Guessing Strategies on Firefighter Written Exams

GUESSING STRATEGIES ON FIREFIGHTER WRITTEN EXAMS

Below are some suggested guessing strategies that can be used on multiple-choice format fire exams.

If you’re still stuck, use guessing strategies:

• When in doubt, guess B or C.
• When an answer does not grammatically follow the question, it’s probably incorrect.
• ALWAYS and NEVER tend to appear in incorrect answers.
• Qualifying adjectives indicating possibilities (sometimes, may, generally, perhaps) tend to appear in true statements.
• Correct answers tend to be longer than incorrect answers.
• Correct answers sometimes repeat terms in the question.
• Incorrect items tend to be vague.
• If there are two answers that seem to be opposite each other, one is probably correct.
• Answers with a technical term you are unfamiliar with are usually incorrect.
• If two choices are both correct, then all of the above is correct.
• When all of the above is a choice, it’s often the correct choice.

NOTE:  Use these strategies ONLY if you have no idea about the correct answer.  Using these strategies to take an entire test will not work.  There is no substitute for proper preparation.

Good luck in your pursuit of the greatest job on the face of the earth!  Remember – luck goes to the prepared!