A random list of things my students refuse to do (maybe youll actually try them)

Just needed to do some venting. After I find myself saying the same things repeatedly, I start to think that perhaps I should just make a recording and just hit the play button whenever someone neglects to do one of these thingsfor the fiftieth time. 1) When you get down to two answers on Critical Reading, GO BACK TO THE FRIGGIN PASSAGE AND CHECK TO SEE WHICH ONE IT DIRECTLY SUPPORTS. Pick the most concrete, specific aspect of one answer choice, and check to see whether the passage explicitly addresses it. If it doesnt, its not the answer. If one of the answers contains extreme language, start by assuming it’s wrong and focus extra-hard on connecting the other answer to the passage. 2) Dont make wild guesses. Just dont. 3) If youre going to skip questions on the real thing, skip them when youre practicing. Dont answer them just for the heck of it. Youre a lot less likely to do everything you intended to do on the actual test if youve never done it before. Besides, most questions you should skip fall into the category of questions you had no idea of the answer to. See #2 for my thoughts on that. 4) If you know theres a particular mistake you tend to make or a particular rule you always forget, take a pencil and physically write yourself a note IN CAPITAL LETTERS at the top of your page to look out for it. Otherwise, youll forget and just keep doing the same thing. Yes, actually write it down. 5) If you see the word NOT or EXCEPT in a question, put a huge circle around it so that you dont accidentally answer the opposite. 6) Write down each step of Critical Reading questions *as you do them.* Sum up, write, sum up, write You can write fast. And honestly, what you write isnt that important. Its more the fact that the act of writing forces you to clarify your thoughts at each step. I find it virtually impossible to work through a question without doing this, but I dont think Ive ever had a student who tried it willingly (and didnt make the ew, shes not serious, thats way too much work, I dont really need to do that to get the answer face). Yes, its a lot more work than most people are used to, but if done consistently, it keeps you from making those last few mistakes. 7) Think about whether the answer makes sense in the real world. Yes, the answer must be supported by the passage, but if it doesnt make sense period, its probably not right. 8) If you see any sort of comparison in a Writing question, especially at the end of a section, pay attention to it; chances are its a faulty comparison. If you have a tendency to miss these, see #4. 9) Physically cross out answers as you eliminate them. Put a line through them completely. Dont get lazy and stop after one or two. Your goal is to look at the smallest amount of information possible at any given time. Dont give yourself more things to get distracted by. 10) Playing process of elimination does not absolve you of the responsibility to think.  When youre done eliminating answers, make sure that whatever youre left with actually works. If it very clearly doesnt, go back and reevaluate.