when taking essay exams you should

Essay Exams

What this handout is about.

At some time in your undergraduate career, you’re going to have to write an essay exam. This thought can inspire a fair amount of fear: we struggle enough with essays when they aren’t timed events based on unknown questions. The goal of this handout is to give you some easy and effective strategies that will help you take control of the situation and do your best.

Why do instructors give essay exams?

Essay exams are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you’ve practiced in the course. Instructors want to see whether:

• You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
• You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
• You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
• You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
• You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
• You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
• You can think critically and analytically about a subject

What essay questions require

Exam questions can reach pretty far into the course materials, so you cannot hope to do well on them if you do not keep up with the readings and assignments from the beginning of the course. The most successful essay exam takers are prepared for anything reasonable, and they probably have some intelligent guesses about the content of the exam before they take it. How can you be a prepared exam taker? Try some of the following suggestions during the semester:

• Do the reading as the syllabus dictates; keeping up with the reading while the related concepts are being discussed in class saves you double the effort later.
• Go to lectures (and put away your phone, the newspaper, and that crossword puzzle!).
• Take careful notes that you’ll understand months later. If this is not your strong suit or the conventions for a particular discipline are different from what you are used to, ask your TA or the Learning Center for advice.
• Participate in your discussion sections; this will help you absorb the material better so you don’t have to study as hard.
• Organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester. Others will catch things you might miss even when paying attention. This is not cheating. As long as what you write on the essay is your own work, formulating ideas and sharing notes is okay. In fact, it is a big part of the learning process.
• As an exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. This will help you forecast the questions that will be on the exam, and prepare for them.

These suggestions will save you lots of time and misery later. Remember that you can’t cram weeks of information into a single day or night of study. So why put yourself in that position?

Now let’s focus on studying for the exam. You’ll notice the following suggestions are all based on organizing your study materials into manageable chunks of related material. If you have a plan of attack, you’ll feel more confident and your answers will be more clear. Here are some tips: 

• Don’t just memorize aimlessly; clarify the important issues of the course and use these issues to focus your understanding of specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to organize and prioritize the information into a thematic pattern. Look at what you’ve studied and find a way to put things into related groups. Find the fundamental ideas that have been emphasized throughout the course and organize your notes into broad categories. Think about how different categories relate to each other.
• Find out what you don’t know, but need to know, by making up test questions and trying to answer them. Studying in groups helps as well.

Taking the exam

Read the exam carefully.

• If you are given the entire exam at once and can determine your approach on your own, read the entire exam before you get started.
• Look at how many points each part earns you, and find hints for how long your answers should be.
• Figure out how much time you have and how best to use it. Write down the actual clock time that you expect to take in each section, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending all your time on only one section. One strategy is to divide the available time according to percentage worth of the question. You don’t want to spend half of your time on something that is only worth one tenth of the total points.
• As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter. Instead, read through all of the options. Jot down really brief ideas for each question before deciding.
• Remember that the easiest-looking question is not always as easy as it looks. Focus your attention on questions for which you can explain your answer most thoroughly, rather than settle on questions where you know the answer but can’t say why.

Analyze the questions

• Decide what you are being asked to do. If you skim the question to find the main “topic” and then rush to grasp any related ideas you can recall, you may become flustered, lose concentration, and even go blank. Try looking closely at what the question is directing you to do, and try to understand the sort of writing that will be required.
• Focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.
• Look at the active verbs in the assignment—they tell you what you should be doing. We’ve included some of these below, with some suggestions on what they might mean. (For help with this sort of detective work, see the Writing Center handout titled Reading Assignments.)

Information words, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject. Information words may include:

• define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning.
• explain why/how—give reasons why or examples of how something happened.
• illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject.
• summarize—briefly cover the important ideas you learned about the subject.
• trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form.
• research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you’ve found.

Relation words ask you to demonstrate how things are connected. Relation words may include:

• compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different).
• contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar.
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation.
• cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen.
• relate—show or describe the connections between things.

Interpretation words ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Don’t see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation. Interpretation words may include:

• prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth.
• evaluate, respond, assess—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons (you may want to compare your subject to something else).
• support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe).
• synthesize—put two or more things together that haven’t been put together before; don’t just summarize one and then the other, and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together (as opposed to compare and contrast—see above).
• analyze—look closely at the components of something to figure out how it works, what it might mean, or why it is important.
• argue—take a side and defend it (with proof) against the other side.

Plan your answers

Think about your time again. How much planning time you should take depends on how much time you have for each question and how many points each question is worth. Here are some general guidelines: 

• For short-answer definitions and identifications, just take a few seconds. Skip over any you don’t recognize fairly quickly, and come back to them when another question jogs your memory.
• For answers that require a paragraph or two, jot down several important ideas or specific examples that help to focus your thoughts.
• For longer answers, you will need to develop a much more definite strategy of organization. You only have time for one draft, so allow a reasonable amount of time—as much as a quarter of the time you’ve allotted for the question—for making notes, determining a thesis, and developing an outline.
• For questions with several parts (different requests or directions, a sequence of questions), make a list of the parts so that you do not miss or minimize one part. One way to be sure you answer them all is to number them in the question and in your outline.
• You may have to try two or three outlines or clusters before you hit on a workable plan. But be realistic—you want a plan you can develop within the limited time allotted for your answer. Your outline will have to be selective—not everything you know, but what you know that you can state clearly and keep to the point in the time available.

Again, focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.

Writing your answers

As with planning, your strategy for writing depends on the length of your answer:

• For short identifications and definitions, it is usually best to start with a general identifying statement and then move on to describe specific applications or explanations. Two sentences will almost always suffice, but make sure they are complete sentences. Find out whether the instructor wants definition alone, or definition and significance. Why is the identification term or object important?
• For longer answers, begin by stating your forecasting statement or thesis clearly and explicitly. Strive for focus, simplicity, and clarity. In stating your point and developing your answers, you may want to use important course vocabulary words from the question. For example, if the question is, “How does wisteria function as a representation of memory in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom?” you may want to use the words wisteria, representation, memory, and Faulkner) in your thesis statement and answer. Use these important words or concepts throughout the answer.
• If you have devised a promising outline for your answer, then you will be able to forecast your overall plan and its subpoints in your opening sentence. Forecasting impresses readers and has the very practical advantage of making your answer easier to read. Also, if you don’t finish writing, it tells your reader what you would have said if you had finished (and may get you partial points).
• You might want to use briefer paragraphs than you ordinarily do and signal clear relations between paragraphs with transition phrases or sentences.
• As you move ahead with the writing, you may think of new subpoints or ideas to include in the essay. Stop briefly to make a note of these on your original outline. If they are most appropriately inserted in a section you’ve already written, write them neatly in the margin, at the top of the page, or on the last page, with arrows or marks to alert the reader to where they fit in your answer. Be as neat and clear as possible.
• Don’t pad your answer with irrelevancies and repetitions just to fill up space. Within the time available, write a comprehensive, specific answer.
• Watch the clock carefully to ensure that you do not spend too much time on one answer. You must be realistic about the time constraints of an essay exam. If you write one dazzling answer on an exam with three equally-weighted required questions, you earn only 33 points—not enough to pass at most colleges. This may seem unfair, but keep in mind that instructors plan exams to be reasonably comprehensive. They want you to write about the course materials in two or three or more ways, not just one way. Hint: if you finish a half-hour essay in 10 minutes, you may need to develop some of your ideas more fully.
• If you run out of time when you are writing an answer, jot down the remaining main ideas from your outline, just to show that you know the material and with more time could have continued your exposition.
• Double-space to leave room for additions, and strike through errors or changes with one straight line (avoid erasing or scribbling over). Keep things as clean as possible. You never know what will earn you partial credit.
• Write legibly and proofread. Remember that your instructor will likely be reading a large pile of exams. The more difficult they are to read, the more exasperated the instructor might become. Your instructor also cannot give you credit for what they cannot understand. A few minutes of careful proofreading can improve your grade.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind in writing essay exams is that you have a limited amount of time and space in which to get across the knowledge you have acquired and your ability to use it. Essay exams are not the place to be subtle or vague. It’s okay to have an obvious structure, even the five-paragraph essay format you may have been taught in high school. Introduce your main idea, have several paragraphs of support—each with a single point defended by specific examples, and conclude with a restatement of your main point and its significance.

Some physiological tips

Just think—we expect athletes to practice constantly and use everything in their abilities and situations in order to achieve success. Yet, somehow many students are convinced that one day’s worth of studying, no sleep, and some well-placed compliments (“Gee, Dr. So-and-so, I really enjoyed your last lecture”) are good preparation for a test. Essay exams are like any other testing situation in life: you’ll do best if you are prepared for what is expected of you, have practiced doing it before, and have arrived in the best shape to do it. You may not want to believe this, but it’s true: a good night’s sleep and a relaxed mind and body can do as much or more for you as any last-minute cram session. Colleges abound with tales of woe about students who slept through exams because they stayed up all night, wrote an essay on the wrong topic, forgot everything they studied, or freaked out in the exam and hyperventilated. If you are rested, breathing normally, and have brought along some healthy, energy-boosting snacks that you can eat or drink quietly, you are in a much better position to do a good job on the test. You aren’t going to write a good essay on something you figured out at 4 a.m. that morning. If you prepare yourself well throughout the semester, you don’t risk your whole grade on an overloaded, undernourished brain.

