By Nacole Battee/reporter
Biting nails, scratching the scalp or chewing away pencils while cramming for an exam can become a distant memory, some SE Campus students learned last week.
Mike Eason, SE counselor, provided test-taking strategies during a Student Success Seminar Sept. 12.
“ The most important tip for students is to be prepared, study early and study often,” he said.
Eason suggested problem solving, test-wise and effective essay and analyzing strategies. Students should spend two hours studying for every hour they spend in class, Eason said. Students should also not cram the night before on an exam, but should maintain a positive attitude and practice some positive self-talk.
Budgeting time wisely will help students complete exams, Eason said. He also pointed out that it is OK to accept some anxiety.
“ Students should not place the importance on the test itself, but rather on the knowledge on which they will be tested,” he said.
For multiple-choice questions, Eason suggested a few tips. Students should read the questions before looking at the answers. He also said students should come up with the answers on their own before looking at the possible answers. That way the choices given on the test will not be as likely to throw students off or trick them. Students should not continue to change their answers, Eason said, because usually the first choice is correct unless the question has been misread.
For true/false questions, Eason said to read through each statement carefully and pay attention to the qualifiers and keywords. Usually there are more true answers than false on most tests. If any part of the question is false, then the entire statement is false. But, Eason said, just because part of a statement is true does not necessarily make the entire statement true.
A new group for students with test anxiety is in progress on SE Campus. The group will have a limit of 10 students who will meet 2-7 p.m. every Wednesday for seven sessions starting Oct. 3.
If students have issues with true/false questions, multiple-choice questions, essays or test anxiety, Eason said the counselors on TCC campuses are available to help.
For more information or help, contact Eason at 817-515-3582, by e-mail at michael.eason@tccd.edu or in ESEC 2109A on SE Campus.
