Page 243 - Keys to College Success

KEY 8.3 Understand what to do if you don’t know
the answer.

Ask for Sometimes a simple rewording will make you realize that you do
clarification. know the material.

Skip the question Letting your subconscious mind work on the question sometimes
and come back can make a difference.
to it later.

Build logical Take a calculated risk by using what you already know about the
connections. topic.

Bring up a
“mental map” Remembering where material was covered in your notes and text
of your notes. may jog your memory about content.

The act of writing about related material may help you recall the
Just start targeted information. You may want to do this kind of writing on
writing. a spare scrap of paper, think about what you’ve written, and then
write your final answer on the test paper or booklet.

8 am in a constant time crunch. I need a good grade to qualify for the next course in
Valid concerns can put students under pressure: “I have to do well on the final. I
CHAPTER my major. I can’t fail because I’m already in debt and I have to graduate and get a

job.” Compounded, these worries can often drive students to thoughts of academic
dishonesty. However, feeling the drive to cheat generally means you haven’t learned
the material. Ask yourself: Am I in college to learn information that I can use? Or to
cheat my way to a decent GPA and breathe a sigh of relief when the term is done? If
you aim to complete future coursework and to thrive in a job that requires you to use
what you’ve learned, cheating will not move you toward that goal.
Remember that there is often more than one solution to the problem, and that
every possible solution has potential positive and negative effects. Your decisions will
have lasting impacts on your future and your life. The risk of cheating may bring a
starkly different reward than the risk of staying honest even in the face of a lack of
preparation. The next time you are tempted to break the rules of academic integrity,
remember: The choice is yours, and so are the consequences.

Handling Objective Questions

Every type of test question has a different way of finding out how much you know.
First, look at objective questions. Objective questions generally have you choose or
write a short answer, often selecting from a limited number of choices. They can include
multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and true-or-false questions.

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