If for some reason you get yourself into this situation, take a minute every once in a while during the test to breathe deeply, stretch, and clear your brain. You need to be especially aware of the likelihood of errors, so check your essays thoroughly before you hand them in to make sure they answer the right questions and don’t have big oversights or mistakes (like saying “Hitler” when you really mean “Churchill”).

If you tend to go blank during exams, try studying in the same classroom in which the test will be given. Some research suggests that people attach ideas to their surroundings, so it might jog your memory to see the same things you were looking at while you studied.

Try good luck charms. Bring in something you associate with success or the support of your loved ones, and use it as a psychological boost.

Take all of the time you’ve been allotted. Reread, rework, and rethink your answers if you have extra time at the end, rather than giving up and handing the exam in the minute you’ve written your last sentence. Use every advantage you are given.

Remember that instructors do not want to see you trip up—they want to see you do well. With this in mind, try to relax and just do the best you can. The more you panic, the more mistakes you are liable to make. Put the test in perspective: will you die from a poor performance? Will you lose all of your friends? Will your entire future be destroyed? Remember: it’s just a test.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. 2016. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing , 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Fowler, Ramsay H., and Jane E. Aaron. 2016. The Little, Brown Handbook , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Gefvert, Constance J. 1988. The Confident Writer: A Norton Handbook , 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Kirszner, Laurie G. 1988. Writing: A College Rhetoric , 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Woodman, Leonara, and Thomas P. Adler. 1988. The Writer’s Choices , 2nd ed. Northbrook, Illinois: Scott Foresman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Essay Test Preparation Tips and Strategies

Essay test questions can be very intimidating, but they can also be very rewarding. Unlike other types of exams (i.e., multiple choice, true or false, etc.) essay tests allow you develop an answer based on your understanding or knowledge.

If you’ve studied all semester, understand the course concepts, and have reviewed prior to the test, the following strategies can help you improve your performance on essay tests and exams.

Strategies to Help You Improve Your Performance on Essay Tests and Exams

Read the directions.

Reading the directions seems so obvious. Unfortunately, it’s still one of the biggest test taking mistakes students make. Before answering an essay question, thoroughly read the instructions. Do not jump to the answer without being sure of what exactly the question is asking. In many cases, the teacher is looking for specific types of responses. Never assume you know what is being asked, or what is required, until you’ve read the entire question.

Ask for clarification

Read essay questions in their entirety before preparing an answer. If the instructions are unclear, or you simply don’t understand a question, ask the teacher for clarification. Chances are if you’re confused so is someone else. Never be scared to ask for clarification from your teacher or instructor.

Provide detail

Provide as many details and specific examples when answering an essay question as you can. Teachers are usually looking for very specific responses to see whether or not you’ve learned the material. The more relevant detail you provide, the higher grade is likely to be. However, only include correct, accurate and relevant information. Including irrelevant “filler” that doesn’t support your answer will likely lower your grade.

Budget your time

Manage your time wisely when answering essay questions so you are able answer all the questions, not just the easy or hard ones. If you finish your test before time is up, go back and review your answers and provide additional details.

We recommend answering those essay questions you’re most familiar with first and then tackling more challenging questions after. It’s also not uncommon on essay tests for some questions to be worth more than others. When budgeting your time, make sure to allocate more time to those questions that are worth the most.

Follow the instructions

When a question is only requiring facts, be sure to avoid sharing opinions. Only provide the information the instructions request. It’s important to provide an answer that matches the type of essay question being asked. You’ll find a list of common types of essay questions at the bottom of this page.

In your answers, get to the point and be very clear. It is generally best to be as concise as possible. If you provide numerous facts or details, be sure they’re related to the question. A typical essay answer should be between 200 and 800 words (2-8 paragraphs) but more isn’t necessarily better. Focus on substance over quantity.

Write clearly and legibly

Be sure your essays are legible and easy to understand. If a teacher has a difficult time reading or understanding what you’ve written, you could receive a lower score.

Get organized

Organize your thoughts before answering your essay question. We even recommend developing a short outline before preparing your answer. This strategy will help you save time and keep your essay organized. Organizing your thoughts and preparing a short outline will allow you to write more clearly and concisely.

Get to the point – Focus on substance

Only spend time answering the question and keep your essays focused. An overly long introduction and conclusion can be unnecessary. If your essay does not thoroughly answer the question and provide substance, a well developed introduction or conclusion will do you no good.

Use paragraphs to separate ideas

When developing your essay, keep main ideas and other important details separated with paragraphs. An essay response should have three parts: the introduction; the body; and the conclusion. The introduction is typically one paragraph, as is the conclusion. The body of the essay usually consists of 2 to 6 paragraphs depending on the type of essay and the information being presented.

Go back and review

If time permits, review your answers and make changes if necessary. Make sure you employed correct grammar and that your essays are well written. It’s not uncommon to make silly mistakes your first time through your essay. Reviewing your work is always a good idea.

Approximate

When you are unsure of specific dates, just approximate dates. For example, if you know an event occurred sometime during the 1820’s, then just write, “in the early 1800’s.”

Common Question Types on Essay Exams

Being able to identify and becoming familiar with the most common types of essay test questions is key to improving performance on essay exams. The following are 5 of the most common question types you’ll find on essay exams.

1. Identify

Identify essay questions ask for short, concise answers and typically do not require a fully developed essay.

• Ask yourself: “What is the idea or concept in question?”, “What are the main characteristics?”, “What does this mean?”
• Keywords to look for: Summarize, List, Describe, Define, Enumerate, State
• Example question: “Define what is meant by ‘separation of church and state.'”

Explain essay questions require a full-length essay with a fully developed response that provides ample supporting detail.

• Ask yourself: “What are the main points?”, “Why is this the case?”
• Keywords to look for: Discuss, Explain, Analyze, Illustrate
• Example question: “Discuss the differences between the political views of democrats and republicans. Use specific examples from each party’s 2017 presidential campaign to argue which views are more in line with U.S. national interests.”

Compare essay questions require an analysis in essay form which focuses on similarities, differences, and connections between specific ideas or concepts.

• Ask yourself: “What are the main concepts or ideas?”, “What are the similarities?”, “What are the differences?”
• Keywords to look for: Compare, Contrast, Relate
• Example question: “Compare the value of attending a community college to the value of attending a 4-year university. Which would you rather attend?”

Argue essay questions require you to form an opinion or take a position on an issue and defend your position against alternative positions using arguments backed by analysis and information.

• Ask yourself: “Is this position correct?”, “Why is this issue true?”
• Keywords to look for: Prove, Justify
• Example question: “Argue whether robotics will replace blue collar manufacturing jobs in the next ten years.”

Assess essay questions involve assessing an issue, idea or question by describing acceptable criteria and defending a position/judgment on the issue.

• Ask yourself: “What is the main idea/issue and what does it mean?”, “Why is the issue important?”, “What are its strengths?”, “What are the weaknesses?”
• Keywords to look for: Evaluate, Criticize, Evaluate, Interpret
• Example question: “With respect to U.S. national security, evaluate the benefit of constructing a wall along the southern border of the United States of America.”

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• EXPLORE Random Article

How to Prepare for an Essay Exam

Last Updated: April 20, 2023

This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD . Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in 2008 and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2015. This article has been viewed 137,181 times.

The dreaded essay exam. Whether you like it or not, at some point in your life you are certain to encounter an exam composed entirely of essays. In the days leading up to the exam you may feel anxious or downright sick to your stomach. Fortunately, with a little bit of preparation and practice, you can turn any pre-exam jitters into a feeling of confidence, which will allow you to successfully tackle any essay exam.

Participating in Class

• Actively participate. It’s important to find a participation method that works for you, whether that’s asking thought-provoking questions or commenting on the reading. Active participation just means involving yourself in some way, so even if you don’t feel comfortable speaking at length in front of your peers, try to ask a question every now and then.
• Free yourself from distractions. Put away your cell phone or tablet and concentrate on listening and taking good notes. Now is not the time to work on homework for another class or to catch up with friends on Facebook.

• Always have a notebook on hand. It is helpful to use one notebook per subject or course, so that you don’t confuse yourself when looking back.
• Be sure to date your notes so that you can quickly reference or find the subject material covered on the exam.
• If you struggle with taking notes, ask the instructor if you can record the lecture. You can then go back and listen to the recording and either take notes at your own pace or review any parts of the lecture, which will be relevant for the exam.

• Take notes on what you’ve read and have questions ready for class.
• Follow the schedule for reading assignments. Typically readings are broken out in a way that is both manageable and topical. If, however, you find yourself unable to keep up with the readings, speak with your instructor about a schedule that suits your particular needs. For example, if readings are assigned for every other day of class, you may need to break it out such that you are reading a portion every day.

Reviewing the Material

• In addition to having one notebook per course, it may be helpful to also have an individual course binder or folder, which contains all course materials.
• Take your organization to the next level by categorizing according to exams. Don’t throw away previous notes or materials from past exams. They may come in handy for midterm or final exams. Instead, organize the materials as if they were chapters, with chapter one being the first exam and so forth and so on.

• Limit phone calls and any other distractions such as texting. It might help to turn your phone and other devices to silent mode while you’re studying.
• The TV should always be off while you’re preparing for an exam.
• If you want to listen to music, be sure it’s something that is relaxing or peaceful. Also, keep the music at a low level. Otherwise, music can easily become a distraction.

