Improve Your Exam Odds: Be a Key Word Fanatic

The tipping point between a correct and an incorrect answer can be one word. Exam creators, as seasoned wordsmiths, craft questions based on real, but often subtle differences.

As a student, try underlining or carefully noting key words that expand or restrict MCQ answer options. They can appear as:

• negatives (derivations of no, e.g., none or never),
• superlatives (the highest qualify or degree of something, such as best (rather than better)), or
• qualifiers (e.g., occasionally, or not all the time).

Examples include: few, may, not, neither, many, often, seldom, probably, generally, all, always never, none, occasionally and sometimes. Regardless, they offer important clues when seeking the correct answer. Too many people assume that multiple choice questions are easy and don’t require rigorous study effort. The fact is that MCQs on an OREA exam are not mere recitals of facts. They often require considerable thought and reasoning to arrive at the answer. To be properly prepared, you’re best to practice with a variety of sample questions, different scenarios and alternate MCQ wordings.