Unverified content area 2 - item-level strategy and distractor discipline
Read the stem as a specification
Every well-constructed item contains a specification: who acts, under what condition, and what is being asked. Before looking at the options, restate the stem in your own words and name the concept it is testing. If you cannot name the concept, the item is testing vocabulary recognition and you should scan for the option that matches the stem's qualifiers exactly - including scope words (all vs. some), timing (before vs. after), and direction (increase vs. decrease).
Eliminate on structure, then on content
Structural elimination is faster and more reliable than content elimination. Cross out any option that (a) answers a different question than the stem asks, (b) contains an absolute that the concept does not license, or (c) is internally inconsistent. Only then compare the survivors on substance. When two options remain, the difference between them is almost always a single qualifier - find it deliberately rather than re-reading both in full.
Traps in the options themselves
- True-but-irrelevant: accurate, but not responsive to the stem.
- Overgeneralized: correct in the typical case, stated as universal.
- Partially correct: the first clause holds, the second does not - read to the end of every option.
- Attractive familiarity: wording lifted from the stem, which feels right without being right.
Rule of thumb
If you have spent more than roughly 90 seconds on one item, mark your best answer, flag it, and move on. Unflagged time sinks cost more marks than the single item is worth. Return only after the section is complete, and change an answer only when you can articulate a specific reason - not because the option "feels" better.
Worked example
Two options survive. Option A: "applies in most cases." Option B: "applies in all cases." The stem contains no condition that would restrict scope. The concept, as you learned it, holds generally rather than universally - so the qualifier, not the topic, decides. Choose the option whose scope matches your stated limiting condition, and write that condition in one sentence to confirm you chose for a reason.