• Get into the habit of reviewing class materials after each course. This will help to ease anxiety leading up to the exam, as you won’t have as much to review and will be able to clear up any questions that arise, prior to the big day.
• Cramming doesn’t work. Multiple studies have shown that spacing out learning was more effective than cramming. [2] X Research source What’s more, cramming only increases the feeling of desperation which leads to panic, and then to test anxiety.

• Creating an outline will also come in handy when drafting essay responses, so give yourself some practice and start with your class materials.

Practicing Ahead of Time

• Don’t wait until the night before to outline answers. As you’re studying and organizing your class materials, come up with potential questions along the way. You can then go back and review and revise as necessary.
• Some instructors do specify a word count for essays. Don’t focus on counting words though. Write what you can and look for opportunities to flesh out your answers without being overly wordy.

• Identify - typically short and direct answers will do.
• Explain - requires a more detailed answer.
• Compare - look for connections.
• Argue - address this from your own perspective.

• This is a good opportunity to proofread your work and to look for any grammatical errors as well.
• Have a friend, parent or peer look over your essay as well. It is often helpful to have a fresh set of eyes review your work and provide feedback.

Community Q&A

• For open-notes or open-book tests, study thoroughly anyway. This will prepare you for other exams or tests where you're not allowed to use notes, and will allow for you to complete the test faster and easier because you won't need to search for everything in the book or your notes. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Be positive. If you are negative and believe you will not do well, chances are that you will perform the way you expect to. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Practice writing. Be sure you can write fairly well in other situations so that you can express your ideas clearly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/essay-exams/
• ↑ http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140917-the-worst-way-to-learn

About this article

If you’re worried about an upcoming essay exam, start reviewing your class notes by topic. One helpful way to prepare for your essay exam is to create a potential outline for each theme. For example, if you’re studying Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, you might come up with an essay outline about the themes of the play. Once you have a few of these outlines, do practice essays at home under timed conditions, using old exams or questions you can see from your outline. Additionally, make it easier to prepare for future exams by attending all classes, doing the assigned readings and taking clear notes. Keep reading for more tips, including how to understand what the essay questions are asking of you. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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As a college student, you will often be faced with a variety of essay exams, from the short-answer essays of a few sentences to take-home exams which may require hours of planning and writing. Remember that essay exams require a comprehensive understanding of large amounts of information. Since exam questions can reach so far and wide into the course materials—and in such unpredictable ways—you cannot hope to do well on them if you are not keeping up with readings and assignments from the beginning of the course.

HOW TO PREPARE

Below are some tips to help prepare for an essay examination.

• First of all, do the reading, go to the lectures, take careful notes, participate in discussion sections and organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester.
• As the exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. Ask your instructor whether the questions will require short or long answers, how many questions there will be, whether you may choose which questions to answer, and what kinds of thinking and writing will be required of you.
• Try to avoid simply memorizing information aimlessly. As you study, you should be clarifying the important issues of the course and using these issues to focus your understanding of the specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to place all that you have learned into perspective, into a meaningful context. How do the pieces fit together? What fundamental ideas have the readings, the lectures, and the discussions seem to emphasize? How can those ideas help you to digest the information the course has covered?
• One good way to prepare yourself for an exam is by making up questions you think the instructor might give and then planning answers with classmates.
• Returning to your notes and to the assigned readings with specific questions in mind can help enormously in your process of understanding.
• It is helpful to remember that an essay exam tests more than your memory of specific information. You will often be asked to analyze and draw relationships between various texts, theories, or concepts that have been covered throughout the semester. You may even be presented with a text, theory, or concept that you have not seen before, and asked to discuss or analyze it in the context of the course materials with which you are already familiar.
• Of most importance, read the exam carefully. Before you answer a single question, read the entire exam and apportion your time realistically. Careful time management is crucial to your success on essay exams; giving some time to each question is always better than using up your time on only a few and never getting to the others.

Following are categories of exam questions, divided according to the sort of writing task involved.

Define or identify: Some questions require you to write a few sentences defining or identifying material from readings or lectures. Almost always such questions allow you only a few minutes to complete your answer.

Recall details of a specific source: Sometimes instructors will ask for straightforward summary or paraphrase of a specific source – a report, for example, or a book or film. Such questions hold the students to recounting details directly from the source and do not encourage interpretation or evaluation.

Explain the importance or significance: Another kind of essay exam question asks students to explain the importance or significance of something covered in the course. Such questions require you to use specific examples as the basis for a more general discussion of what has been studied. This will often involve interpreting a literary work by concentrating on a particular aspect of it.

Comment on a quotation: On essay exams, instructors will often ask students to comment on quotations they are seeing for the first time. Usually such quotations will express some surprising or controversial opinion that complements or challenges basic principles or ideas in the course. Sometimes the writer being quoted is identified, sometimes not. In fact, it is not unusual for instructors to write the quotation themselves.

Compare and contrast: One of the most favored essay exam questions is one which requires a comparison or contrast of the two or three principles, ideas, works, activities, or phenomena. This kind of question requires you to explore fully the relations between things of importance in the course, to analyze each thing separately, and then search out specific points of likeness or difference.

Synthesize information from various sources: In a course with several assigned readings, an instructor may give students an essay exam question which requires them to pull together (to synthesize) information from all the readings.

Summarize and explain causes and results: In humanities and social science courses much of what students study concerns the causes or results of trends, actions, and events. Therefore, it is not too surprising to find questions about causes and results on your exam. Sometimes the instructor expects students to recall causes or results from readings and lectures. At other times, the instructor may not have in mind any particular causes or results and wants to find out what students are able to propose.

Criticize or evaluate: Occasionally instructors will invite students to evaluate a concept or work. Nearly always, they want more than opinion: they expect a reasoned, documented judgment based on appropriate criteria. Such questions not only test students’ ability to recall and synthesize pertinent information; they also allow instructors to find out whether students can apply criteria taught in the course: whether they understand the standards of judgment that are basic to the subject matter.

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Exam preparation: Strategies for essay exams

Essay exams test you on “the big picture”-- relationships between major concepts and themes in the course. Here are some suggestions on how to prepare for and write these exams.

Exam preparation

Learn the material with the exam format in mind.

• Find out as much information as possible about the exam –- e.g., whether there will be choice –- and guide your studying accordingly.
• Think, and make notes or concept maps, about relationships between themes, ideas and patterns that recur through the course. See the guide Listening & Note-taking and Learning & Studying for information on concept mapping.
• Compare/contrast and think about what you agree and disagree with, and why.

Focus your studying by finding and anticipating questions

• Find sample questions in the textbook or on previous exams, study guides, or online sources.
• Looking  for patterns of questions in any tests you  have already written in the course;
• Looking at the course outline for major themes;
• Checking your notes for what the professor has emphasized in class;
• Asking yourself what kind of questions you would ask if you were the professor;
• Brainstorming questions with a study group.
• Organize supporting evidence logically around a central argument.
• Memorize your outlines or key points.
• A couple of days before the exam, practice writing answers to questions under timed conditions.

If the professor distributes questions in advance

• Make sure you have thought through each question and have at least an outline answer for each.
• Unless the professor has instructed you to work alone, divide the questions among a few people, with each responsible for a full answer to one or more questions. Review, think about, and supplement answers composed by other people.

Right before the exam

• Free write about the course for about 5 minutes as a warm-up.

Exam writing

Read carefully.

• Look for instructions as to whether there is choice on the exam.
• Circle key words in questions (e.g.: discuss, compare/contrast, analyze, evaluate, main evidence for, 2 examples) for information on the meaning of certain question words.
• See information on learning and studying techniques on the SLC page for Exam Preparation .

Manage your time

• At the beginning of the exam, divide the time you have by the number of marks on the test to figure out how much time you should spend for each mark and each question. Leave time for review.
• If the exam is mixed format, do the multiple choice, true/ false or matching section first. These types of questions contain information that may help you answer the essay part.
• If you can choose which questions to answer, choose quickly and don’t change your mind.
• Start by answering the easiest question, progressing to the most difficult at the end.
• Generally write in sentences and paragraphs but switch to point form if you are running out of time.

Things to include and/or exclude in your answers

• Include general statements supported by specific details and examples.
• Discuss relationships between facts and concepts, rather than just listing facts.
• Include one item of information (concept, detail, or example) for every mark the essay is worth.
• Limit personal feelings/ anecdotes/ speculation unless specifically asked for these.

Follow a writing process

• Use the first 1/10 to 1/5 of time for a question to make an outline or concept map.
• Organize the plan around a central thesis statement.
• Order your subtopics as logically as possible, making for easier transitions in the essay.
• To avoid going off topic, stick to the outline as you write.
• Hand in the outline. Some professors or TAs may give marks for material written on it.
• Write the essay quickly, using clear, concise sentences.
• Include key words from the question in your thesis statement.
• Body paragraph each containing one main idea, with a topic sentence linking back to the thesis statement, and transition words (e.g.:  although, however) between paragraphs.
• A short summary as a conclusion, if you have time.
• If it is easier, leave a space for the introduction and write the body first.
• As you write, leave space for corrections/additional points by double-spacing.
• Review the essay to make sure its content matches your thesis statement.  If not, change the thesis.

Further sources and attribution

For more information on exam preparation and writing strategies, see our Exams  pages.

