To enhance your test taking skills and get that ‘A’, take a moment to review the common test taking errors and tips referenced below.    
Read the Instructions/Questions Carefully: You have probably heard this tip a thousand times but failure to read the instructions and each question carefully can result in careless errors. Do not skim—read thoroughly and carefully. Sometimes, wrong answers can be the result of skipping over important directions.

Label Your Test: Make sure your name and student ID are on the test along with any other information required by the instructor or testing center. You would be surprised at how many students, anxious to get started, forget to put their name on the test or the Scantron! Failure to include your name will most likely result in a zero!!

Sequence Errors: Concept errors such as misunderstanding a principle involved in solving the problem or steps involved in the process can create problems in answering the question correctly. When studying, take time to review your lecture notes and textbook carefully to ensure you follow the proper sequence is answering the question. (Use flash cards and/or mnemonics when studying, to help remember and recall the order.)

Missing Problems in the Test: If you are anxious and/or have a tendency to rush, you may miss problems or skip a step. If you are confused on a question, circle it and come back to it later. If you have a tendency to skip the last step or part of a question, be sure to look at this part of the problem first. Always remember to review your test before turning it in!

Spending too Much Time on One Question: If you are spending too much time on one question, circle it, and refer back to it after you have completed the other questions (as you move forward through the test – other questions may prompt you to remember the answer to the question that stumped you). If you are taking a timed test, you may want to consider wearing a watch (testing centers do not allow cell phones at your testing station).

Recording the Incorrect Answer: Accidentally, copying the wrong answer from your scratch paper to the actual test can result in a disaster. To avoid this, strategically plan to compare your answer on the scratch paper with the one on the test.

Review your Answers: Careless mistakes such as forgetting to add two numbers in a long math problem, skipping steps or accidentally missing a question, can result in zero credit or a loss of points. To protect yourself against this common error, after completing each question/problem, review your answers thoroughly.

Preparing for Future Quizzes/Tests: Once you have received your quiz/test back, be sure to review it and look up every question that you missed.  Determine the reason why you missed the question and learn from it so you will understand the concept(s) and be able to apply the correct information on your next exam.

If you have questions or would benefit from additional strategies, reach out to a NOVA Online Success Coach today by calling 703.323.3347 or elisuccess@nvcc.edu. From test taking strategies to time management, we are here to answer your questions and help you access resources that will empower you to navigate the semester and pave your way to a successful academic journey.

Do you have trouble remembering people’s names after you meet them? Are you wondering how in the world you are going to remember all of the terms for your upcoming test?

By using some simple techniques you can help improve your memory. Here are some tricks:

1. Learn to understand the information you must remember.  Understanding the information will allow you to recall the information easily.
2. Form associations: between the information you must remember and an object, body part, place, or emotion.
3. Recite or rewrite the information you must remember several times.
4. If you must remember a large body of information, try to break the information into smaller pieces.  Then work on remembering the information in each category separately.
5. Mentally organize the information you must remember.  It is easier to remember information that is organized than to remember information that seems to be scattered all over the place.
6. Try to bring a personal touch to the information you must remember.  Relating the information to something about you will make it easier to remember.
7. Form a mental image of what you need to remember. Pictures are powerful tools for remembering.
8. Apply what you need to remember. For example, if you are trying to remember the meanings of new vocabulary words, use the words when you speak or write.
9. Test yourself.  By creating sample tests for yourself or creating flash card.
10. Try to make remembering a fun activity by creating games using the information you must remember.

This post was modified from How-to-study.com by the NOVA Online Success Coaches. If you have questions or would benefit from additional strategies, reach out to a NOVA Online Success Coach today by calling 703.323.3347 or elisuccess@nvcc.edu. From test taking strategies to time management, we are here to answer your questions and help you access resources that will empower you to navigate the semester and pave your way to a successful academic journey.

With mid-term or final exams right around the corner, you may be struggling to remember all of the terms you have learned this term. Or, you may be putting off studying for your exam because you can’t remember all the details.

Perhaps some of these memory tricks from Reader’s Digest will help you remember and prepare for your exams.

1. Pay Attention – When you see or read something you are going to need to remember.

2. Visualize It

3. Create Memorable Associations – Mentally associate a person or thing with another person or thing you know of with a similar name.

4. Make Notes – For example, when you are trying to remember someone’s name, make notes on the back of business card specifying what they looked like.

5. Retracing the Track(s) – Mentally or physically.

6. Turn it Into a Routine – e.g. Every time you think of the term ‘Acute’, mentally associate it with a ‘cute little girl’.

7. Sing It – Create a corny song if you have to.

8. Try Mnemonic Devices – e.g. ROY G BIV

9. Use Your Body – Remember multiple things according to major body parts. Start at your feet and work your way up. For example, if you have to remember 5 types of stones, think: Feet = Flagstone, Legs = Limestone, Torso = Terazzo, Arms = Agglomerate, & Face = Fossilstone.

10. Go Roman – Using rooms of association. Associate rooms in your house to what you need to memorize.

11. Rhyme It

12. Practice your ABCs – If you are drawing a blank, say the alphabet aloud or in your head. When you get to the first letter of the word you are trying to recall, it should dawn on you.

13. Read it, Type it, Say it, Hear it – The more interactive you get with the material, the more you will be able to recall.

14. Color Coordinate – Use hi-liters, colored flash cards, etc. Colors are mind triggers.

15. Make a Mental Map – Imagine an intersection, place a word, fact or number on each street corner.

Post provided by NOVA Online Student Success Coaches. If you have questions or would benefit from additional strategies, reach out to a NOVA Online Success Coach today by calling 703.323.3347 or elisuccess@nvcc.edu. From test taking strategies to time management, we are here to answer your questions and help you access resources that will empower you to navigate the semester and pave your way to a successful academic journey.