One topic of debate is whether or not you should double-check your test answers before you click SUBMIT. Some people find that double-checking all of their work is beneficial because it gives them an opportunity to look at the test questions again without the pressure of knowing you still have unanswered questions to get to. Others find that their first intuition tends to be right, so going back to double-check everything can be a dangerous source of doubt. Regardless of which camp you fall into, we have some tips to help you be more effective when it comes to double-checking your work.
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Tip 1: Use the “flag for review” feature
The exam system allows you to flag questions that you want to go back to later. Using this feature is necessary for taking advantage of our subsequent tips below. If you have never taken an exam from The Institutes before and would like to see ahead of time how the flagging feature, check out The Institutes’ exam demo video on YouTube.
Tip 2: Be selective and only flag the questions that you aren’t confident on
Avoid flagging so many questions that you end up marking nearly all of them. If you finish your initial go-through of your exam and don’t have enough time left to check all of your answers, following this tip allows you to focus on revisiting only the questions that need your attention the most.
Tip 3: If you tend to do worse when you second-guess yourself, only review your flagged questions
Some people find that revisiting questions they already felt confident on is a bad idea because their confidence waivers and they end up changing the right answer to a wrong one. If this describes you, don’t feel obligated to double-check every single question. Instead, as long as you followed tip #2 and were selective about only flagging the questions you truly weren’t sure on, you can limit your focus to the questions that you didn’t feel good about the first time around.
Tip 4: When revisiting a question, work backwards and lot more slowly
Studies show that your eyes and brain tend to prefill information and assume things based on past experience. Sometimes, when you re-read something familiar, your brain might actually be “remembering” rather than “reading.” This can defeat the purpose of double-checking because you brain isn’t actually ensuring that you read the question right the first time, and your brain might gravitate towards choosing the same answer you chose before because that’s what it already did the first time you read the question.
To prevent your brain from getting ahead of itself, change up how you re-read the question. You can read the answer choices from bottom to top, or for questions that involve a scenario of some sort, read the question before reading over the details of the situation
In addition, force yourself to deliberately read more slowly. Pause after each clause or sentence to make sure your brain fully comprehended that section rather than blazing through the entire passage. The more you rush and the more you do things identically, the more likely your brain will go on auto-pilot and fall back on what it remembers from before.
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Tip 5: Remember that future questions may help you answer earlier questions
Sometimes, a question includes information about a concept that gives away the answer to an earlier one. Or, as you are thinking your way through a latter question, you may suddenly remember additional details that you weren’t thinking about when you were answering an earlier question on the same topic. One of the benefits of double-checking your work is that your recollection or immediate memory may be richer on your second passthrough of the exam.
Tip 6: Always double-check your math calculations
The worse way to miss a point is if you make a math error on a test question that involves a formula or computation. Even if you are absolutely confident that you used the right formula, always double-check every single one of your calculations. Always.
Tip 7: Cover the answer choices and see you can get the right answer without knowing the answer choices
As you read a question, pay attention to what answer comes to your mind first before you’ve even seen the answer choices. If your initial gut response is among the available answer choices, there’s a decent chance that you are right!
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