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Traditional IQ tests are timed, generally allowing an
average of a minute for each question. The higher the
number of correct answers you provide in the allotted time,
the higher your IQ. Incorrect responses do not carry
demerits.
This
suggests a simple strategy for maximizing your score. Take
the test in three passes. In the first, start at the
beginning and ask yourself: “Can I answer this question in
less than 30 seconds?” If yes, work out the answer. In
either case, move on to the next item and judge its
difficulty as you did with the previous one.
When you
have answered all the easy questions, go back to the
beginning and start pass two. Find the first unanswered
question and ask yourself: “Can I answer this question in
about a minute?” If yes, work out the answer. In either
case, move on to the next unanswered question and judge its
difficulty as you did before.
When you
have answered all the questions of moderate difficulty, go
back to the beginning and start pass three. Find the first
unanswered question and ask yourself: “Does this one
really, absolutely stump me?” If it does, guess, but make
sure you eliminate any obviously incorrect answers to
maximize the probability of being right. For example, if
you can eliminate 2 bogus answers out of 4, any response
has a 50% probability of being correct. Spend no more than
2 minutes on any question you tackle. If you don’t have the
answer by then, guess and press on.
Pass
three is the trickiest of all because you have to quickly
move from one difficult question to the next with one eye
on the clock. Guess at everything remaining if you begin to
run out of time. Be sure to allow a full minute to review
the entire test for inadvertently skipped questions.
By
answering the easy questions first, followed by those of
increasing difficulty, and finally making intelligent
guesses on those that remain, you can generally raise your
reported score an average of 10 points. Note that the
increase still represents your true IQ because this
technique simply applies your intelligence to shift the
outcome in your favor. Gaming the test isn’t illegal
because the test is a game. |