Some suggestions in this handout were adapted from “ Fastfacts – Short-Answer and Essay Exams” on the University of Guelph Library web site; “Resources – Exam Strategies” on the St. Francis Xavier University Writing Centre web site; and “Writing Tips – In-Class Essay Exams” and “Writing Tips – Standardized Test Essay Exams” on the Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign web site

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How to Tackle Exam Questions

Learn more about how to tackle different kinds of exams and exam questions.

We cover the following topics on exam preparation on this page:

• Quantitative Questions
• Multiple Choice Questions
• Essay Questions

First, Let’s Think About De-Coding Different Types of Exam Questions

It’s helpful to understand the kinds of question that are asked on a exam, because the response you need to come up with depends on the type of question. Knowing about different types of exam questions can help you activate appropriate strategies for formulating answers and reduce exam-taking anxiety.

Exam questions generally fall into one of three categories: 1

“Green Light”

• Go right ahead!
• These are factual questions, and the answers are straight-forward. You either know the answer or you don’t; it’s right there in your head or it’s not.
• Some green light questions can be very difficult, and your ability to recall details is often tested with this typeof question.
• Study for this type of question by using recitation, making flash cards, quizzing yourself or a study partner, etc.
• If you don’t know the answer to a green light question right away, circle it and move on; often the answer will pop into your head later on during the exam.

“Yellow Light”

• These questions are more detailed than green light questions, but are based on the same idea: you either know the answer or you don’t.
• Often you’ll have to put multiple or “green light” details together.
• Similar strategies work for yellow and green questions, but with yellow light questions you’ll need to recall many ideas, concepts, formulas, etc., just to answer one question.

• These questions ask you to make inferences or apply your knowledge to new situations, which is sometimes called “critical thinking”.
• You need to know the material being covered to answer these questions at the “green light” level, but the exam question is not asking you to simply regurgitate it. You will need to take what you know and use it in ways you have not yet used it.
• This type of question sometimes flummoxes students, because they are surprised to they are being asked a question that wasn’t exactly covered in class. Remember that with red light questions you are not supposed to already know the answer. You have to come up with the answer yourself, it is not already in your head. (You will need to know the basic information, though, to be able to answer this type of question.)
• Red light questions are asked more frequently in college than in high school.
• To study for red light questions, make diagrams or concept maps that link ideas or topics from the course together. Think about how what you’re learning relates to what you’ve learned in other classes. Sit down with friends or classmates and talk about how one might use information from the class in a job setting.

See this link for a pdf of  Decoding exam questions.

How to Tackle: Problem-Solving and Quantitative Questions

Study for problem-based exams by practicing (new!) problems

As you work on the problems, remember:

• DO let yourself be stuck.* (yes, we mean that!)
• DON’T sneak a peak at the answer if you get stuck. (keep trying!)
• Check your answer only after you’ve put something–anything–down. Think partial credit, which is better than no credit if you freeze when you get stuck on hard problems on the test.

* You need to get your “stuck” muscles stronger so you know what to do on tests when you feel stuck.

Watch: LSC’s Mike Chen Shares “The Key to Problem-Solving Tests”

Taking problem-based exams

1. Understand the problem: Determine what you are supposed to find, what you need to find it, and what the unknown is (and if there is extra information). Consider whether drawing a sketch will help. Also – note each part of the question. Not answering each part is an easy way to lose points.

2. Determine a way to solve the problem: Write down all that is given or known. Draw a sketch when appropriate to show relations. Write down all relevant formulas.

3. Carry out the procedure you have devised: For numerical problems, try and estimate an answer first. This will help you to check your work later. Neat, careful work keeps you from making mistakes, and allows you to find them when you do make them (show your units!!). Additionally, when the instructor can see your work clearly, he or she may give you partial credit for what you do know, even if your ultimate answer is incorrect.

4. Check your Answers: This requires the same quality of thought originally used to solve the problem. Is your answer what you thought it would be in your original estimate? Is it a quantity that makes sense? Is your answer in the correct units? If your answer does not seem reasonable, rework the problem.

How to Tackle: Multiple Choice Questions

1. Read the stem: First, read the stem and make sure you understand what it is getting at. Look out for double negatives or other twists in wording before you consider the answer.

2. Try to come up with the correct answer: Before you look at the answer choices, try to come up with the correct answer. This will help you to rule out choices that are similar to the correct answer. Now read and consider each option carefully.

3. Look for clues in the stem: Look for clues in the stem that suggest the correct answer or rule out any choices. For example, if the stem indicates that the answer is plural you can rule out any answers that are singular. The basic rule is: the correct answer must make sense grammatically with the stem. Options which fail this exam can be ruled out.

4. Cross off any options you know are incorrect: As you rule out options cross them off with your pencil. This will help you focus on the remaining choices and eliminates the chance of returning to an item and selecting an option you had already eliminated.

5. Come back to items you were unsure of: Put a mark next to any questions you are unsure of. If you complete the entire exam with time to spare, review these questions – you will often get clues (or even answers) from other questions.

Take a look at some additional information on difficult “ Multiple Choice Tests ” (opens a PDF).

How to Tackle: Essay Questions

The best way to  prepare  for essay tests is to practice writing essays.

• Anticipate questions : Make outlines of possible essay topics using your course materials so you know you’ve got a good grasp of what might be on the test. Then recreate your outlines from memory (unless it’s an open-notes test).
• Practice writing  at least one full essay; be mindful of the time you spend practicing and think about how much time you will have during the exam. It is also important to think about  how  you are organizing the information you are including in your essay — for example, if you are asked to compare and contrast two theories as they relate to an issue, you might want to define each of them, describe the issue, and then compare and contrast them.
• If your exam is closed book,  memorize key events, facts, and names  that you will need to support your argument. If it is open-notes, then make sure you develop good outlines.

When you are  taking  essay tests:

• Manage your time  well. As with all exams, if there are multiple essay questions, be sure to look at them all at the beginning (taking note of the points each is worth), and prioritize the order you answer the questions.
• Read the directions  carefully. Ask yourself honestly: are you answering the  actual  question on the test, or the question you  want  to be on the test?  (tip: instructors know when you aren’t really answering the exact question, so make sure you are addressing the actual question and don’t just write random information that is unrelated to the question.)
• Before you write the essay,  decide on your argument  and  quickly list your supporting evidence  (it is ok to do a brain dump of all the important information that you want to include so that you have it handy when you begin writing).
• Make a quick outline  of what you are going to write to organize your thoughts and arguments.
• Write! And, make your point right away – you don’t want to get to the end of a timed essay test with your amazing argument still unmade!
• If you have time, go back and quickly  proof-read  your essay for errors.

You might want to take a look at some “ Words to Watch for in an Essay ” (opens a PDF).

References:

1 Taffy E. Raphael, Teaching Question Answer Relationships, Revisited, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 39, No. 6 (Feb., 1986), pp. 516-522.

Ellis, D. (1998). Becoming a Master Student. Houghton Mifflin: Boston

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• Essay Exams

Essay exams provide opportunities to evaluate students’ reasoning skills such as the ability to compare and contrast concepts, justify a position on a topic, interpret cases from the perspective of different theories or models, evaluate a claim or assertion with evidence, design an experiment, and other higher level cognitive skills. They can reveal if students understand the theory behind course material or how different concepts and theories relate to each other. 

+ Advantages and Challenges of essay exams

Advantages:

• Can be used to measure higher order cognitive skills
• Takes relatively less time to write questions
• Difficult for respondents to get correct answers by guessing

Challenges:

• Can be time consuming to administer and to score
• Can be challenging to identify measurable, reliable criteria for assessing student responses
• Limited range of content can be sampled during any one testing period
• Timed exams in general add stress unrelated to a student's mastery of the material

+ Creating an essay exam

• Limit the use of essay questions to learning aims that require learners to share their thinking processes, connect and analyze information, and communicate their understanding for a specific purpose. 
• Write each item so that students clearly understand the specific task and what deliverables are required for a complete answer (e.g. diagram, amount of evidence, number of examples).
• Indicate the relative amount of time and effort students should spend on each essay item, for example “2 – 3 sentences should suffice for this question”.
• Consider using several narrowly focused items rather than one broad item.
• Consider offering students choice among essay questions, while ensuring that all learning aims are assessed.

When designing essay exams, consider the reasoning skills you want to assess in your students. The following table lists different skills to measure with example prompts to guide assessment questions. 

+ Preparing students for an essay exam

Adapted from Piontek, 2008

Prior to the essay exam

• Administer a formative assessment that asks students to do a brief write on a question similar to one you will use on an exam and provide them with feedback on their responses.
• Provide students with examples of essay responses that do and do not meet your criteria and standards. 
• Provide students with the learning aims they will be responsible for mastering to help them focus their preparation appropriately.
• Have students apply the scoring rubric to sample essay responses and provide them with feedback on their work.

Resource video : 2-minute video description of a formative assessment that helps prepare students for an essay exam. 

+ Administering an essay exam

• Provide adequate time for students to take the assessment. A strategy some instructors use is to time themselves answering the exam questions completely and then multiply that time by 3-4.
• Endeavor to create a distraction-free environment.
• Review the suggestions for informal accommodations for multilingual learners , which may be helpful in setting up an essay exam for all learners.

