Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Blog Post #2:Diagnosis/Exam Reflection


AP Practice Exam Reflection

Yesterday I took my very first practice AP exam. I think I did very well for it being my first time. I was completely and utterly focused, nothing could shake me. Another strength I had was my ability to skim passages while still absorbing information. The questions I answered correctly, I believe, was due to these strengths. Also, when I didn't understand a question, I attempting to figure it out; however, if I wasn't able to then I moved on and would come back to it later.


Not taking any form of an AP exam before yesterday put me at a disadvantage. Besides not knowing what to expect, my anxiety was skyrocketing. Although I was focused, my anxiety made me doubt my answers and myself a lot. Going through the correct answers afterward, I noticed that a lot of the answers I got wrong I had circled originally, but changed in the end. The other questions I answered wrong I just had no idea how to answer. I tried to make an educated guess, but I struggled with different poem forms and analysis of literary devices.

What I am going to do to prepare for improving my scores is to go back through the test booklet and take it again, giving myself the same hour time limit. Then I will compare to see if I did better a second time. After that, I will go through and read the explanations for every answer I got wrong. I will do that for both the first time I took it and the second time I took it, in case I answered certain questions differently and incorrectly. 

Another technique I am going to do to better my exam-taking abilities is to take more tests, study different literature types, and analyze more literary devices. Taking more tests will help ease my anxiety, since I will know what's coming. I will also be able to complete the exam with time left to go back through so I can double-check my answers. Studying literature and analyzing literary devices will help me to understand the content part of the exam better. Once I learn every type of question that is asked on the exam and I am able to answer them correctly, my test scores will improve. 

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