How to cram for multiple choice tests and other exams -- a methodical guide on studying efficiently and effectively.

If you are a student you need not dread exams, but instead you should embrace every objective exam, which will be multiple choice tests for our purposes. Test taking is a skill that can compensate for general indifference or apathy regarding course material. In most cases, provided a sufficient number of questions, you should be able to score higher than 95%, reliably. There are some qualifications to this assertion. Foremost, your instructor should provide you with an unambiguous guide as to where the exam questions will be derived from. If your instructor evades your inquiries or does not reveal what the source of the exam questions will be, this guide will be of limited help to you. Assuming you are confident about the source of the questions (e.g. textbook chapters), with adequate preparation you should find the test easy.

Let us say that you have a final exam worth 25% of your final grade, and it will include 50 multiple choice questions; in addition, it will be based exclusively on the text chapters 3-5 and 8-10. Thus far you have not been doing so well, so you really need to crush this exam.

Well, here is how: Count up the page numbers between chapters; so if the average chapter is 30 pages long, you have about 180 pages to study. Next, determine the conditions under which you study best. For example, caffeine in doses of 150 - 300 mgs is an excellent short term study aid, but the optimal effects might last only 4 or 5 hours. Now, make sure you have everything you need, including water bottles, lighting, and a comfortable place to rest your textbook and your body (this is important). Determine a realistic estimate of how many pages you should aim to study. For example, some cutoff points make sense, such as a daunting chapter that is very long. So let's say you decide 50 pages is a good target, because you can study 10 pages/hour. In my experience, 8 pages/hour allowed for me to fully absorb all the main points, the secondary points, lists, side notes, and basically anything remotely pertinent to what would later appear in exam questions. Granted, you must really be committed and be willing to study rigorously.

At the outset of each chapter is a list of objectives; make sure to memorize these objectives in sequence. This will help you psychologically, because you will be able to see the chapter subdivided into these objectives and know when you have fully covered one objective or are nearing the end of one, which will usually produce 1-3 exam questions, based on the scenario outlined above. Go ahead and begin reading the chapter. In the opening page, there will usually be a set of ancillary points to be covered on the top; scan these but don't pay as much attention as you have to the chapter objectives. We have delayed long enough, but it is time to dive into the text.

Start reading and grapple with the sea of words by focusing on each sentence or string of related sentences. Remember, caffeine can help here. No matter how text heavy a page is, 5-7 minutes is enough time to digest most of its contents. Pace yourself and if you find yourself lagging behind, improvise and ignore those elements of the text which are not as important, such as boxes in the margin that refer to extraneous information, for the person who wants to go the extra mile and do research or follow up. Always make sure to memorize highlighted words, definitions, and any text that appears different to signify it is vital information. Sometimes you will encounter a clause or passage that does not make sense, because the author(s) have used poor wording. Fear not, but try to relate whatever you can make of the idea to your personal experiences, and update your understanding if possible as the chapter progresses. Eventually you will reach the end of the chapter; at this stage, you want to read the summary, which should appear rudimentary to you, if you have been studying the right way. If there are multiple choice questions, fill in the blank questions, or an assessment of any kind that is not too cumbersome, make sure to answer. This will give you an idea of how well you've been able to incorporate the information into your understanding and how you stand to perform on a test based solely on that information.

Repeat the process until you feel that you're not comprehending (yielding) as much information, or until you feel that you have reached the benchmark you set out for yourself.

If possible, you want to study in intervals, because the more times you can access the information with a fresh mindset, the better you will be able to identify and acquire new information and consolidate existing information. I have studied for major exams in two 12 hour study sessions and performed quite well, but there is a greater risk of losing information from your memory completely or not being as comfortable with the content in its nuances and fine details, which will hurt your grade.

More on the technical aspects of choosing which material to study intensively and which to study lightly, or whether it is better to study all material with a more balanced approach -- later on. Also, the art of answering multiple choice questions -- soon.