Whether your friend or foe, multiple choice exams form core assessments on most courses, so it’s worth spending some time preparing for them. Find our top tips for MCQ exams here.

For some, multiple choice exams are a living dream. For others, they are a tear-jerking, sweat-inducing monstrosity. But fear not: there are some tried and tested preparation methods and exam techniques that mean whatever your feelings about MCQs, you can head into your exam feeling cool, calm and collected. Firstly (though we might wish differently) MCQ exams rely heavily on memory. With little time to sit and contemplate, it’s vital that information recall is rapid. If you struggle with memorisation (as many of us do), there are a number of study methods you could try to consolidate your knowledge. Active revision is key here; if you aren’t trying to recall content while revising, you won’t be able to do it in the real exam.

1. Understand – it is impossible to memorise something you don’t yet understand. Before you start memorising, read over your notes, and ask a friend or lecturer if you are stuck. If you are struggling to grasp a concept, looking at it explained in different ways can help, so try using a range of sources. Give yourself breaks when the concept just doesn’t seem to be making sense, as a fresh mind on the subject can help.
2. Get an overview – memorising pieces of information in isolation is much harder than memorising in the context of a general topic. Try mind mapping or summarising your notes to get an overview of your ideas, which will help you fit information into a bigger picture and allow you to make links.
3. Write – handwriting information is a great way to help embed information in your mind. Using simple writing methods such as ‘look, cover, write, check’ can aid the memorisation process. Alternatively, write out the concept repeatedly, until you can do so entirely from memory – this is one of the more time-consuming methods, but it can be highly effective! Handwriting answers to flashcards can also help.
4. Speak – if writing isn’t for you, you might be that speaking information is more effective. You could explain a concept to a friend until you can do so clearly and without your notes. You could create and speak mnemonics for key points or processes – for example, you might use a mnemonic for a signalling pathway. Say highlighted terms out loud, and talk to yourself while studying. This allows you to hear the information and see it, and if you are an auditory learner, this can be a deal breaker.
5. See – if you’re a visual learner, you might want to try drawing out information while you recall it. Once you’ve done that a couple of times, try to visualise the images you drew as you recall the information. Though it takes quite a bit of practise, a memory palace might work for you. Visualise a space you know well, and ‘place’ pieces of information in visual form around the ‘room’. For example, you might remember the components of polymerase machinery by looking for them in this visualised room.
6. Move – whether you are a kinetic learner or not, try to get up and move around as much as you can. Exercise has been shown to aid memory, and aside from anything else, it will keep you feeling refreshed. If you learn best while moving, you might find that adding a set of physical movements to concepts helps. It’s not easy to get up and jump around during a timed exam, so try sitting still and visualising the movement while you explain the concept aloud or write it down. You can get creative with this!
7. Don’t get stuck – while you might be thinking this is not very helpful advice, it is actually a useful mantra. If something is not sticking in your memory, leave it and go on to something else. When you return to revising that piece of information, it might be much easier. Remember that breaks are useful tools.

Making sure you understand and memorise your notes is half the battle won with MCQs. The second part of tackling these exams comes down to technique, and there are a few important things to remember here:

1. Know the exam – before you begin your multiple choice exam, it’s vital that you know the structure of the exam. How long is the exam? How long the exam is dictates how long you have to spend on each question. Work this out, and then use benchmarks to keep yourself on track – for example, ‘I should have done half the questions by the 30 minute mark’. This stops you constantly checking the clock. What kinds of questions do you have? It’s worth thinking about whether some components of the exam might require more reading – for example, does it include only MCQs, or does the exam contain some single best answer questions? If some questions take longer, think about weighting your timings accordingly.
2. Scribble – always have some scrap paper to hand for workings. Writing down certain words when eliminating answers can help, and a pen and paper can act as a memory aid – for example, if you needed to draw out a particular concept or process.
3. Eliminate – if your exam is not marked negatively, the process of elimination is the way to go if you get stuck. It’s helpful if before the exam you can think about all the different kinds of ‘wrong’ answer you could be given – for example, a fact might be incorrect in the details, over-exaggerated, reversed or irrelevant to the question. Once you know these types of answer can crop up, it is easier to eliminate them at high speed. If your exam is negatively marked, it is sensible to skip the question entirely, and come back to it at the end.
4. Move on – do not vacillate between two answers. If you have narrowed it down, but you still aren’t certain, guess! You’ll only waste time by worrying about it. The sooner you choose, the sooner you can move on and come back to it if you have time.
5. Trust yourself – it is very easy to talk ourselves out of the right answer in the stress of an exam. One way to avoid this is to answer the question in your head before reading possible answers, if the question allows. This ensures that you aren’t influenced by possible answers, and you can just look for the correct answer within the list.
6. Read carefully – the speed required in an MCQ exam means misreading is highly likely. Double check words with opposites such as is/isn’t, does/doesn’t; when you read at high speed, you can easily misinterpret questions.

However you feel about multiple choice exams, we hope that this guide helps you to prepare and set your mind at ease.

Good luck!