One of the big secrets about standardized exams like the NCLEX is that there are two ways to sail through them: you can either know the answers to the questions or you can know how to answer the questions. (You should be somewhat competent in both areas.)

What's the difference?

If you know the answers to the questions 100% of the time on the NCLEX, you don't need a formula. But, if you don't know the answers to the questions, the formula will help you to find them.

To ace essay questions on the NCLEX exam, the formula is in the structure. If you have the structure right, finding the right facts and arguments to slot into place will be a breeze.

Here's how to create a structure that you can use to ace any essay question on the NCLEX test.

1. Look at as many past NCLEX exams as you can lay your hands on; most people look at one old NCLEX exam or set of practice questions before a test. You want to find about five (or even more if you can). When you look at a lot of old NCLEX questions, you'll start to see a pattern. If you can't get ur hands on an old exam, you can get one from an online NCLEX source like Teaching Solutions (see url below). It should be a well-researched study guide that teaches you test content and has practice question that are similar to ones on the actual NCLEX exam.

There's always a pattern to the questions in the NCLEX. If there were no pattern, the examiners wouldn't be able to compare results from one year to the next. That's why they call it a standardized test.

When essay questions have a pattern, so do the answers.

2. In NCLEX essay responses, create an answer with this pattern:

Argument, Counter-Argument, Knock-Out Argument, Conclusion.

If you can identify the pattern of the questions -- if you can see how they're all asking a similar question -- you can put together the kind of answer that the examiners are looking for.

If you can't see how all the questions lead to the same answer pattern, you can use this answer pattern:

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Argument For
Paragraph 3: Argument Against
Paragraph 4: Knock-Out Argument (For or Against)
Paragraph 5: Conclusion

You can think of this formula as a skeleton key that opens the door to success on any NCLEX essay question.

That's it.

In the time that you have available in the exam room, no one is going to expect you to do any more than that.

Once you've got this structure, you simply need to...

3. Slot in the facts

With the right structure, slotting in the facts is going to be very easy. Even if you know nothing about the subject, you can use your imagination to try to figure out what the most likely arguments for and against might be.

The right structure makes it easy to guess the right facts.

And even if you get the facts partially wrong, you'll still get points for structuring your argument correctly.

Acing NCLEX Multiple Choice Questions

Acing multiple choice questions on the NCLEX test is even easier than acing the essay questions. There's a special process of elimination that increases your chances of choosing the correct answer choice.

Let me put it this way: If every multiple choice test you took contained just two answer choices, you could get about 50% right without even studying (or even going to college for that matter).

When you use the right process of elimination, while everyone else is starting with a 20 or 25 percent start, you're starting at 50 percent. That means you only need to know half as many correct answers to get the same score!

Here's how it works:

1. Knock out the stupid answers

Many multiple choice question on the NCLEX have at least one wild-card answer that looks nothing like any of the others and couldn't be right in a million years. Anyone that's a little familiar with the content of the exam won't choose it. Cross that one out first.

2. Knock out the answer that's "almost" right

Examiners know that some people will look at the question, have a quick think and look for the answer that's in the ball-park. That's why they include an answer choice that's only half-right. Half-right is wrong and it is a trick answer put in to fool you. Find that answer and cross it out next.

3. Spot two answers that look similar

By now, your options should include two choices that look very similar. One of those answers is right. The other is almost-right.

This is the real trick to multiple choice questions on the NCLEX test: every right answer has a wrong answer that looks almost exactly like it. If the answer you're thinking about choosing doesn't have a partner like this, it's probably wrong. When you spot two answers that look very similar, one of them is likely to be the right one.

When you've got these two answer choices in hand, you've got a 50 percent chance of picking the right one. And that's already a good start. This doubles your probability of getting the correct answer and a passing NCLEX score even if you're not 100% prepared or know all the answers.

Review of Acing NCLEX Essay And Multiple Choice Exams:

• The Essay structure: Introduction, Argument For, Argument Against, Final Argument,   Conclusion, works with just about every NCLEX essay question
• Use the process of elimination to ace NCLEX multiple choice questions
• When two answers look the same, one of them is probably right