It’s a new year, and this means that for those sitting the UTME this year, the day is fast getting closer. Before the examination day arrives, you will have gone through most, if not all of the prescribed syllabus, practiced some past questions, and generally have yourself ready for the D-day.
But it does happen that you may encounter questions that will throw you – questions for which you cannot provide a sure answer. What then shall you do in such circumstances? Will you just leave it to blind guessing? Well, you don’t have to! Even guessing can be smart and coordinated, that’s what this article is about.
1. Understand the true meaning of guessing
When some test-takers hear the word “guess,” they think of surrendering. They imagine a frustrated student who simply throws his or her hands up and picks an answer at random. However, the savvy test-taker realises that guessing involves strategy too.
2. Learn how to address time constraints
A general lack of time is one well-recognized challenge on tests. But puzzling through the sometimes complicated comprehension passages can take a great deal of time. Many of the math problems require multiple steps or calculations that require plugging numbers into the equation to see which answer solves it.
Students should not become overly focused on answering every single question correctly – and then suddenly realizing that the section is more than half over, while still having more than half of the questions to answer.
It is often worth identifying the hardest questions as soon as possible, and then simply skipping them. As time is winding down, read each question and follow your immediate instinct. For instance, you can typically eliminate any potential answers for comprehension questions that reference absolutes – like always or never.
3. Develop a strategy for “lost cause” questions
When you simply cannot arrive at an answer, it is time to choose at – somewhat – random.
Since there are only four answer choices, eliminating just one possible answer raises your odds of answering correctly from 25 percent to 33 percent. Functionally, this means that it is worth your time to research why each potential answer is wrong. Once you have eliminated these answers, pick one of the remaining options and move on.
Your path to academic success may not be a walk in the park, but you can save yourself any additional anxiety by combining brains with smarts – I am sure you know they are two different things.
Brains is the academic part, while smarts is the ability to successfully navigate real life situations which this is about.
See Also: 2016 UTME UPDATE: Brochure, Syllabus and Updated List of Institutions