+ Grading an essay exam

To ensure essays are graded fairly and without bias:

• Outline what constitutes an acceptable answer (criteria for knowledge and skills).
• Select an appropriate scoring method based on the criteria.
• Clarify the role of writing mechanics and other factors independent of the learning aims being measured.
• Share with students ahead of time.
• Use a systematic process for scoring each essay item.  For instance, score all responses to a single question in one setting.
• Anonymize student work (if possible) to ensure fairer and more objective feedback. For example students could use their student ID number in place of their name.

+ References & Resources

• For more information on setting criteria, preparing students, and grading essay exams read:  Boye, A. (2019) Writing Better Essay Exams , IDEA paper #76.
• For more detailed descriptions of how to develop and score essay exams read: Piontek, M.E. (2008). Best Practices for Designing and Grading Exams, CRLT Occasional Paper # 24.

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Below are some useful tips and strategies to help you with your studying - check it out!

Preparing for exams begins the first day of class!

On the first day of class your professor passes out the syllabus that explains what each class period will focus on. Look at the syllabus and notice:

• How many tests are scheduled for the term and how far apart are they - one midterm/one final, three midterms/1 final. This information helps you assess how much information will need to be learned for each exam.
• What kinds of exams are given - Objective, Essay, Multiple Choice, True/False, or Varied?
• How many of each type of question if varied?
• How much time is given to take the exam - the entire class period, half the class period...?

With this information you can set a realistic schedule for each class breaking down the readings and tasks in appropriate blocks for maximum learning efficiency. For example, if it is a course that only has two exams, one midterm and one final, you have a number of weeks to learn the material and your schedule for this class should:

• Break down reading assignments in two/three parts each week
• Allow time for daily review of notes and highlighted areas of text for better recall
• Allow for time to create term and defnition cards as a memory aid
• Time for study group discussions
• Create test questions to help you actively think about the exam: use your notes, comments made in the margins while reading, turn the text subheadings into questions. Practice essay exams can cover large sections of information compared to practicing with objective tests that are detail specific.

If a number of tests are scheduled then you have a shorter amount of time to study for each exam and your schedule should reflect this. This also means the tests will demand more memory skill and recall of details.

• You may have to read entire chapters per study block
• You should immediately set up study groups and delegate chapters to each group member for outlining
• Create study tools for recall. It is essential that daily review of notes and tools take place for better recall and association of material. With a short time between exams you must find ways to associate the material and consistently connect it to the previous day's lecture. You need to do more than recognize what is being asked, you must be able to identify it and give specific details (often times dates, names, places, examples).

The Day of The Exam

• Get to class a few minutes early so that you can settle in and not feel rushed.
• Before you start the exam, look at the entire test. How many multiple choice, short answer, and essay are there on the exam? For example, say it is a 60 minute test and there are 20 multiple choice, 10 short answer (fill in), and one essay (needing two examples). How much time will you need for each section? You need to schedule at least 5 minutes to write an outline for the essay, 30 seconds per multiple choice, and one minute per fill in. That gives you 25 minutes for the essay which usually carries the most points.
• Start the exam, go through and answer all that is familiar. If you get to a multiple choice question that you are unsure of the answer, put a check mark next to it and move on. The key is to answer as many as you can in a set amount of time for maximum points. The more you answer the more confident you will become. Go from question to question - do not go backwards - you will answer those you are unsure of at the end of the exam if there is time left.

It is wise to answer the multiple choice first because these questions hold varied information that may answer the fill in and/or give examples for the essay.

Objective Tests - These are exams that demand one correct answer.

The Multiple Choice Exams

Many students fail multiple-choice exams because their expectations are that the questions will be straightforward and easily recognized. Most professors develop multiple-choice questions by synthesizing material from more than one source creating a dual layered question demanding analysis of the question rather than rote memory.

• Read the question
• If the question is long, underline the subject and verb to help you focus appropriately
• Read each possible answer without bias. Do not stop and think about the answer - just read each answer
• Now, focus on the answer you think is correct. If there is more than one (should only be two at the most) reread the question and make sure you understand the words and what they mean in the question. Look at the answers again and decide. If you can't, put a check next to it and move on. Do not stop and waste three minutes on one multiple-choice question that by itself is only worth maybe two points.
• Evaluate whether the answer choices are giving general or specific information. If you can think of an exception for the specific statement then the general statement is usually correct.
• Read the question carefully and underline negative (not, never, neither) or affirmative words (always, all only). This usually signifies that the answer must be specific fact rather than a general statement.
• If you have time at the end of the exam, go back and answer those questions that you placed check marks next to. Do not change the answers to those already completed!
• Periodically check to make sure the scantron question number matches the test number. It is very easy to get distracted and start marking the wrong test question. Stay alert!

True-False Questions

• Look for open and closed words in the question. Open words like -often- or
• -usually- are found in true statements whereas closed words like -never- and
• -always- are often found in false statements.
• Pay attention to statements with two clauses - both must be true in order to be the correct answer.

Subjective Tests

These are exams that are opinion based but answers may vary from student to student dependent upon examples used or details given.

Subjective tests are usually more general in nature than objective tests but specific facts and organization are expected. Recall rather than memorization is the skill used to answer these types of exams. It is better to understand the general concepts of the issue with a few well-learned details than a large repertoire of unorganized material that seem unrelated when presented.

When preparing for essay exams you should write down the main topics discussed in the assigned chapters of the texts and presented in your notes. Make sure you understand the general concepts of each topic (know the who, what, when, where, why) and provide at least two examples. Recite the material out loud in your own words to ensure recall and comprehension. Reread and review those areas in the text where there is limited understanding and comprehension.

Short Answer

• These are similar to essay questions in that you should take a few seconds to write out the example or terms you want to use in the answer. If it is a fill in, you should move through them fast, answering those that you easily recall. Often times the answers can be found in the multiple choice area but you do not want to spend too much time trying to figure out the answer. Keep in mind how much each question is worth in points and how many points you will lose if you take too much time on one question.

Essay Exams

• Carefully read the question. Break the question into parts so you know what you need to answer for full credit.
• Note what type of question is being asked - compare and contrast, analyze and comment...
• Take the time to create an outline on your answer sheet so that even if you don't complete the essay the professor can see where you were going and may give you points. Although you are taking a few minutes away from answering the essay, it will increase your chances for a more coherent answer with examples that flow and an essay that makes sense. Use the parts of the essay to help create the outline - this will help with organization and keep you focused on topic.
• Follow your outline and begin the essay. Write straight through and do not vary from the outline. You took the time to write it out so trust it. If you try to change the direction of your essay, you end up with arrows etc. and a difficult to read finish. The easier your essay is to read and the better it flows, the easier it will be for your professor to follow your train of thought thus a better grade.
• Reread the directions and make sure you answered the entire questions. And if you still have time, reread your essay and correct spelling and grammar errors.

The Exam Isn't Over When You Turn It In

Taking the exam is only the first part to knowing what you know. The second part comes with the handing back of the exam. At this time you have the prime opportunity to see what you knew and learn what you didn't. You should always go back and find out why you missed particular questions, what type of questions they were, did you answer the whole questions or only part, then definitely find the correct answer and write it out so you know you know it. This is especially useful if you will be taking a comprehensive final. Make sure you talk with the professor about how you can improve in a particular area or ask why they worded the question the way they did.

Test Anxiety

What is it.

Most students experience some level of anxiety but it is when it interferes with test performance that it is deemed excessive and labeled test anxiety. Test anxiety is often defined in physiological terms: sweaty palms, going blank, butterflies in the stomach...

But if it goes beyond the physiological and consistently interferes with performance then you may want to seek additional assistance from the College Counseling Center to gain a better understanding of its origin and how to cope with it.

What are ways to reduce it?

• Assess your study skills and develop areas that are weaker to ensure successful learning efficiency
• Be prepared. The more time you give yourself to prepare and learn the material the more confident you will feel the day of the exam.
• Keep organized and on task. Keep to a schedule so that you know internally that you gave yourself enough time to study. Don't cram!
• Get enough sleep starting two nights before the exam.
• Keep hydrated
• Exercise to eliminate stress
• Eat well balanced meals. Make sure you eat breakfast or lunch before the exam with at least 20 minutes to digest. Do not eat greasy foods or drink caffeinated drinks they will upset your stomach.
• Stay relaxed.

Test Anxiety and the day of the exam

• Give yourself enough time to get to the exam and find a comfortable seat. Get your writing utensils out and blue book and scantron if needed. Take a couple of minutes to close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths.
• Do not discuss the material with other students who may sway you to think you don't know the material.
• Do not bring your class materials with you. Going through the test information will only make you nervous.

Test Anxiety and taking the exam

• Remember your test taking strategies - review the exam...
• Occasionally stretch so that your body stays relaxed.
• If you go blank then put your pencil down, sit up straight, take two or three deep breaths, then pick up your pencil again and begin. If you don't immediately recognize the question then go to the next.
• Stay positive and remind yourself that you studied appropriately and that you know the material.
• Remind yourself that some anxiety is normal and that you know the material
• Don't pay attention to others movements or if they turn in their exams before you. You do not get points for being the first one to turn in your exam.

Bibliography:

Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College . (2nd ed.), Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, New York Ellis, David B. Becoming A Master Student . (11th ed.), Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, New York De Sellers, Dochen, Carol, Hodges, Russ. Academic Transformation (1st ed.), Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Crawford, June. A College Study Skills Manual: Ten Tips for Academic Success , Cambridge Strafford, Ltd.

