Welcome to the next module in the test taking strategies course I like to call this inside the mind because it dives into getting inside the mind of your instructor, your teacher professor, basically understanding what's going on inside the mind of the exam question writer. And so to get inside, it's really pretty simple. As I've alluded to in other parts of this courses, it's unlikely that one single strategy or technique is going to propel you to the heights that you desire. It's a combination of a variety of factors and techniques that will allow you to get the extra points and get the extra questions right that will give you the academic success you desire. One of the simple ways to do this is just to pay attention to the style of your instructor or professor or teacher. Listen to how they talk.

What do they do when they write How do they construct sentences or facts? If they give you handouts or notes, just look at the way they structure The sentences and present the material this gives you a pretty good idea about how they present things that are true. When an instructor an exam question writer formulates a question about something that's false. Oftentimes, it comes from a little bit different part of the mind, it's more of a creative part in the wording. Oftentimes, it's just subtly different. And so you can pick up on nuances about how options are presented that they're probably not true.

And just look at the the wording of what they put on the board or in their PowerPoint presentations or wherever else you can get access to it. Do a little bit of research, particularly if you're at a university or college. A number of the faculty are actively involved in research or writing projects or have published gives you a simple way to see what they thought is important or what they felt was important and oftentimes this material is going to be re presented or shared with you in some format during the course. And so those are highly testable items in general. See what kind of publications they have out there and look for old tests. Old tests are a great way to see what type of material that was important, how they structure their questions, and general length of the test, how to present options whether it's multiple choice all the above some of the above true false matching, etc.

And what's our reputation does the the instructor the teacher have other other tests in ordinarily difficult despite presenting material in a rather simple and straightforward manner? I've had several professors like that that presented, for example, chemistry percent of the problems during class, that seems simple, and then the test came, and they were nearly impossible. And sort of the goal of that course was to weed people out. And so just knowing a little bit about the reputation can help you not only learn more about what to expect in a test, but also might sway your decision to take a course from one instructor versus the other, and set yourself up for success at the outset instead of suffering through a semester of hell interact with your faculty, one on one interactions are a perfect way to not only show interest in the material they're presenting, but get to know them on a personal level.

You never know when you're going to need a letter of recommendation or need of course override to get into a course that's full or need some other assistance, maybe a letter to help you get into a research project or fellowship or internship. capitalize on office hours, I'm not suggesting just to create stupid questions to interact with the faculty but general in general, genuine interest goes a long way to building rapport. You can also capitalize on lab sessions and ask the teaching assistant if there is one. They can give you a pretty good idea about what to what to expect. What's important what's not important sometimes that just of generosity or sort of a bonding that may occur, or multiple interactions that they sort of feel a sense of giving. There's a concept in marketing about reciprocity, and you're showing interest in them maybe asking some questions about their research they're doing right now.

And, and even though you're not specifically asking what's on the test, there's a subconscious reciprocity that occurs. And this is well documented throughout the sociology, psychology and marketing literature. Ask there's no harm and asking. You want to be respectful, obviously not aggressive or hostile, but you're showing interest in showing concern that you want to master the material that they're presenting. And more than more than likely, they'll give you some some valuable clues or hints about maybe not memorizing formulas, maybe skipping a list of facts that you thought probably should be memorized, but They may tell you otherwise. And obviously your track record speaks for itself as well.

You have you've shown interest throughout the course the class the semester, your faculty members more than likely going to interact with you in a different basis than some random students in a in a class of 250. That's coming up for the very first time, the day before an exam and asking do I have to know this? So just keep that in mind. Remember, you are in control. You need to be active in the way you learn. You talked about reading versus actively studying.

You need to be active in terms of interaction with faculty. Don't ignore your body. Obviously, when you're you're tired. in a bad mood, maybe that's not the best time to bother a faculty member with some questions or requests for what To study or what not to study, and it's a few points that makes all the difference. One or two points may be the difference between a A and A, B or C and A D or even worse and if so, just take that to heart. And successes is an interaction between a variety of concepts, active learning physiology, avoiding pitfalls, getting inside the mind of your examiner, understanding question types and how to tackle and specifically answer different question types.

How to eliminate incorrect answers. All these will factor in into the ultimate goal which is success.