1. Test-Taking Strategies

2. Before the test…
Get a solid good night's sleep before the test. Being well rested will sharpen the mind and aid your memory.
Eat a good breakfast the morning of the test, but nothing too heavy.
Dress in layers if you are prone to getting cold.
Pack a small snack (but nothing too salty or else you will be too thirsty).
Commit to yourself that you will do your best.

3. Test Taking Tips
Keep a positive attitude throughout the whole test and try to stay relaxed. If you start to feel nervous take a few deep breaths to relax
Bring a watch to the test so that you can better pace yourself.
Do the easiest problems first. Don't stay on a problem that you are stuck on, especially when time is a factor.
Pace yourself, don't rush . Read the entire question and pay attention to the details.

4. Test Taking Tips
Always read the whole question carefully. Don't make assumptions about what the question might be.
If you don't know an answer, skip it. Go on with the rest of the test and come back to it later. Other parts of the test may have some information that will help you out with that question. USE THE TEST TO TAKE THE TEST!
Don't worry if others finish before you. Focus on the test in front of you.
Be sure and put all your answers in the answer document.

5. When you are done…
If you have time left when you are finished, look over your test. Make sure that you have answered all the questions.
Only change an answer if you misread or misinterpreted the question because the first answer that you put is usually the correct one. ALWAYS TRUST YOUR FIRST INSTINCT!!
Watch out for careless mistakes.
REMEMBER - You do not have to answer all the questions correctly to pass. It is not expected that students answer every question correctly.

6. Multiple Choice Help Read the question before you look at the answer.
Come up with the answer in your head before looking at the possible answers, this way the choices given on the test won't throw you off or trick you
Eliminate answers you know aren't right.
Read all the choices before choosing your answer
Be sure to answer all questions, and make the best educated guess for all questions.

7. QAR Question Answer Relation BOOK BRAIN 1. Read the question first.
RIGHT THERE
THINK AND SEARCH
ON MY OWN
RIGHT THERE
easy to find, in the same sentence
(who, what, when, where)
THINK AND SEARCH
in the reading but not in the same
sentence (how to do, how many)
AUTHOR AND ME
not in the reading; I must think
how to use clues from the
text to figure out the answer.
ON MY OWN
not there; I don’t need the reading
to answer the question. I already
know the answer from my
background knowledge.
BOOK
AUTHOR AND ME
BRAIN
1. Read the question first.
2. Decide which of the
4 QAR methods to use.
3. Find the answer in the
text OR use my
thinking skills OR
use my memory.

8. Quotation Attack Skills
“Fasting and similar discipline is, therefore, one of the means to the end of self-restraint, but it is not all, and if physical fasting is not accompanied by mental fasting, it is bound to end in hypocrisy and disaster.”
Mohandas K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth
1. Use QAR. Read the question. What is the question
asking?
2. Determine the historical issue/event in the quote.
3. LOOK FOR Location reference
 Time reference
 Gender
 Race
 Religion
 Ethnicity
 Point of View
4. Read the answers and eliminate the wrong choices.
5. Choose the MOST CORRECT answer.

9. Drawing Conclusions from Multiple Speakers
1. Use QAR. Read the question to identify which speaker(s) is needed to
answer the question.
2. Read only the speaker(s) needed to answer the question.
3. Read ALL the possible answers CAREFULLY.
4. Eliminate the answers that do not apply to the speaker(s).
5. Choose the answer that is MOST CORRECT. (Look for key words / synonyms)
Speaker W: In my country, families are small and health care is readily available.
Speaker X: In my country, the majority of the population lives in urban areas.
Speaker Y: In my country, families are large and health services are very limited.
Speaker Z: In my country we have many manufacturing and service industries.
Speaker Z is describing
A. The social structure of a
developing nation.
B. The economic base of a
developed nation.
C. The social structure of a
D. The political structure of a

10. Drawing Conclusions & Making Inferences
1. Read the selection carefully to understand all of the facts.
2. Decide the meaning of the selection.
3. Try to find facts in the selection that support your choice for the answer.
* Read to see what is suggested
by the facts, but may not
actually be stated.
* Read between the lines to
analyze the selection.
“Now it seems as though our mother planet is telling us, ‘My children, my dear children, behave in a more harmonious way. My children, please take care of me.’ ”
Dalai Lama
The main focus of the Dalai Lama’s statement is
A. encourage international trade.
B. prevent environmental destruction.
C. improve race relations.
D. end poverty and disease.

