#2 Diagnosis/ Exam Reflection

Earlier today I took a practice A.P. test and I can say beyond a reasonable doubt I have some work to do. The passages were not necessarily “difficult”, but all were rather dry and uninteresting to me. Then I was also fuzzy on some of the questions meanings and answers. As the test continued I found myself re-reading passages and questions. This can be attributed to my lack of attentiveness as I progressed through the test. To say the least, I need to put in some real work before the real A.P. test this year.
Where do I start? Well in the book “Literature and Composition” I am offered some guidance by the authors, and they seem to be familiar with test dreariness.  Thus, they recommend that I endure, dig in, and stay attentive. The more I tune out the passage the harder it gets when I go to answer questions.  This will lead me to be less confused by the literature in the test, and not have to spend as much time puzzling over passages and wasting time. This goal will be met once I can average a higher words per minute reading speed.
However, there are times when being a good reader doesn’t pay off. In order to improve my score I need to also understand what questions are asking and be knowledgeable on all answer choices. It’s easier to answer a question if you can eliminate choices. To practice and better this skill I need to improve my vocabulary on works of literature. This can be done only with repetition.  So I will strive to take better notes in the future and broaden my literary terms. When I catch myself in a habbit of taking notes this goal will be fulfilled.
Re-reading is a timed test takers nightmare. Not only is this habit a waste of time, the reader, (me in this case) gets caught focusing solely on one aspect of the text leading to more re- reading. This catches even the best test takers in a vicious cycle.  Again I find myself saying that I need to increase my attentiveness. Possibly a new strategy could be the answer; read the questions first then, the text. This will take some practice so I believe I will need to take at least two more practice test before the real exam. Once my average score is above an 80% this goal is complete until then; test, test and test again.