Tutorial and Academic Skills Center De La Salle Hall 110 Email:   [email protected] Phone: (925) 631-4678  Office Hours: Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday from 12-3pm, Sunday 4-8pm 

Collin Pugh, Coordinator for the Tutorial & Academic Skills Center

TASC Center: De La Salle 110 Phone: (925) 631-4869 Hours: by appointment

© 2024 Saint Mary’s College of California

The best 22 test-taking strategies used by top students

You need to ace that exam. Set yourself up for success by mastering these 22 test-taking strategies used by the very best students.

We're discussing this topic further on Reddit. Join the conversation here .

Have you ever watched Olympic divers? They walk up to the diving board like perfectly machined cyborgs, focus absolute. There’s nothing to suggest they’re freaking out even though ten years of hard work is going to come down to a two-second dive.

I mean, no pressure, right?

They spring off, do a bajillion twists and turns before they hit the water, and ... plip! Not even a tiny splash as they enter. The crowd goes wild.

And the diver climbs out, their expression still cyborg-perfect calm, ready for the next round.

Divers are the perfect example of flawless test technique. The rest of us mortals usually come nowhere close. Unfortunately, tests and exams are how performance is measured in most academic subjects so they’re unavoidable.

• If you have a feeling of impending doom when you walk into a test room;
• If you’re as jittery as a cat that’s spotted a gecko on the wall;
• If you get night-before-exam nightmares in which you turn up to the test without your pants;
• And if you usually spend the first few minutes of your test in a cold sweat, heart-pounding, and butterflies tearing up your stomach ...

... then these techniques will help.

In fact, they’ll really help.

You’re about to learn 22 test-taking strategies that will keep you cool, calm, and collected so you can perform at your peak on exam day. The strategies fall into the following categories:

Preparing 2-3 days before your test

Strategies for the exam room, test-taking strategies to master your mindset, essay writing strategies, strategies for multiple choice exams.

• Finishing your test

What to do if you're drawing a blank

Test debriefing.

Note: These are strategies you can do in the days leading up to an exam to help you ace it. But you should start studying weeks if not months before. We highly recommend you check out our huge guide on how to study effectively .

What follows is a stage-by-stage rundown, from 2-3 days out from your exam, up to when you write your final word down on that paper and walk out the room feeling 100 pounds lighter. Following these tips will ensure you live up to all the hard prep work you’ve put in, and ace it like an Olympic diver on test day.

[ Pssst! Got AP exams coming up? Here's how to study for your AP exams more efficiently !]

The last two to three days before your test is a crucial period. There’s a lot you can do in this time to make sure you hit the test in peak condition: mentally and physically.

Strategy 1. Ramp up your studying and get efficient

Ideally, you've been studying a little bit every day for months; habits are how you maximize learning . But ... sometimes we mess that up and don't start until a few days before.

• Don't mess up the 2-3 days before your exam . The 2-3 days before the test is the best time for you to really integrate your knowledge. You’re going to put all the things you’ve been learning into a form your brain can access lightning-fast during your exam. Here’s how to do this:
• Do practice exams. The benefits of this are twofold. Firstly, it’ll show you where your knowledge is lacking. Secondly, it’ll familiarize you with the exam format, so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises on test day.
• Use the Feynman Technique . Basically pretend to teach your topic to someone who knows nothing about it. This gets your brain to utilize free recall, essentially putting concepts together from scratch in a way that will make sense to your listener. This is a powerful way to cement your knowledge.
• Hunt down your knowledge gaps using Brainscape flashcards . Brainscape is the perfect tool for studying during the last few days before a test. The algorithm helps you uncover areas of weakness and, using spaced repetition, helps you to work on these until you have them mastered. In addition, the Brainscape mobile app allows you to make use of those in-between times—when you’re on a bus, or waiting for a class—to do a targeted five-minute study session.
• Set study streak reminders in Brainscape by going into the menu in the mobile app, selecting 'Notifications', and then toggling on 'Streak Reminders'. This will send a push notification to your phone’s home screen that reminds you to stop what you’re doing and put in a quick study round with Brainscape. You can also customize the time of day you’d prefer to receive your reminders!

Strategy 2. Sleep well the night before your test

Many students think they’re best served by using the day before the test as a ‘last push’ to learn everything they need to know. They stay up late cramming, fuelled by Red Bulls and anxiety.

The truth is that any knowledge you attempt to cram into your brain late at night is unlikely to stay there . What you’re essentially doing is forcing this information into your short-term memory. It tends to evaporate within a few hours.

You’re far better off making studying a regular habit so that everything you need to know will be stored safely away in your long-term memory by the time you take your test.

The bottom line: whether you’ve studied enough or not, you’re still better off having a good sleep the night before a big test. This is because sleep-deprived brains don’t work very well.

Sleep is the time when your brain clears toxins accumulated throughout the day. When you deprive your brain of sleep, you’re essentially asking it to fire on all cylinders when it’s still clogged with waste from the day before.

One study showed that sleep-deprived people performed about as well people who were high on marijuana , which is far from ideal when you’re trying to operate at your mental peak.

So, late-night cramming is useless in two ways: (1) you won’t remember what you cram , and (2) you deprive your brain of valuable recharging time.

The right strategy for the night before a big test is to go to bed at a reasonable time. If getting to sleep is a problem for you, there’s some great calming sleep apps to help with this. The 4-7-8 breathing technique is another good sleep aid.

Remember, there are different types of rest. Even if you’re having difficulty getting your brain to sleep, your body will be resting. Keep going with a calming breathing exercise and your brain will eventually switch off and get some sleep as well.

Strategy 3. Eat well the day of your test

If you follow our advice up until this point, you’ll likely wake up feeling well-rested on the morning of the test. The next step is to have a good breakfast . This means slow release carbohydrates and proteins, and steer clear of anything packed with sugar .

Sure, sugar gives you a great burst of energy. However, quite soon after the rush, your body produces insulin to get your blood sugar under control and reduces orexin, which keeps us up. High insulin and low orexin has the effect of making you feel sleepy . So you get a peak of sugar-high energy, and a corresponding trough where all you want to do is curl up in a corner and sleep. Not great for a 1-3 hour exam.

A breakfast of slow-release carbohydrates and protein will supply your body and brain with a steady feed of energy throughout the day. If you have a morning exam, breakfast is all you need to worry about.

[See our complete guide to optimizing your brain health for peak performance .]

The same rules apply for an afternoon exam— make sure your lunch consists of slow-release carbohydrate foods (if many carbs at all). If possible, have lunch at least 1-2 hours before your test. Most people have an energy dip right after lunch, where resources are being diverted towards digestion so timing your lunch properly will help avoid this.

And, finally, if you have an hour or two free before the test, this is a great time to run through some last-minute flashcards in Brainscape . This will strengthen your existing memory pathways, and get your brain ticking over the body of knowledge you’ve covered to ace this test.

Strategy 4. Show up ready and on time

Plan to arrive at least half an hour before your test. You don’t need the stress of missed buses, traffic jams, or St Patrick’s Day carnivals to throw you off your game. Use these tips:

• Make sure you’ve allowed plenty of time to find your exam room , and know beforehand exactly what you’re allowed to take into the test with you.
• Avoid others. When you get to your test room, treat any stressed-out fellow students like they have the ebola virus. Stress is contagious, and no matter your state of preparation, you’re better off staying in your own headspace.
• Ten minutes before the test, go to the bathroom , just in case. (There’s usually a rush to the bathroom five minutes before, so you can miss that.)

And then, relax.

Take a Stoic viewpoint. You’ve arrived at the test; the die is cast. No matter what you could have or should have done, you’re here now, and you can’t change the past. Maybe you studied every day, maybe you didn’t. Now is the time to do your best, regardless. Your best is all you can ever do. Stress is only going to compromise your ability to think clearly so accept reality and do the best you can with the knowledge you have.

In the last few minutes, when you’re sitting at your desk waiting for the time to begin, try a relaxing breathing technique.

Now, visualize. Visualize yourself calmly completing each question of the exam, feeling confident and creative.

The big secret to visualization is this: our brains are designed to focus on things. Whatever you’re thinking about, that’s where your focus will be. Seems obvious, right? What this means in practical terms is that if you’re trying to suppress panic and NOT think of drawing a complete blank when you see your test paper ... that won’t work.

Your brain won’t NOT think of things. It takes whatever you’ve imagined and runs with it. (Quick test—don’t think of a green elephant. You just did, right?)

Knowing this, focus on what you want . Think of yourself being calm, able to easily concentrate and remember what you need to know. Visualize yourself completing the test, neither hurrying nor lagging. Smooth and continuous.

It’s go-time.

Now you're sitting and actually taking the test. Here's how to maximize your score.

Strategy 5. Listen

Remember the last time you listened to safety instructions before you flew somewhere? No?

We all do it: completely ignore safety instructions on an airplane in favor of checking out what movies we can see or what’s for dinner.

Don’t do this for your test. When you enter the room, listen to the instructions of the examiner. Most of the time they're routine, but sometimes there will be a change. You should know this from the outset and not in the last five minutes of the exam.

Or even worse: during a test post-mortem with your fellow students.

Strategy 6. Brain dump

If there are any facts or formulae you’ve been struggling to remember, (E=MC^2!) do a quick brain-dump on some scrap paper when you’re first allowed to write. This takes the information out of working memory and ensures your brain is freed up to do its best work.

Strategy 7. Make your time plan

Do a quick tote-up of the sections of the exam, how much it’s worth, and how long approximately you can spend on each section.