11. Multiple Choice Questions
1. Use QAR. Read the question. Do you already know the answer?
2. Ask yourself - Do I need the “visual” to answer the question?
2. Read ALL the choices before selecting an answer.
3. Eliminate the answers that do not fit.
4. Select the MOST CORRECT answer.
WATCH FOR: context clues
subject / verb agreement
negative words - not, except
time sequence - earliest to latest / latest to earliest
does your choice answer the question?
What large country today occupies the major portion of the Arabian Peninsula?
a. Kuwait c. Sudan
b. Iran d. Saudi Arabia

12. How to Handle Questions that Have Info You Have Never Seen
1. DO NOT PANIC! Do not focus on the “info” you do not recognize.
2. Focus only on the “info” you know.
3. Use QAR. What is the question asking?
4. Eliminate the answers that do not apply.
5. Choose the MOST CORRECT answer.
DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS
Which is the most likely explanation for the infant mortality rate and life expectancy rate in Papua New Guinea?
A. High per capita GDP
B. High literacy rate
C. Harsh climate
D. Limited availability of health care
Country
Birth Rate
Death Rate
Infant Mortality
Life Expectancy
New Zealand 22 8 25 67
Panama 22 4 18 73
Papua New Guinea 34 10 63 56 29 7 60 66
Peru

13. I is for interrelationships C is for conclusion
Using the OPTIC system
The five letters in the word OPTIC (pertaining to the eye) provide a system for remembering the five steps for analyzing a visual:
O is for overview
•Conduct a brief overview of the visual.
P is for parts
• Focus on the parts of the visual.
• Read all labels.
• Notice any details that seem important.
T is for title
• Read the title of the visual for a clear understanding of the subject.
I is for interrelationships
• Use the title to help identify the main idea or the big umbrella that connects
the parts of the visual.
C is for conclusion
• Draw a conclusion about the visual as a whole.
What does it mean? -- Why was is included?
• Summarize the visual in one or two sentences.

14. Political Cartoon Questions
1. Title
2. Captions &
Labels
3. Symbols
4. Caricatures
(exaggerated facial
features)
5. Stereotyping
6. MAIN IDEA

15. Reading a Graph Bar Graph Line Graph Circle Graph
Graphs (Charts) are combinations of symbols, words, and numbers that
show information in a clear and simple way.
1. Read the title.
2. Identify the main idea.
3. Identify the symbols.
4. Look for the legend.
(On line graphs & bar graphs: Read the x and y descriptors.)

16. * the circle represents the whole.
Hints for a pie graph:
* the circle represents the whole.
* the slices represent parts of the whole (subgroups).
Hints for a bar graph:
* They commonly measure quantities or
amounts of data.
* They make it easy to compare information.
* Carefully read x and y axes -
and what they represent.
Hints for a line graph:
* They commonly measure quantities
or amounts of data.
*They are used to make more specific comparisons.
* Carefully read x and y axes -
and what they represent.

17. Comparing/Contrasting Multiple Charts
1. Identify what the question is asking.
(HINT: You may not need to look at both charts.)
2. Read the titles on the charts.
3. Read the data in the charts & look for relationships.
4. Eliminate the wrong answers.
5. Choose the MOST CORRECT answer.
Which statement best summarizes the information in the charts?
A. Life expectancy is longer in Eastern Europe.
B. Life expectancy is longer for women in Eastern Europe.
C. Life expectancy is shorter, in general, in Eastern Europe.
D. Life expectancy is shorter for women in Eastern Europe.

18. Cause and Effect
1. Use QAR. Read the question carefully - Is it asking for cause or effect?
2. Predict an answer.
3. Read all the choices carefully.
4. Pay close attention to words such as:
CAUSE: EFFECT:
because consequently
as basis for leading to
due to resulted in
since major result
therefore affect / effect
before in response to
if then
after
5. Be sure to notice negative words, such as: except for, is not, excluding.
6. Choose the MOST CORRECT answer.

19. Cause & Effect Example
The Great Potato Famine
In 1845, a blight (disease) devastated Ireland’s potato crop, and it returned the next few years. The potato blight was not peculiar to Ireland; in fact, it began in North America. In the midst of the potato famine, corn, cattle, and dairy products continues to be produced in Ireland. But rather than give these foodstuffs to the starving, landlords sold them abroad for profits….The nation lost a third of its population during the famine - more than a million died from starvation or disease. At least another 1 3/4 million fled their native land - 8 in 10 bound for the United States, most of the rest for Canada.
The most important result of the Great Potato Famine was
A. North America received large numbers of immigrants.
B. The potato blight spread to Germany.
C. Landlords willingly gave their surpluses of corn and dairy products to the starving people of Ireland.
D. Ireland’s population was reduced by half as a result of the potato famine.

