MRCOG MADE EASY

EMQs- how to crack them ??

Hi friends,

Today we are going to talk about EMQs or extended matching questions. Each paper consists of 50 EMQ questions and against each question, there are 20 lozenges in the answer sheet from A-T.
An EMQ is composed of three parts:
• list of options
• lead-in statement or paragraph
• items (questions).The student needs to select the single correct answer from the list of options

As we all know SBAs are much easier to tackle than the EMQs. Not only are they time consuming, but confusing as well. The Royal College always selects options which are very close to each other and it often becomes tricky to decide the correct one. Besides this, though the number of SBAs and EMQs are same, the weightage given to EMQs is higher - 60%.

So today we are here to help you with some tips and tricks to crack EMQs:

The Preparatory phase:
1. Practice at least 20 EMQs everyday. These can be selected randomly from any topic- even from those that you have not yet studied.
2. For every guideline or every module that you do, practice the EMQs related to it – as many as you can get your hands upon.
3. Remember EMQs are more about applied knowledge. So keep on questioning your understanding while solving them and ask yourself why the answer is not the other one.

The Examination day:

1. Devote more time to EMQs than SBAs. There is no specific rule or time division. Make your own rules. Divide your time according to your convenience. It is always a better idea to finish the SBAs first and then go to the EMQs.
2. Remember there is no negative marking. So do not leave any question unmarked. However if you mark two answers, even if one of them is the correct answer, you will be marked Zero. So avoid marking two answers.
3. Make sure you read the lead-in statement and the questions carefully.
4. Try to answer the question without seeing the options first. Then go back to the options and select the correct one
5. Although the options are mostly homogeneous, there can be ‘distracters’ as well. These are options that could not possibly be correct. So, narrow down your options to two or three. Some of the options will be obviously incorrect. Once you are left with two or three options, try to select the correct one.
6. Sometimes it is very difficult to decide among option A or option B. What do we do then? Go to the next question. Always remember the set of questions in one EMQ are generally related to each other. The other questions in the EMQ and their answers will often help you to get a better understanding of what the examiner wants and to exclude the wrong options.
7. And lastly, keep your calm and believe in yourself.
We at believe in continual practice. Each of our course modules and study material are equipped with good number of SBAs and EMQs so that you can have sufficient practice before the examination. For further guidance, join our 3 month and let us crack together.

Dr Ratna and team
+91-8287050429