For example, say the test has three sections. Section A is twenty points, Section B is twenty points and Section C is sixty points. This means for a two-hour exam, you’d allocate roughly 20 minutes for sections A & B, and 65 minutes for Section C. This leaves you 15 minutes at the end to go over your work, look for errors, and find opportunities to improve.

You need to keep track of this running total as you go along to make sure you’re not running out of time.

It’s a good idea to start with the easy topics you know well. This builds confidence and gets you into your flow state , leaving you more time to tackle the harder sections.

The key to getting an A is having the right mindset and staying focused. Here are some test-taking strategies to optimize concentration and thinking.

Strategy 8. Silence the inner critic

Especially at the start of your test, be on the alert for the voice of “the inner critic”. You know the one: that annoying negative voice in your head that says things like “I don’t have nearly enough time to answer all these questions!” “That last essay I wrote was rubbish!” “I’ll never pass this!” etc.

This voice can become very loud if you’re feeling anxious while taking a test. The first step to blocking it out is to recognize and name it. Say: “Hi inner critic, I see you, welcome to the exam. Please take a seat and hold your comments for the end, thank you!” Once you’ve addressed it, you can redirect your attention to the task in hand.

Remember, you don’t have to believe everything you think.

Just because the inner critic is wailing about how little you know on a subject, doesn’t mean it’s true. Think back to a time you took a test and you were sure you’d done terribly. But actually, your scores were fine. Most people don’t self assess well when they’re under pressure.

Your best move is to recognize and then ignore this voice, and get on with your exam.

Strategy 9. Breathe properly

Stress breathing is when you breathe quickly and shallowly , primarily using your upper chest. It’s an inefficient way to breathe, and is used typically when you need to escape from a physical danger.

The problem with stress breathing during a test is that it sends a signal to your lizard brain—your primitive brain, which is in charge of fight, flight, feeding, fear, freezing up, and (ahem) fornication—that you’re in danger. Your lizard brain did not evolve to help you ace tests. It evolved to help you stay alive in a world full of things that wanted to eat you. So when you start to stress breathe, it does the only thing it knows how to do: it turns on your fight or flight response.

The fight or flight response is great if you’re being chased by a saber-toothed tiger or a crocodile. It’s not great when you’re trying to remember in what year the French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille.

Fight and flight mode shuts down your higher thinking functions, floods your system with adrenaline, and primes your body to do things like run fifty yards really fast to get away from danger. Not really useful attributes for writing an exam.

And you’ll know you’re stress breathing if your heart is racing and you feel light-headed, dizzy, or like you can’t get enough air.

If this happens, slow down your breathing. Put one hand on your tummy, breathe all the way out until you can’t anymore and then breathe in slowly through your nose. This makes you switch to diaphragm breathing, which calms your body down , alleviating the body’s stress responses.

How do you know when you’re doing diaphragm breathing correctly? When you breathe in, the hand on your tummy will move outwards. When you breathe out, this hand will move inwards. Count slowly to ten while you do a few calm diaphragmatic breaths, then continue your test.

Diaphragm breathing will make you feel calmer and more clear-headed. And your calmed brain will probably go ahead and retrieve for you that historical moment when fiery revolutionaries stormed the Bastille and started chopping off heads.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln

Abe’s advice may be a little over-the-top for writing an essay. That said, even a few minutes to prepare before starting to write can be the most valuable time you’ll spend.

Strategy 10. Read the question carefully

The first step before you start the essay is to read the question carefully.

This sounds obvious, but actually many students skim the question and immediately plunge into answering it. This can be a mistake, as there may be important nuances in how the question is phrased that you’ll need to address in your essay.

Imagine the question, " Compare and contrast Churchill’s strategy with Chamberlain’s leading into WWII. "

If you dive headlong into answering the question without looking for both similarities and differences —and not just differences as you might think if you skim the question—you’ll lose precious marks.

The best exam essay answers the question. To answer the question, you have to read it carefully.

Strategy 11. Plan your essay

It may feel like wasted time, but it's NOT.

A minute or two spent planning how best to answer a question (and how you intend to structure your response) will make your job much easier. It'll ensure that your essay has a logical structure and it'll be quicker to write. Always plan first.

Try drawing a quick mind map of what you’ll cover, or write an outline by sketching the main and supporting points for each argument in the essay before you start.

Strategy 12. Know the rules about guessing

Always check the rules before you start a multiple-choice test.

They’re usually set up in one of two ways: you either get penalized for wrong answers or you don't .

• If you’re penalized for wrong answers, don’t guess . Just leave questions you’re not sure of.
• If there's no penalty for wrong marks, guess. Leave some time to come back to questions you weren’t sure of and give them your best guess. At worst, you won’t get the mark, at best, you’ll get lucky and score.

If there is no penalty, never leave blank answers. As Michael Jordan said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Strategy 13. Don’t second-guess yourself

In multiple-choice, the first answer that comes to mind (as long as you have done some study) is probably right.

And more often than not, if there's a random question that includes "All of the above" as an answer choice, that's likely to be the correct answer. (But not if that option exists on all the questions.)

Strategies for finishing your test

Strategy 14. make the best use of your time as you finish.

There’s three positions you’ll be in at the end of the test. You’ll either be:

• Finishing with 5 to 15 minutes left for a quick revision of your work.
• Finishing with a LOT of time to spare.
• Running out of time, and not sure whether you’ll finish before the clock.

Each of these positions requires a different strategy.

1. Finishing with 5 to 15 minutes to spare If you’re writing essay questions, check your introductions and conclusions. These are where you can make the most impact. Put yourself in the shoes of a tired examiner who’s had to mark thirty similar essays that day.

Look for ways to make yours stand out. A strong conclusion is particularly impactful due to the recency effect , meaning humans recall the most recently presented information best . So even if you lost your way a bit during the middle, a strong, clear conclusion will help carry you through.

For multiple choice tests, check for any questions you missed. Avoid the temptation to redo questions you’ve already done, unless you’re 100% certain.

2. Finishing with a LOT of time to spare As much as you may want to rush out of the exam room and erase the test from all memory, don’t . Having a lot of time at the end of a test usually comes down to one of these three reasons:

• You’re a total ace, and know the answers like your ABC’s.
• You’ve totally flunked, and have no idea what subject you were meant to be studying. Are you even in the right exam room?
• You’re pretty well prepared, but you’ve missed some vital information, and need to play catchup.

If you’re in category one or two, there’s not much to be done. Sorry, you’re on your own :)

Category three though, can be a heartbreaker. So let’s make sure you’re not about to throw your exam because you’ve misread the instructions or skipped a section.

Firstly, check your exam paper for any pages that may have become stuck together, hiding questions you’ve missed.

Secondly, if you’re writing essays, check the required length of the answers to make sure you haven’t shortchanged yourself there.

Thirdly, check if all the page numbers are sequential in the exam , and you haven’t been accidentally given a test paper with missing pages. Look for any inserts or added sections that may have fallen off your desk or become mixed up in your own writing paper.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll either be writing frantically to finish an essay in time, or you can smile, sit back and put yourself in the first category.

3. Running out of time If you’re running out of time for essay questions, it’s okay to jot down your thoughts in point form . You’ll likely still get credit for them. After all, the aim is to demonstrate your knowledge, and most examiners will give you marks, even if your sentences aren’t complete.

For a multiple-choice test, first check you won’t be penalized for wrong answers . Then, do a lightning round of filling out the first answer that springs to mind. Give yourself a reasonably short time for each question, and GO!

Remember to check your breathing. Being in a tearing hurry is more likely than anything else to set off stress breathing, which then shuts down your brain’s frontal cortex. In this instance, you need to go slow in order to go fast. (Weird, right?)

A few seconds spent taking slow, relaxed breaths will set you up to do a sprint at full brain power, without the surge of adrenaline which leaves you thinking hard, but coming up with nothing.

If you sit down to start your test and discover your mind has gone as blank as a Zen monk after a year-long silent retreat, here’s are a few tips on getting the engine started.

Strategy 15. Label what you’re feeling

Emotions can be overwhelming in times like these. When you label them, you put them outside yourself and make them more manageable. i.e. “I’m feeling anxious because I can’t remember anything about quadratic equations.” This can have the effect of diffusing the emotion.

Strategy 16. Do the easy questions first

Scan the questions until you find one you definitely know the answer to. Sometimes you just need a few easy questions under your belt before your brain kicks into gear and you go into flow.

Strategy 17. Breathe and stretch

Our body and mind are connected. If you're blanking, try using your body to get those mental juices flowing. Take 30 seconds to focus on your breathing and gently stretch your body. Relaxing can help you re-concentrate on the exam with better focus.

Strategy 18. Write something down

Anything. Just get the pen on paper. Often this can serve as a cue to get your neurons firing.

Strategy 19. Take a bathroom break

A change of scenery and moving around can help to take your brain out of whatever panic loop it’s gotten caught up in.

Strategy 20. Take some perspective

Remember that however dire the consequences of failing a written test are, they are never fatal. You’ll be okay in the end, and if you’re not okay right now, it’s not yet the end. Sometimes a quick change in perspective can give you the shift you need to relax and get your brain into gear.

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for future tests is to reflect on the one you just wrote. Do that now: take the time to do a good post-mortem and set yourself up for future success.

Strategy 21. Avoid the people who'll make you feel bad

Once you’ve uncramped your fingers and stretched your neck out, it’s fine to catch up with fellow students.

