Exam Preparation and Test-Taking Strategies

A collection of vocabulary terms and strategies for improving test performance and managing test-taking anxiety based on lecture notes.

Test Anxiety

A nonacademic feeling that can negatively affect performance by limiting the brain's ability to recall learned material.

Visualize

A strategy to combat anxiety by thinking about a peaceful place or imagining receiving a test back with high marks.

Specific Determiners

Words that mean something absolute or definite, such as always or never, which often indicate a statement is incorrect.

Distractors

Tempting wrong answers in multiple choice questions designed to make a test-taker second-guess themselves.

Rule out wrong answers

A multiple choice strategy where you use existing knowledge to identify incorrect options and place an 'x' through them.

Work backwards

A technique especially useful in math questions where you look at the options first to find the solution.

Long Essay Question

An essay format that asks a student to tasks such as tracing a history of events or comparing and contrasting different works.

Short Essay Question

An essay format that requires a well-organized paragraph or a list of major provisions and their significance.

Thesis Statement

The component of an essay introduction that states the main point or points.

Transitional Words

Words such as 'moreover', 'in addition', 'however', and 'therefore' used to improve the flow and clarity of writing.

Summary

A paraphrase of the introduction used to end an essay.

Conclusion

A statement of final thoughts or comments on the essay as a whole.

Test Review Session

A meeting offered after an exam where right answers and rationales are provided to help students understand their mistakes.

Absolute Words

Terms like 'all', 'only', 'must', and 'will' that tend to make statements incorrect because they do not apply in all situations.

Pre-college students with test anxiety

In the transcript, researchers project that nearly 10 million students in this group struggle with test anxiety or fear of performing poorly.

Breathing Procedure

A relaxation technique involving sitting up straight, inhaling through the nose to fill lower and upper lungs, holding for a few seconds, and exhaling through the mouth.

Muscle Relaxation Technique

A physical strategy where you tense and relax muscles starting with the forehead and working down to the toes in 10-second intervals.

Time Management Strategies

Activities such as reviewing the test before starting, using a watch to pace yourself, and setting goals for completion.

Sequence words

Words like 'first', 'before', 'later', or 'next' that indicate the order of events in a test question.

Calculators

Tools that should be used on any math question to avoid errors like a misplaced decimal point, no matter how easy the math appears.