Appropriateness Questions: Strategy

Appropriateness questions make up a significant portion of the SJT. They present a scenario and ask you to rate each action as "very appropriate," "appropriate but not ideal," "inappropriate but not awful," or "very inappropriate." This lesson provides a systematic strategy for approaching these questions with confidence.

---

The Golden Rule: Rate Each Action Independently

This is the most important principle and the one most commonly violated.

You are NOT ranking the actions against each other. You are rating each action on its own merits. This means:

• Two actions can both be "very appropriate"
• Two actions can both be "very inappropriate"
• The actions do not need to span the full range of ratings
• You should evaluate each action as if the others did not exist

Why This Matters

Many candidates fall into the trap of thinking: "Well, Action A is the best, so I will rate it 'very appropriate,' and since Action B is not as good, I will rate it 'appropriate but not ideal.'" But Action B might also be "very appropriate" — it is just one of several good options.

---

The Assessment Framework