The Joy of Testing
Let me introduce you to Elizabeth, an 8th grade student in an English class. Her class has just finished reading the novel The Secret Garden, and now must take a test. Elizabeth is extremely stressed. She has read the novel and understands the story, but she struggles with tests.
What can Elizabeth do? Of course, studying and reviewing will help, but there are also strategies to use for different types of questions. This lesson will walk Elizabeth, and you, through strategies and tips for answering true-false, short answer, and essay questions on a test.
True False Questions
The first section on Elizabeth's test has true-false questions, which call for a judgment on the accuracy of a statement. Elizabeth's job, and yours, is to figure out if it the statement is in fact true. Here are some of the true-false questions Elizabeth sees.
- A London doctor went to see Colin and said there was nothing wrong with his back
- Colin thinks he's going to be a hunchback throughout the whole novel.
- Colin never wanted to learn to stand and walk.
One by one, Elizabeth reads the statements. Each one sounds correct, so does she mark true for them all? The trick with these types of questions lies in the specific details one sentence can contain. The first tip is to break the statement into specific details.
Using the first sentence, let's put that tip to the test. It begins with ''A London doctor''. Stop right there. Was the doctor from London? This one word can make the whole sentence false. If he wasn't, mark it false and move on. If he was, continue looking at each specific detail. Did he go see Colin? If so, did he say his back was healthy? If the answer is yes, then that statement is true.
The next tip for these questions is to watch for extremes. Words like ''always'' and ''never'' describe extreme conditions, which are usually false. Look again at the last two questions Elizabeth had in this section.
- Colin thinks he's going to be a hunchback throughout the entire novel.
- Colin never wanted to learn to stand and walk.
The first statement has the phrase ''throughout the entire novel''. The use of the word ''entire'' is indicating an extreme. Chances are this is false. Did he really think that during the whole book? If there was any doubt, then you must answer false. The same goes for the second statement, which uses the word ''never'', another extreme. Did he really never want to stand up or walk?
Short Answer Questions
Using those tips, Elizabeth flies though the true-false section and moves on to the short answer section. Short answer questions are open-ended questions requiring a few sentences to provide information. Here are the first two short answer questions Elizabeth sees on her test.
- Compare Dickon's upbringing with Mary's and Colin's. How is it different? How does that affect the kind of life each one leads?
- Describe three examples of magic that happened in the story
The complex nature of these questions can be challenging. Where does Elizabeth begin? First, she needs to note the power verbs, which are the action words telling you what the question requires. The first question has the power verb ''compare''. This means you must show the similarities and differences between the characters listed. What is the power verb in the second question? Elizabeth notes the word ''describe'', which means to give specific details. Address the power verbs first for short answer questions.
The next tip is to break the question into its parts. Elizabeth needs to ensure she answers all parts of the question. Look again at the first question.