My Personal : Hello? Strategy for Gifted, Analytical & Argumentative Thinkers
Read the directions for each section. Know them ahead of time. When you read them at the time of doing the questions, the actual reading of the directions will put your mind (your brain) into the correct sequencing strategy to do these questions if you have practiced them ahead of time.
This will become a time-saving and accuracy-producing strategy for answering the questions you know how to do correctly and for taking your best shot at the questions demanding more time from you.
The strategies relating to the questions and answers that you tend to do quickly, plus the questions and answers which may be examined quicker than others due to their brevity, are designed for you to practice to make better choices daily—using what you know to your advantage.
Directions:
Talk to your brain: Identify what this section is asking. Read the title.
Writing-Identifying sentence errors
(Note from me: The title lets you know what type of language arts function you are watching to find. In this case, you are detecting sentence errors.)
(Note from me: Remind yourself of the directions for this particular set of questions. You know it from practice. This is a reassurance to your brain and an adjustment of the mindset to the task.)
Directions
The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E.
In order to prepare for the speech he was given to all of the parents and teachers at the school, George practiced speaking in front of a group of his friends. No error.
My note: The underlined portions are labeled A, B,C,D, and E for you to choose the answer by choosing the letter.
To do this type of question, read until you see an error (was given). This is the correct answer. Mark it in your booklet.
Now, quickly, check the other underlined portions—sincerely looking for them to be in error because if you find a worse error, there is a possible way that ‘was given’ could be in a sentence like this. George could have been given a speech from someone else to prepare to present to others. This likelihood would involve too much explanation and would require another part of the sentence in need of correction.
ADDITIONALLY, this is the type of reasoning that causes gifted, analytical, and creative students to miss obvious correct answers on tests. Learn how to retain your gift for seeing the clues about incorrect answers that will always be on multiple choice tests while avoiding a tendency to choose an answer to ‘argue’ a reason to include.
I call this the ‘Hello?’ strategy, and I remind students I tutor one on one about it when I think the reminder itself will not arouse the tendency to bring out this trait.
My ‘Hello?’ strategy is this: If you must explain to someone who is looking at you with upraised eyebrows WHY you choose this answer, find the answer the test writer intends as the correct answer. You do not have it yet if you have to explain to surprised people.
This is different from a question and answer that makes you notice how you tend to a wrong answer at times (as when you are looking for the answer that is 20% more than 100 and 125 and 120 are possible answers). The difference is that you do know a way this answer can be true.
In the March 30 question, there is a way that the sentence can be written to say that George is practicing a speech that was given to him. That is not the correct answer for this question. This sentence is giving the information that George is practicing a speech that he will be giving in the future. Answer accordingly, and do not hesitate. Most importantly, if you are fatigued or stressed, your mind will wander to these other ‘arguments’ on questions. Do not allow this to happen.
Rest before the test.
My seasoned and reasoned advice to all students w ho are inclined to find answers you need to talk with the test writer to mark correctly is: Find the test writers’ answer and move on.
This is a good place to include the thought that writing test questions for any test is a difficult art. The answer is in front of you on a multiple choice test. The test is written so that you display the information that you can answer that question without having the answer in front of you—that the fact that it is there is for two reasons: accuracy in grading the test (by machine/computer) and standardization of the form of the answer considered acceptable.
Both of these reasons are excluded on the section of the math test in which you write in the answers. This is called the ‘grid-in’ section and is merely a section in which you are allowed to write down the answer rather than choosing it from a list.
Plan to answer every problem in the ‘grid-in’ section. No points are counted against you for an incorrect answer in this section. There is absolutely no risk and all gain—except for pacing. If the problem takes too long to do—still, try to guess, if possible. But keep going. Always be aware of the pacing of the test.judiethcarol&rocketcatMarch2010c
