Script:
You will hear a female and a male students are talking to the mock exams they have just taken.
Adam: So what did you think of the practice exams last week?
Mary: You mean the mock exams?
Adam: Yeah. I thought some of them were tough.
Mary: They were certainly hard and generally they were very long.
Adam: Yeah. They were spread over a whole week, which made it impossible to relax.
Mary: Exactly. But what did you think of each test?
Adam: Of the seven exams we did, the least enjoyable for me were the two three-hour essay papers.
Mary: Why didn't you like the essay papers?
Adam: I am not particularly good at writing things down like that in a short space of time. And I don't think it's a good way of testing our theoretical knowledge of medicine.
Mary: I'm the opposite, I'm afraid. I'm much better in the written essay exams than the other types of tests. But what about the two multiple choice exam papers in basic science and anatomy?
Adam: They weren't too bad. If you didn't know the answer, all you had to do was guess.
Mary: Mmm. That's okay but I never feel comfortable with guessing. And you know that there is research that shows that women are disadvantaged when doing multiple-choice questions compared to men.
Adam: You have mentioned this before, but I am not sure I believe it.
Mary: It's true. Multiple-choice questions benefit men more than women. They are a male construct.
Adam: If you say so!
Mary: It's not if I say so. Anyway, you have to be careful with multiple- choice questions because of the negative marking. That can really bring the score down if you keep guessing and get all of the guesses wrong. It's double negative.
Adam: Yeah, that is a danger.
Mary: What about the role-play? Did you like that?
Adam: Yeah, with the actors and actresses as simulated patients. Yeah, I thought that was by far the best part of the exam.
Mary: Why was that?
Adam: What I liked about it was during the 24 test stations, we had a chance to show what we know about communicating with patients and show our practical medical knowledge etc.
Mary: Yes. I think I agree with you there. I enjoyed all of the stations, but I can tell you I was tired at the end. I have done a practice exam with 12 test stations, but not 24. It was exhausting, but also exhilarating.
Adam: I agree completely. It lasted nearly four hours in total with the break.
Choose the correct answers.