Multiple-choice tips and traps...

Now that you are mastering the skills needed to learn effectively and efficiently it will be helpful to recognise some simple 'traps' that can lead to lost marks in Part-One of your exam.

These tips will not answer the questions for you, neither can they be applied to every single question. However, what do they will do is help you to explore be questions and hopefully make it easier for you to home in on the correct answers.

Read the following tips and then complete the project at the bottom of the page.

Underlining the word 'not'

When you encounter a question with a 'not' in it underline the not to remind yourself you are looking for answer which says what you should not do.

Underlining the word 'always'

Like not, 'always' can trip you up. Be very careful because there are not many things that must 'always' be done.

Process of Elimination

Multiple-choice questions usually have three answers that are either wrong or only partially correct and only one that is wholly right. Therefore, you can answer questions by eliminating obviously wrong answers.

If you can find just one answer that is obviously wrong, you have increased your chances of getting the right answer by 25%. Find two and your chances increase by 50%.

(Note: Some of our questions have more than one correct answer - they are designed this way to enhance your learning)

Examples of Routines

The answers to many questions are examples of specific driving routines such as the "Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre" (MSM) routine. Learning to spot these questions makes the answers to many questions obvious.

Looking for the Safest Option

If you don't know the answer to a question ask yourself. What would be the safest reasonable option? If the absolute safest option means you are going to have to wait all day to carry out a manoeuvre. Hold up traffic for an excessive amount of time or drive miles out of your way to get where you want to go. It is necessary to ask yourself, is this reasonable?

Sequence of Events

The answers to some questions depend on the order in which you do things. Ask yourself, what is the first thing to do?

Learning the Rules

Many questions are examples of specific rules. Once you have learnt the rule you will find that one rule can answer many specific questions. Learning the rules and how to apply them means you have much less to remember.

Asking "What if?"

Go through each answer to a specific question and ask yourself what would happen if I did do this and what would happen if I did not.

Anticipation

When exploring a question try anticipating the effects of carrying out each of the answers on other road users. Also, imagine if you were one of those other road users what would be the effect of another motorist carrying out each of the answers given on you.

Sequences of Questions

Occasionally you may come across a sequence of two or more questions concerning the same topic. You may even find that some of the answers given to choose from are repeated in two or more of the questions in the sequence. When you notice a sequence of questions check to make sure that the answers you have chosen are consistent for all the questions.

Project

Look at any (or all) of the question papers you have completed so far and identify questions with the words 'not and 'always' – how do these words affect your thinking? Could they (or did they!) trip you up?

Next, go through the questions and see how many answers are so obviously wrong that they can easily be eliminated. How much does spotting these increase your chances of getting the right answers?

This is the end of this tutorial - continue your study from where you left off - if you have finished Unit 4 go to step 6 to complete your checklist.