20. Identifying Trends 1. 2. 3. 4. HINT: Does your answer make sense?
These questions involve historical changes over time. These are
“big picture” concepts that bridge more than one time period.
CITY STATES
NATION STATES
Use historical people, events, and important dates as clues to help you identify the time period.
Example:
Athens Greece
(400 BC) (2000 AD) 1.
Key words are words that imply change, such as:
“has led to” “account for” “best supported by”. 2.
Look for descriptive words that describe the feelings of that time.
Look for emotional words. 3. 4.
The BEST answer will logically answer the question.
HINT: Does your answer make sense?

21. Questions Using a Flow Chart
Oil supply from Kuwait drastically reduced.
Iraq attacks Kuwait and sets oil well fires.
Red Adair and like companies are hired. ?
A flow chart is a multiple cause and effect question. The first statement is a cause of the second statement; the second statement becomes the cause of the third statement and so forth. The statements are all related. A question presented in a flow chart wants you to determine what the next most logical step would be. In this case, the answer could be “Oil prices increase worldwide.”

22. Interpreting a Population Pyramid
Remember that a population pyramid is basically a bar graph turned on its side. Each line is showing you what percentage of the population is a certain age.
Examine the title and the type of data presented.(ex. Age breakup, numbers listed below, male-female notation.)
True pyramids are developing countries. The majority of the population is younger and not many people live to an old age. Developed countries are more rectangular; the population is spread more equally through the age groups.

23. Examining Maps Examine the Map’s TODALSIGS
Overview = Subject, type of map (phy, political, thematic)
Parts = Legend, scale, labels, shading, symbols, inserts
Title = Often in legend, frequently includes location, date, and map theme
Interrelationships = Patterns related to location and map content (such as population density, diffusion path, or vegetation distribution) ; pay attention to key regarding shading (dark is not always more, water is not always blue)
Conclusions = Generalizations, trends, or patterns evident from the map information
Examine the Map’s TODALSIGS
Title, Orientation, Date, Author, Legend, Scale, Index, Grid, Symbols

24. Recognizing Different Maps
Cartogram -Actual size/shape changed to reflect data
mappery.com
Pictorial Map
Worldpress.org
Political Map
Fordham Institute
Physical Map
USGS
Topographic map of Stowe, Vermont
maps.complutense.org NY Subway Map
maps-for-free.com
Relief map of Spain

25. “Reading” GIS Imagery Houston, Texas
Square, checkerboard or quilt pattern usually indicate agriculture (different greens equal different types of crops)
Rivers, streams, and bayous appear as wavy lines (irregular, wavy=nature). If image has color, water is usually but not always colored blue or dark grey.
Lighter shades typically indicate sparse vegetation or more shallow water (may also show soil erosion in water)
Darker shades typically indicate thicker vegetation or deeper water
texasbest.com houstontomorrow.org
Brown, light tan is usually an indication of soil exposure (as in clearing for development, planting or natural settings such as deserts and beaches)
Light grey = populations, development, urbanization (straight lines = man made) 25

26. “Reading” GIS Imagery Houston, Texas
Square, checkerboard or quilt pattern usually indicate agriculture (different greens equal different types of crops)
Rivers, streams, and bayous appear as wavy lines (irregular, wavy=nature). If image has color, water is usually, but not always, colored blue or dark grey.
Lighter shades typically indicate sparse vegetation or more shallow water (may also show soil erosion in water)
Darker shades typically indicate thicker vegetation or deeper water
texasbest.com houstontomorrow.org
Brown, light tan is usually an indication of soil exposure (as in clearing for development, planting or natural settings such as deserts and beaches)
Light grey = populations, development, urbanization (straight lines = infrastructure, man made) 26

27. Drag labels to show the corresponding feature on the GIS image
Bush Intercontinental Airport
Galveston Bay
Sam Houston Toll way/Beltway
Bear Creek Park and Flood Plain

28. Drag labels to show the corresponding feature on the GIS image
Drag labels to show the corresponding feature on the GIS image
Mt. Kilimanjaro volcano
Lake Victoria
water
Great Rift Valley elevation change
Nile River
water
Sahara
desert
Strait of Hormuz
chokepoint
Congo Basin
vegetation

29. Warning: The colors used in GIS changes.
Shading (dark to light) is more consistent.
GIS images are often shaded to show details. In the image to the right, green vegetation is colored red. The Greater Houston Metropolitan area is seen, with urban areas blue- grey and suburban areas white-pink. Houston city is at center. Bush International airport is at top center visible with white runways. North Freeway is the white motorway running from the city north. At top right is Lake Houston with its dam wall; the navigable Buffalo Bayou runs from the city to the north tip of Galveston Bay (at right).
2ols.com
Summer
Winter

30. Can you match the label to the correct image?
Hawaii
Nile River
California
Mediterranean Sea
Andes Mountains
Great Salt Lake
Rocky Mountains
Volcano
Sahara
Spain
Italy 30