GENERAL STRATEGIES

PROCESS OF ELIMINATION

What is it?

It is another way of saying if the option is wrong, cross it out. Simple, yet if used properly, it will save you time and maximise your score.

What is it useful for?

All sections of the UMAT and even high school / university exams that involve multiple-choice questions.

Why is it useful?

If you eliminate the answers you know are wrong, you will find it easier to keep track of the ones you are still considering. There is already too much
information in the UMAT to worry about which options you have read and which ones you are yet to consider

When you come back to a question, you will not have to waste time considering responses you have already eliminated

The strategy requires you to focus on why an option may be incorrect. It is often easier to see why an answer is wrong rather than why it is best. The
right answer will be the option you cannot find a reason to eliminate

In Sections 1 and 2, you can often eliminate one or two options relatively easily. The remaining ones will be harder to distinguish between. Eliminating
some of the options allows you to concentrate on the differences between the remaining options. This often gives you clues to the answer

The technique helps maximise your score. If you have to guess, its much better to guess between two options rather than four or five

One word of caution

Its easy to take this technique too far and dismiss answers that look even a little bit wrong. Remember that you are looking for the best answer in the UMAT;
you are unlikely to get a perfect answer. Dont be too quick to eliminate, and be ready to re-consider. If you find the question difficult to answer after using the
process of elimination, go back and review the options you eliminated. You may find something you missed the first time.

TRANSFERRING YOUR ANSWERS PROPERLY

Be warned

We know at least one case of a year 12 student who did not gain a place in medicine because he did not transfer his answers accurately. He thought he had
successfully completed all Section 3 questions just in time, then realised there was one blank space left on his answer sheet (for the last question). He looked
back over it and realised he had filled almost half the answers in wrongly. The test ended, and there was nothing he could do.

Nightmarish? You bet.

One small mistake can mean hours of thinking (on the actual day) and weeks of preparation (before the UMAT) gone to waste, not to mention a missed
opportunity at the course of your dreams. Dont let it happen to you.

Useful Strategies

Every time you complete a question, check the question number and match this to the number on the answer sheet. Double check if you have to

Finish a page or double page spread, and transfer the answers as a bloc. You may find this technique saves you time, but you might also find it difficult
if you are continually skipping over or coming back to questions

When you skip a question, circle it on your answer sheet so that when you come to answering the next question, you have a reminder to not use the
box of the previous question

Try combinations of the above methods and see what you are most comfortable with. Then train yourself to do it automatically.

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Is this important?

It is vitally important. Lets leave political correctness aside for a moment. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Some may find Section 3 a
breeze, others will struggle with it. It is important to know yourself so you can maximise your score.

The rule is:

Until the UMAT, focus on your weaknesses

On the day of the UMAT, focus on your strengths

Even if you absolutely cannot stand certain question types, do them. Persist until you get them right.

However, in the UMAT, do not agonise over questions with which you have difficulty. Skip them.

Remember that all questions are of equal value but they will have varying degrees of difficulty. Dont necessarily do the questions in order be prepared to
skip over and skip between. For example, you might want to do unit questions (in Sections 1 and 2) first they often have less material to process per
question. Learn to identify the questions you have trouble with or the ones that take longer and leave them for later, or for guessing.

GUESSING

Thats a technique?

Believe it or not, guessing is a very important technique, especially in a difficult exam such as the UMAT. You are not penalised for wrong answers, so go for it.
You should never, ever leave blanks.

When to guess

If a question appears difficult. It is important to maximise your score, so do not waste time agonising over a difficult question. You can always come
back to it later if you have time.

If you are midway through a question that you thought would be do-able, but find you are struggling with it and spending too much time, then guess,
mark the question to remind yourself that you have guessed, and move on

When you realise you have about five minutes left, fill in any remaining empty boxes. Make sure you mark them to remind yourself that you have
guessed you can come back to them and change your answers if you have time. Dont leave it until the last minute to fill in all your gaps; you may
have mistimed the test, or the supervisors may have (it has been known to happen)

Tips for guessing

Following are some tips that may help you improve the accuracy of your guessing allowing you to take an educated guess rather than a random one.

Use the process of elimination

Options that contain absolutes such as never and always are often wrong

Identify the main issue of the question (in sections 1 and 2). Pick an answer that addresses this issue and eliminate irrelevant answers (eg. those that
go outside of the scope of the information)

Scan responses for terms or concepts that appear often in the stimulus and favour them

The letter to choose when guessing

It doesnt matter! Dont bother trying to find a pattern on your answer sheet. Pick a letter and go for it.

MAKING ANNOTATIONS ON THE ANSWER SHEET

We know youre advised not to, but

Who cares? If its going to help you, do it.

For example, if you skip over a question, circle the question number. This will ensure you will remember to guess and not leave a blank. If you are not sure
about an answer (eg. you made an educated guess), use a different mark, like a line. This will allow you to come back at the end and re-consider your answer.

You can always rub out the annotations on the answer sheet (just be careful not to rub out your answers).

WRITING ON THE QUESTION BOOKLET

When the UMAT is over, your test booklets are discarded. They are not examined or re-used, they are simply shredded. The lesson is? Write all over your
booklet, do what you want with it (except tear it up ACER doesnt let you do this).

