For the past week, Christopher has been studying for his first American History exam. Christopher plans to transfer and eventual
ly become a pre-law major, so his success in this course is very important to him. He has taken a number of steps to make sure he is prepared—for example, he met up with friends from class to review their notes as a group, he added in extra study time instead of attending his usual workouts at the gym, and he made sure to eat healthy meals and avoid drinking too much coffee. When he woke up after a full night's sleep the morning of the test, he reassured himself that he had put in a lot of effort and he would do well.
On the day of the test, Christopher attempted to calm his nerves, looked over the entire exam, and made a plan to answer the easiest multiple-choice questions first. When it came time to write the essay portion of the exam, he created a short outline of what he wanted to say, though he acknowledges that he didn't always stick to his main points. He ended up writing more than he anticipated (almost two full pages) because he wanted to share everything he knew about the topic.
Christopher admits that he guessed at some of the items on the multiple-choice part of the exam. He felt sure he had done well on the essay, but he scored only 30 out of the 50 possible points. Overall, Christopher received a grade of 63 out of 100 points on the exam.
Which of the following might have negatively impacted Christopher's test preparation? In the week leading up to the exam, Christopher skipped his regular workouts, replacing them with extra study sessions. He chose to get a good night's sleep the night before instead of staying up to cram. He joined a study group instead of studying independently. He used positive self-talk, which likely gave him a false sense of security. 2. What could have gone wrong during the exam? He took time at the beginning of class to survey the entire exam. He answered the easy questions first. He developed a brief outline of his essay before beginning to write. For the essay, he provided all the information he knew on the topic, resulting in a lengthy two-page answer. 3. What strategy should Christopher NOT employ when preparing for the next exam? Ask his instructor about the test. Ignore his other class assignments the week leading up to the exam so he can spend multiple hours a day studying. Manage his exam preparation time wisely. Focus his study. 4. If Christopher finds himself becoming anxious about his next exam, which strategy should he use to manage any feelings of test anxiety? Sit with a rigid, tense posture to stay awake and alert throughout the test. Ignore his anxious thoughts as much as possible and use negative mental messages to keep himself on-task. Breathe deeply to help himself stay calm and think clearly. Avoid eating breakfast the morning before the test to diminish feelings of anxiety-related nausea. 5. Which is a recommended strategy for exam preparation? adjusting your sleep routine to allow for late-night studying drinking lots of caffeine and soda to stay alert during the exam eating candy and sugary snacks to fuel your studying exercising consistently and taking breaks from studying
