Test-taking strategies for wordy questions?

[isasir]

It seems like, regardless of the subject area, I've heard the same complaint a number of times - "I know the material, but the question was wordy and confusing."

Does anyone have any suggestions how best to approach these types of questions, to at least make it once again a test of knowledge of material and not just determining "which of these is the best exception to the situation (choose all that apply)"

 

[kranky]

Maybe the problem is not a knowledge of the material, but a lack of reading comprehension ability.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: kranky
Maybe the problem is not a knowledge of the material, but a lack of reading comprehension ability.

Yeah, I think it is a reading comprehension problem as well. I actually was curious if there's books or material that could help with that as well.

 

[dullard]

Your post is wordy and confusing. Are you asking how best to take that test as a student, or how best to write such a test as a teacher/professor?

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: kranky
Maybe the problem is not a knowledge of the material, but a lack of reading comprehension ability.

Yeah, I think it is a reading comprehension problem as well. I actually was curious if there's books or material that could help with that as well.

Huckleberry Finn ?

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: dullard
Your post is wordy and confusing. Are you asking how best to take that test as a student, or how best to write such a test as a teacher/professor?

Yes.

 

[imported_bum]

A lot of these questions have nothing to do with reading comprehension. They are just poorly written questions that could be correctly interpreted in more than one way. Trying too hard to think about it can often work against you, so I just go with my gut feeling.

By the way, I assumed you were talking about standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, etc. Maybe it's less of a problem now because IIRC some kid sued (or at least rose all hell) about a "wordy" question which prevented him from getting a perfect score.

 

[isasir]

I actually was referring moreso to "adult" tests such as some of the questions I've seen on Microsoft exams, or for an HR test, like my co-worker was telling me about, or for a medical test, for example. It just seems like the days of just being able to know your stuff and get a straightforward question testing this knowledge are long gone.

 

[Toastedlightly]

maybe it's an excuess because they can't actually answer the question.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: dullard
Your post is wordy and confusing. Are you asking how best to take that test as a student, or how best to write such a test as a teacher/professor?

Yes.

I think B is the best answer given that it fits the criteria of the question in my teacher's mind.

 

[jagec]

1. Read the whole thing
2. Understand it
3. Answer the question.

You may "know the material", but if a question confuses you JUST because it's wordy, you obviously don't know it well enough.

That, or you're a bad reader; either way, no points for you!

 

[evilsaint]

Having taken 6 M$ exams and two CompTIA ones, I know exactly what you're talking about. Coupled with my ADD and too much caffeine, those kind of questions, especially when %75 of the sentences are just about semantically null (e.g.: having nothing to do with the material), can spell absolute terror sometimes.

I wish I could give you some tips, but even having tried as much as i've really been able to combat the problem myself, i've come upon nothing that's made much of a difference. Something to try though; when you start reading too much into the wordy questions, close your eyes, look away from the screen, and take a deep, slow breath, then re-read the question as briefly as you can, trying to concentrate on the important parts. Hopefully that'll help a little bit, and if not, umm, guess!