If you can, though, avoid a detailed post-mortem with friends who took the same exam. They’ll either be freaking out about question 6.2A, or smugly superior. Either way, it’s generally not that helpful. There’s nothing you can do now about your test. It’s done, and nothing (short of a midnight break-in to the examiner’s office) can change that.

Strategy 22. Do a self-assessment

That said, it’s a really good idea to take thirty minutes that evening or the next day to sit somewhere quiet and do a self-assessment of your test. This is about you improving on your overall performance, and it’s the kind of analysis that will help you do well on future tests.

Think about what you did well and what you could have done better , not only in how you answered questions but also in your exam mindset, study habits, and overall enjoyment of the subject.

The test you’ve just completed may be one in a series on a topic, in which case Brainscape flashcards are a great tool going forwards. Using the platform, you can build your knowledge in an easy-to-edit, transportable format. The Brainscape spaced repetition algorithm will mix new knowledge in with subjects you’ve already mastered so your learning progresses at an optimal rate.

Taking a step back in your assessment, are there any learnings you could apply to other exams going forward? To how you study? To how you choose your subjects?

This kind of reflection is valuable, both for future performance and as a life skill. From Socrates to Ben Franklin, this kind of self-study puts you in good stead for lifelong learning and will improve your test-taking strategies.

Make these test-taking strategies a habit

Now you know the test-taking strategies of top students. While building strong study habits is essential to a high test score, good exam technique is also key.

Training these techniques until they become habitual will put you in good stead for all future tests. Like an Olympic diver, good technique becomes habit and habit becomes nature.

Practice these test-taking strategies often enough, and you too will become a test machine, acing each exam with cyborg-like precision. Almost scary, really ...

Burrows, T., Goldman, S., Pursey, K., & Lim, R. (2017). Is there an association between dietary intake and academic achievement: a systematic review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics , 30 (2), 117-140.

Huang, S., Deshpande, A., Yeo, S. C., Lo, J. C., Chee, M. W., & Gooley, J. J. (2016). Sleep restriction impairs vocabulary learning when adolescents cram for exams: the need for sleep study. Sleep , 39 (9), 1681-1690.

Murdock, B. B. (1962). The serial position effect of free recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology , 64 (5), 482-488.

Thomas, M., Sing, H., Belenky, G., Holcomb, H., Mayberg, H., Dannals, R., ... & Welsh, A. (2000). Neural basis of alertness and cognitive performance impairments during sleepiness. I. Effects of 24 h of sleep deprivation on waking human regional brain activity. Journal of Sleep Research , 9 (4), 335-352.

Flashcards for serious learners .

Are Personality Tests Actually Useful?

A sk Erin Mantz why she loves personality tests, and she’ll tell you she’s a Pisces, an only child, and an introvert prone to self-reflection. “I’m constantly craving and searching for insights into why I do what I do, and what makes me tick,” she says. Since discovering them at her college career center, she’s taken many different kinds, but the most transformative was the one she took with her coworkers at AOL in her 30s. A new manager instructed Mantz and her colleagues to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, which revealed she’s an INFJ : intuitive, enthusiastic, impulsive, and prone to improvisation.

The test changed the whole vibe of the office. “We all shared our results and kept a Post-it on our desk with what everybody's type was,” Mantz recalls. “Then when Frank called or you needed to present information to Aaron, you’d understand where they were coming from or how to best get through to them.” Some people preferred to hear about potential impact, for example, while others responded best to hard facts. The knowledge has proven useful in her personal life and throughout her career, she says, helping her figure out how to better communicate with others and make the best impression.

Personality tests aren’t new—an early version of the Myers-Briggs test was copyrighted in 1943 —but interest in them has endured. People slap their four-letter Myers-Briggs type on their dating profiles and broadcast their Hogwarts House at parties. Many use the results to figure out what career paths might appeal, and some companies use them to decide who to hire.

But why do people like personality tests so much, and which are the most accurate? How should—and shouldn’t—we interpret their results?

Personality tests make you feel seen

Personality tests are a useful way for people to better understand themselves, especially when they’re young, says Brent Roberts, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies personality development and assessment. “We’re trying to figure out ourselves and why the world reacts to us the way it does,” he says. “I think everybody wants to better know who they are, and where they stand—and that’s what a personality test can give you.” Ashley Errico, a therapist in Austin, remembers buying All About You! magazine as a pre-teen, drawn to the cover-to-cover personality tests. She and her best friend would listen to the Spice Girls while taking tests to find out what kind of kisser they’d be. Now, in her professional career, she sometimes directs clients to more sophisticated tests, like the Myers-Briggs (which costs about $60 to take online ) and Enneagram. (The latter, which costs $20 online , sorts people into one of nine personality types, such as “achiever,” “helper,” or "challenger.”)

Read More : The Psychology of Why We Get 'the Ick'

Errico has found that the Myers-Briggs test, for example, can supply people who want to change careers or return to the workforce with some ideas that hadn’t been on their radar. There’s a paid service that matches personality type to jobs that might be a fit, and some career counselors are trained to provide feedback. (You can also just Google “jobs for INFJ,” for instance.) “I’ll say, ‘Use those as a starting point, because it might suggest things you’d enjoy but never think about,’” Errico says. Plus, personality tests foster a sense of recognition and belongingness. “Everybody wants to feel understood and seen,” she says. “We all know what it’s like to feel invisible.”

But they really oversimplify things

Personality exists on a spectrum, and no single test can capture all the nuances that define a person. Tests like the Myers-Briggs and Enneagram “aren’t able to describe the richness of human diversity,” says Jaime Lane Derringer, a scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who works at the intersection of personality psychology and molecular genetics.

Take the Myers-Briggs: It distills a person’s traits into 16 different personality types, such as ESFJ (extrovert, loyal) or ENTP (extrovert, imaginative). There are more personality types than that, Derringer says. Plus, the tool frames personalities around positivity—omitting more negative traits, like neuroticism or not being conscientious. “It’s a great marketing machine,” she acknowledges—people love hearing the good parts about themselves—but certainly not comprehensive.

Many personality tests use generic language in their results that could easily apply to whoever is reading it. Scientists call it the Barnum Effect. “It comes from P. T. Barnum saying there’s a sucker born every minute,” says Stephen Benning, a psychology professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who studies basic emotional processes. “They’ll basically be able to take this very generic statement about universal human tendencies and somehow think it’s uniquely applicable to them.” That, he jokes, is why there are three things his students can do that make him bang his head on his desk: ask him his Enneagram, his Myers-Briggs type, or his horoscope.

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One of the risks associated with personality tests, Roberts believes, “is taking the information too seriously.” These tests are based on self-reported data—it’s up to you to gauge how often you feel angry or excited, and whether you tend to find fault with others. That’s not always accurate. “There are places in our psyche that we're blind to and might not quite understand,” Roberts says. “Just relying on what you think about yourself is an error, in my estimate.” It’s better to seek out more information from a variety of sources, he says—which could include working with a mental-health professional.

Errico cautions her therapy clients not to over-identify with their results. She’s seen people get too invested in their personality type, which prevents them from allowing themselves to grow and change . Or, they might push themselves into a job that’s not the right fit, because their personality test indicates they should enjoy it. “It’s important to remember that the test doesn’t determine who we are,” she says. “We get to determine who we are.”

Which personality tests are best?

Free online tests that tell you what wild animal or cake you are might be fun, but that’s all they are: entertainment. Some personality tests, however, have been studied for decades, and researchers have a solid sense of their pros and cons. The academic community generally considers tests based on the Big Five to be the most scientifically rigorous . It’s a nearly 75-year-old model developed to measure five broad personality traits—conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion—and lots of free online tests are based on it. “It’s well-replicated across samples, across nations, across time,” Benning says. Taking one of these tests can help people broadly understand their individual differences in personality, and how their tendencies might influence the ways that other people perceive them.

Roberts often directs his students to O*NET , a free U.S. Department of Labor online test that matches users’ interests and level of work experience to potential careers. “It tells you, ‘Here are all the jobs where you’d be more likely to be happy and satisfied,’” he says. “It’s a beautiful tool.” Another free test, the RIASEC model , can similarly help people assess occupation interests. It helps respondents understand if they have, for example, investigative, artistic, social, or enterprising personalities.

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Mental-health clinicians sometimes administer the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MNPI), says Dr. Rehan Aziz, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. It consists of nearly 600 true-false questions that can help reveal mental-health conditions such as hypochondria, depression, and paranoia. “It’s a very lengthy test, but I found that it gives really accurate results,” he says. “It has internal validity measures, which a lot of these personality tests don't have—which means it can tell if you’re giving inconsistent or inaccurate answers, or if you're trying to ‘beat the test.’” If you’re interested in learning more about the MNPI, which isn’t available online, bring it up with your psychologist, Aziz advises.

Whichever test you take, consider repeating it every once in a while. Much of Roberts’ research focuses on the ways personality changes over time : Most people shed some of their neuroticism as they age, he notes, and people also tend to get more conscientious as they grow older. “It’s totally useful to come back in a few years and take the test again to see where you’re at,” he says. And, most importantly, don’t attach too much significance to any personality test-generated label. “None of them are perfect—they’ve all got flaws, and they've all got strengths,” Derringer says. “They can’t tell you who you are, but they can provide a framework for you to begin to introspect, and a way to anchor yourself in comparison to other people.”

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