Preparing for Medical School - Page 16
Nature of Exams
Your exam can have three formats: objective,
subjective, or a combination of both types
of questions. Objective questions appear in the
form of true-false, multiple-choice,
matching, or completion. Science and mathematics
exams are usually presented using
an objective format. This is also true in other
areas, where a large class size is involved,
since it facilitates rapid grading. Objective
exams are thought by some to entail less
bias. Subjective examinations, on the other
hand, consist of essay questions, with rea-
soning, analysis, and opinion rendering. This is
the preferred type for humanities and
social science courses. Subjective exams are
viewed favorably because they are thought
to measure the depth of knowledge and
understanding.
Taking Objective Exams
Objective exams are recognition tests; you
should not read into the question any ele-
ments that are not self-evident. The most
straightforward, rather than obscure, meaning
should be considered. Your answer should be
based on the lectures and reading assign-
ments for the course.
Questions have equal value, so avoid spending
too much time on any one in particu-
lar. Answering all the questions that you know
at the outset will provide you with time
to consider and act on those you do not know.
This includes guessing.
Accept questions at face value; do not add,
change, or delete words to make the
meaning more acceptable to you.
On multiple-choice completion questions, try to
answer the question in your own
words first, then find the answer that most
closely approximates it. This is likely to be
the correct one. In alloting time, expect
multiple-choice questions to take twice as long
per question as true-false questions. Also,
when entering answers on an IBM card, one
solid black stroke is enough; multiple strokes
are superfluous and avoiding them will
save some time.
True-false Questions
1. Beware of mandatory words: "never,"
"always," "must." They presuppose that,
if any exceptions exist, the answer must be
false. If guessing an answer to a
question that has a mandatory word, then the
answer chosen should also be
false.
2. Similarly, you have to beware when such
mandatory words as "generally," "nor-
mally," and "seldom" are used, since they
clearly imply exceptions to the ques-
tion and these would make the statement false.
When guessing in this context, it
is best to choose true.
Multiple-choice Questions
If you are uncertain about any of these
questions and you have to guess, use the follow-
ing guidelines:
1. If two answers contain similar sounding
words, pick one of these.
2. If two answers are almost identical, choose
one of these.
3. If among the choices an answer is unusually
short or long, select one of these.
4. Eliminate extreme answers from consideration
and choose from among the
others.
5. If you are unable to make any choice, select
the third answer. It has the highest
probability of being correct.
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