How to Study

Should You Ever Change a Guess?
How valid was your first guess? It was probably pretty darned good
(presuming you had some basis for guessing in the first place). So good
that you should only change it if:
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It really was just a wild guess and, upon further thought, you
conclude that answer actually should be eliminated (in which
case your next guess is, at least, not quite so wild). 
■
You remembered something that changed the odds of your
guess completely (or the answer to a later question helped 
you figure out the answer to this one!).
■
You miscalculated on a math problem. 
■
You misread the question and didn’t notice a “not,” “always,”
or other important qualifier. 
What if you eliminate four of the five answers and are convinced that
the one that’s left—your supposedly “right” answer—is flat-out
wrong? Eliminate it and start your analysis again with the other 
four answers.
Chapter 8
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How to Study for Tests
189

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If you do guess at any of the objective questions and expect that your
test paper will be returned to you, place a little dot or other symbol
beside them. That way you will be able to assess how successful your
guessing was.
If there is time during a test for you to come back to questions and
think about them one more time, go ahead and cross out the answers
you know aren’t correct. That will simply save you time. You will
ignore the answers that are struck out and concentrate on the ones
that remain. A small point, but it can save you several seconds per
question.
When you think you have finished a whole section, double-check 
to make sure you really have. Look on the answer sheet or in the 
blue book to make sure all the questions have been answered.