Matthew Gile
1) What mistakes did Debbie make in her test preparation that probably harmed her performance?
Debbie did not prepare for an essay. She also assumed that she would get through the test no problem. While it is good to be confident, you should never become complacent.
2) What mistakes did Debbie make during the test that hurt her?
Debbie didn’t read the instructions. If she did she probably would have considered her essay first. Debbie also did not read through her test before she took it. Sometimes other questions in test give you the answers to ones you may have trouble with.
3) What was right about Debbie’s initial approach to the test?
Debbie was confident. Being nervous can affect your ability to think. Debbie also decided to do her multiple choice first in hopes that it would aid her in her essay.
4) What should Debbie have done differently in calculating the amount of time to devote to each portion of the test? Why?
Debbie should have paid better attention to how much each section was worth on the test. Even if she got all of her multiple choice correct, she would receive a poor score for a poor essay. If she had put more time into the essay and got a good score then that would leave more room for mistakes in her multiple choice without drastically affecting her overall grade.
5) What specific strategies would have helped Debbie with the multiple-choice questions? What strategies could she have used on the essay?
Active listening would have helped Debbie with her multiple choice. She reviewed key terms and ideas, but if she had taken proper notes while understanding the context she probably would have had an easier time on this section. Reading over the instructions more thoroughly and pre-reading each question after reading the essay topic probably would have helped her a lot on her essay.
6) If you were in Debbie’s shoes, what would you do with only ten minutes left in the test?
I would re-read the essay...