S.Q.U.I.D.

One strategy for true/false questions on tests is referred to as S.Q.U.I.D. Meaning:

Statements that are absolute are usually false. 

  • The answer is usually FALSE if it has words such as “all”, “every”, or “never”.

  • Examples: All students are female. Every person in Parliament is male. 

Qualified statements are usually true.

  • The answer is usually TRUE if it has words such as “some”, “most”, or “many”.

  • Examples: Some students are female. Many people in Parliament are male. 

Underline the negatives. 

  • Look for negatives: not, cannot, do no, no, the prefix "in-" (e.g. incomplete), and the prefix "un-" (e.g.unimportant). 

  • Examples: Toronto is not the capital of Canada. 360 days is an incomplete year. 

If a statement has 2 negatives, cross out both.

  • Cross out both negatives and read the sentence without them.  

  • Examples: People will (not) buy luxury goods if they do (not) have disposable income. People will buy luxury goods if they have disposable income. 

Decide that a statement is TRUE only if EVERYTHING about the statement is true. 

  • Items in a test question may contain several bits of information. Pay close attention to the entire question. 

Examples:

  • The Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary hockey teams were all part of the original 6 teams in the NHL. (FALSE — Montreal and Toronto were, but Calgary was not). 

  • The Montreal, Toronto, and Boston hockey teams were all part of the original 6 teams in the NHL (TRUE because all 3 were part of the original NHL).

Adapted from The Learning Toolbox