Answering Individual Multiple-Choice Items

Think critically, and apply these strategies to each multiple-choice item.

A. Use the "cover up strategy":
  • Read the question stem. Cover the response options. Predict the correct response. Choose the option that is closest to your answer. 
Example: "Identify the strongest example of irony in the following quotations from the selection:"

A. "It was spring in Arizona."
B. "The hummingbirds were shivering in the evergreen shrub."
C. "It was a surprise to see the cacti blooming."
D. "Snow blanketed the desert."

You know that irony involves opposites, so look for the choice with the most glaring example of opposites. (Did you choose D?)

B. If your prediction does not appear, read each option carefully, If you are better at true/false questions, try reading each choice as a true or false statement.

Example: "When the camera looks down on the subject, the kind of camera angle used is"

A. Low angle
B. High angle
C. Flat angle
D. Canted angle
  • Did you identify B as true as you went through the list? 

C. Rephrase the question as a statement using the answer in the sentence.

Helen Keller

      Langston Hughes

She,
In the dark,
Found light
Brighter than many ever see...

Example: What is the mood of the poem "Helen Keller"?
A. peace
B. happiness
C. hope
D. despair
Rephrase the question with each answer:
A. "The mood of the poem is peace."
B. "The mood of the poem is happiness."
C. "The mood of the poem is hope."
D. "The mood of the poem is despair."
  • Choose the best response.  Did you choose C as the best response - better than any other listed? (You might think the poem is more about admiration, but it is not listed.)

D. Eliminate options that you know are incorrect. Reducing the number of choices increases your odds of success.

Example: In these, what poetic technique is used?                

My stick fingers click with a snicker
And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys;
Light-footed, my steel feelers flicker
And pluck from these keys melodies.
      John Updike, "Player Piano" 

A. Metaphor - X Two things are not being compared.          
B. Simile -  X Two things are not being compared using like or as.
C. Euphony - X Soft sounds are not used.
D. Cacophony  - The poet is using harsh sounds (t, c, k, p).
  • Did you choose D because the others do not fit?  

E. One of the answers is "All the above":

  • If you know 2 or 3 options seem correct, the answer "all the above" is a strong possibility to be the right answer. It always requires careful thought!
F. When all else fails, guess...but do so thoughtfully!

  • Make a guess when there is no penalty to do so. Leave troublesome items until last; then, use hints from other questions to help you guess thoughtfully.
  • Remember you are expected to choose the best response.
G. Change answers only when you are very sure of the correction.

  • For example, you find clues in other questions that show you that another answer is better.