A few years ago, ACER would not let you write on your question booklet. Now you can, so make the most of it.

Whats the point?

Have you ever read over something and wondered what you just read? Writing and underlining trains your brain to stop this by forcing it to identify the most
relevant points and organise the concepts. In a time-pressured test such as the UMAT, you want to understand the question and data the first time. You
cannot afford to read it over and over again. By underlining and writing, you are forcing your mind to be active.

If you do this, you will be less likely to go back to the stimulus material because you will have understood it. In case you do need to go back, the underlining
and notes will help you locate the information you need, faster.

What do I underline or write?

The most important function of underlining / writing is to force yourself to concentrate, so what you actually write is not crucial. It does not have to be pretty,
or even legible.

It is often useful to underline:

The most important facts or arguments in a passage

Anything that surprises you it may form the basis of a question

Any definitions

Thought reversers such as not and except present in the question stem. These turn a question inside out

Qualifying words such as must, always, never, only and sometimes

It is often useful to write:

A brief note that identifies the main point of the passage

Anything significant that comes to your mind as you interpret information

A diagram that helps organise information

One last tip

Never let the pencil leave your hand. Keep it there at all times, and do something with it at all times. This will help you keep your mind active and improve
concentration.

IF YOURE A PERFECTIONIST, STOP BEING ONE FOR THE UMAT

If you want to enter a health science course, chances are you are intelligent, and do well at school. In school, perfectionism often helps you do well, so
chances are many of you will be perfectionists (this is starting to sound like a Section 1 question!). However, perfectionism in the UMAT is something that can
be detrimental.

The UMAT is messy business. You cant understand everything perfectly, answer every question and do it in order; there is simply not enough time. Mute those
perfectionist tendencies for the UMAT. The sole aim is to maximise your score.

PACE YOURSELF!

Ok, ok, so you mean check the clock once in a while

Timing means much more than this. Firstly, you absolutely must have a watch that works. Take another if the first might stop working. Dont rely on a clock
that may be 50 metres away. Secondly, understand that the UMAT is all about timing.

This isnt easy. Pacing requires intuition and discipline, which often doesnt come naturally. You need to develop it.

How should I pace myself?

The most important principle to keep in mind is

Do not spend too long on any one question

Guess and move on.

Know where you should be at various points in the exam (eg. I need to have completed 10 questions after 15 minutes). Do not become obsessive
about this, just have some idea. This should become intuitive if you have done enough practice

You should aim to do your first sweep of the section (answering the questions you find easiest and skipping the harder questions), devoting less than
your allocated time per question. This will give you time to deal with the more difficult questions in subsequent sweeps

How do I develop pacing skills?

Practice!

After you have gained some familiarity with the questions, do some timed full-length practice exams. Effective pacing should then become second nature to
you.

TRIAL AND ERROR

What is it?

Trial and error involves plugging each answer option into the question and seeing if it works or makes sense.

When should I use it?

It is mainly important for Section 1 problem solving / data interpretation and section 3 questions. Some of these require you to use this technique. Other
times, it should be a last resort because it is often time-consuming.

STRESS

Stress is relevant to the UMAT in two key ways:

1.You are likely to be under stress in the lead up to the UMAT, due to time constraints (especially in year 12)

2.You may feel stressed during or immediately before the UMAT

Stress is a natural evolutionary response that developed to aid our survival. However, when induced inappropriately, it can have detrimental effects. It can
cause you to become prone to illnesses such as the flu, by lowering immune system function. It can also have a dramatic impact on your performance it can
help or hinder you. It is important to be aware of the effects of stress to maximise your performance.

The Yerkes-Dodson law is a model that describes how stress affects performance. The graph below shows that as stress increases, performance increases to
a certain level. Too much stress, however, has a harmful effect on performance.

An extension of the law states that you need a low level of arousal for difficult tasks and a high level of arousal for simple tasks. Since the UMAT is a difficult
task, you will need some degree of stress, but not too much.

So how do you minimise stress something that appears beyond your control? First realise that you do have control over the way you react to stressful
situations. Take the following example. Young children will often play with a mouse because mice appear to be cute fluffy things. However, to many adults,
mice are horrifying. Essentially, a mouse is just a mouse. Whether or not you believe it is frightening depends on how you view it.

Its the same with the UMAT. If you view it as something scary, your body will react accordingly you may have sleeping problems, poor appetite, poor
concentration or any number of things.

There are many things you can do to relieve stress. Your reactions and response to stress will be unique to you, but following are some strategies that people
find useful:

 Physical exercise

Talking to friends or family

Listening to some types of music

Playing a musical instrument

Keeping a journal

Meditation and yoga

It may be helpful to visit the testing centre to familiarise yourself with it. Try visualising yourself going into the test, doing it and doing it well.

Finally and most importantly, think of the UMAT as a challenge, but a challenge that you are well prepared for. Think positive!

SUMMARY OF STRATEGIES

Use the process of elimination

Transfer your answers carefully: one by one or in blocs of a page

Know your strengths and weaknesses

Guess if you have to!

Make annotations on the answer sheet

Write all over your question booklet

Stop being a perfectionist (at least for the UMAT)

Pace yourself

Use trial and error if necessary or as a last resort

Preview the question stem

Try to maintain an optimal level of arousal

Stay positive