ASVAB Study Guide Secrets

Plan Your Study Time

Plan your study schedule and develop and effective study strategy. Plan to spend an hour a day studying for two to three months before your scheduled exam. Take a practice ASVAB test to determine your weakest areas. Plan to spent the majority of your time on your weakest area; for example, if math is your weakest area, you may want to spend 60 percent of your weekly study time on math and 40 percent on the verbal sections. Review your study areas at the end of the week, paying close attention to any trouble spots.

Develop and Practice Test-Taking Strategies

When studying for multiple-choice tests like the ASVAB, learn to read the directions thoroughly before answering. Make sure that you understand what the question is asking before marking your answer; do not miss words like 'not' or 'except' that can drastically change the meaning of a question. Consider the question carefully whenever an answer contains absolute words like never, nothing, always or all. According to Barron's, these words are often clues that the answer is possibly wrong because it is too broad; conversely, limiting words, such as sometimes, possibly or occasionally, often signal a choice that could be correct. Eliminate answers you know are wrong, and do not reconsider answers you have eliminated.

Develop a Strategy for the Computer-Based Test

Visit the official ASVAB site, and practice using its tutorial. The computer-based version adapts to the ability of the test-taker. If you answer the first question correctly, the next question will be more difficult; if you answer incorrectly, the next question will be easier. You will receive a higher score if you answer more difficult questions. According to 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to the ASVAB,' you should try to get the first five questions right because it will be harder to build up a high score if you start out with easier questions worth fewer points.

Study and Retake the ASVAB

ASVAB test results are valid for two years. After taking an initial ASVAB test, you can retake the test in 30 days. You must wait another six months after the retest before taking the test again. The military considers your most recent scores, not your highest scores, when determining job and service qualifications. If you took the ASVAB in high school and would like to increase your score, you canrequest that the recruiter administer the version of the ASVAB given to people who did not take the high school version.