in the question and think about any synonyms that might appear in the text.
- Read the choices and underline any keywords. Think about the difference in meaning between the difference choices.
- Predict the correct answer.
- Read the text and using keywords and synonyms locate the part containing the answers.
- Read that part of the text very carefully, thinking about the difference in meanings.
- Think about not only which options are correct but how the other options are wrong.
- Go back and read the question again and mark your final choice.
Example
Which THREE of the following statements true of the Old Man of the Lake according to the passage?
A It has been a tourist attraction for decades.
B It is a drifting piece of wood.
C It is close to the edge of Crater Lake.
D It is owned by a local businessman.
E It can quickly move about the lake.
F It can be a danger to boat users.
G It is too small for someone to stand on.
How to solve this test?
- You will have to eliminate 4 of the 7 answers and this leaves you with three choices.
- If you are unsure of what the difference is between three sentences, it can help to rephrase them in your own words.
- If you are running out of time or you really don’t know the answer, have a guess. You will not lose marks for wrong answers and you have a 25% chance of getting the correct answer just by guessing.
Keyword table for this practice test:
Keywords in Questions | Similar words in Passage |
It is a drifting piece of wood | A more unusual attraction is the Old Man of the Lake, which is the name given to a 9-metre-tall tree stump that has been bobbing vertically in Oregon's Crater Lake since at least 1896. |
It can quickly move about the lake | Observations indicated that the Old Man of Crater Lake travels quite extensively, and sometimes with surprising rapidity |
| It can be a danger to boat users | Since it can be seen virtually anywhere on the lake, boat pilots commonly communicate its position to each other as a general matter of safety. |
Explanation:
Question 1:
- Find the keywords in the reading passage that has similar words in the question: bobbing vertically = drifting
- So answer of Q1 is B.
Question 2:
- Find the keywords in the reading passage that has similar words in the question: rapidity = quickly
- So answer of Q2 is E.
Question 3:
- Find the keywords in the reading passage that has similar words in the question: safety = danger
- So answer of Q3 is F.
Now continue this technique with another questions. This may seem like a lot of work and in the beginning but once you have practised this many times, you will be able to find your answers really fast and with much better accuracy and that will improve your score.
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