Taking the Final (or other exams)

 

Taking any test can be stressful on any student. Hopefully, these tips below will help you better understand and better prepare you for taking tests. Also See PREPARING FOR THE FINAL (and Other Tests).

A. The best preparation for taking finals is your day-to-day preparation throughout the semester. See links to Lectures and Preparing for Finals. Preparation builds confidence, confidence enhances performance.

B. Come rested and fed -- you will need the energy. This means, if at all possible, do not cram. You lose most of what you cram before you get to the test. 90% is permanently lost.

C. Avoid unnecessary pre-exam stress. On the exam day be sure to get to class with time to settle comfortably in a chair that is not going to be in the way of those who come late or leave early. Orient yourself. Bring required pens, paper, calculator, and a watch, etc. Blue books help because you do not have to chase flying paper; blank looseleaf paper for scratch purposes, if allowed, may be useful. Remember that parking on campus is tighter in exam week than at any other time of year.

DO NOT COUNT ON FINDING CLOSE PARKING NEAR TO EXAM TIME. COME EARLY.

D. The best antidote to active test anxiety is activating the mind to real work. Take an exam question by question.

E. Look at the allocation of points. I once was petrified by a 50 item ID section, the first question on a very important test; then I discovered it was only worth 12.5 points. That meant that in the unlikely event that I missed them all, I'd start with 87.5%--which meant in turn that, given the rest of the exam, I could easily pass. SO I ploughed through them, getting only half right: that meant I started the rest of the exam with a 93.5%--no sweat. Put your time where the points are.

F. Follow directions carefully for the whole test and for each question.

G. Think systematically: for example on multi-step math and chemistry problems, note steps you intend to take on the back of the exam sheet, then check to be sure you took them all. Intuitive leaps frequently mess you up on these kinds of problems.

H. Master the vocabulary of the course you are taking. Scientific language was developed to avoid sloppy thinking. No matter how much it may annoy you, honor the precise language of the discipline.

I. Essay tests:

1. Especially on essay tests, read all the questions through quickly. Give your subconscious a chance to work. Items that draw a blank at first may surface while you are working on other items. If you can write on the test paper, jot ideas quickly that you may want to use next to the question you will get to later, etc. Do NOT spend a lot of time banging your head on an answer that won't come. Leave it for a bit and return later.
2. Essay questions can be precise or they can permit exploration. Be sure you look at the question carefully to determine which you are dealing with. Identify the behavior required! Do not answer a question asking for a "discussion of both causes of x" without recognizing that the question implies two and only two causes. A careful analysis of the question will indicate what sort of answer is looked for: give it. If you think that you have something extra to add, make sure it it so labeled.
3. Before writing, create a representation of the content which is organized in an optimal way (some prefer a rough outline before you begin to write). Perhaps even jot down key words you want to cover. This will help you to keep on track and is well worth the quick time spent.
4. Write a directive beginning statement (a restatement of the question) to guide you and the grader. Write directly and cohesively. Extended open-ended essays demand more than one simple idea. Be sure to expand to two or several main ideas and to give supporting evidence or explanation for each. Alternatively, do not merely announce a complicated idea and note its parts and mark their connections. Help the grader by including transitions. Include a conclusion statement or paragraph.
5. Watch your time in two ways:
   1. Avoid over-spending time, polishing one answer too long so you do not have time for others.
   2. Use your time. An hour essay should not be 4 cheap paragraphs and then "Outtahere!" An instructor giving you that much time expects you to show what you know and how you can apply it. A cheap answer invites a slapdash judgment. Demand better of yourself.
6. Write neatly so you do not annoy the grader. If you have a big round hand, skip lines between lines so t's and l's do not run into the tails of g's and p's. Write only on one side of the page.

J. Objective tests

1. Objective tests are called such because they make special claim to fairness. Everyone gets the identical question and the same range of answers. These are primarily tests calling for T/F or pick the best choice answers. If you find a question ambiguous note it and discuss it with the instructor later. Do not spend a lot of time worrying over it.
2. Look for the best answer, unless "none of the above" is a choice. Then be precise.
3. Good test makers (not all faculty are good test makers) put the more difficult questions last, especially on short answer, or mark-sense tests. So early on, go with your instincts; later look carefully at what seem initially to be mere "distractors" (the technical name for wrong answers on multiple choice tests).
4. Discard obviously wrong answers from consideration and then weigh the remaining two carefully.
5. Attend to qualifiers meticulously: "always", "never", "sometimes", "generally", etc. all change the meaning. MIND THE NEGATIVES: A DISTRACTOR WITH ALL THE RIGHT WORDS IN IT CAN BE NULLIFIED BY A NEGATIVE.

K. Short answers: Give as many relevant words as you can in a definition. It is worth the effort because you may get partial credit. Fill in the blank questions can sometimes be facilitated by attending to the grammar. e.g., If the blank is preceded by the indefinite article "a," the answer must be singular; "an" precedes a singular answer beginning with a vowel.

L. Open Book exams: Prepare well for these, they are often very demanding. Mark significant passages, charts, formulas, etc., with colored markers at the edge of the page, paper clips, Post-It notes, etc., so you can find them quickly.

M. On exams where you must do problems, double check what is being asked for. The correct use of a formula that is not appropriate for the problem at hand is generally worth no points.

1. Look at the problem and (e.g., if you asked for the square root of 40, you know the answer must be between 6 & 7 {whose squares are 36 and 49 respectively]) approximate an answer. Then as you compute it out, check the result against your approximation. A wild discrepancy suggests a quickly correctable mistake: find it and correct it. (If you come up with 7.666 as the square root of 40, you know it cannot be right. The answer is significantly larger than your quick approximation allows, so look again).

Meticulously check your work. A misplaced decimal point can make a huge difference; so can dividing instead of multiplying, etc. (6.66, coming as it does between 6 and 7 is a plausible square root of 40. Nevertheless, it is not actually so, and a quick calculation will confirm this.

AFTER THE EXAM

It is hard during the throes of the exam period to remember the long range purposes of what you are learning. So the test becomes the goal. Later, however, it is well to remember that you are investing in learning and retrieving your exam can help to do that. So go get the exam and look it over. Make an effort to discover what mistakes you made and why you made them. This has several positive effects:

A. It helps you correct material you were confused about so you do not go off with bad information in your head. It serves as one last exercise to help you to store in your long-term memory information you have paid a great deal to learn.

B. It allows you to discover possible mistakes in grading. Sometimes the test maker missed an ambiguity in the question and can be persuaded to give you additional credit and change a grade. If not, and the matter is serious, such a problem can be a good basis for a grade appeal.

C. You may discover patterns of mistakes in your test-taking skills or in your learning. Such a discovery can be a big help in improving your understanding of material, and so it can enhance your grade in later courses.

D. If you have done well

1. You may be in a position to offer your services as a tutor and that is a matter you might bring up with the instructor.
2. You may have discovered an area you can make a major or a minor or a life's passion.

E. If you have not done well

1. Take stock as to why. You may discover patterns of mistakes and you can learn not to repeat.
2. This may be an area you are not comfortable learning in and you may want to take that into account as you plan future major, minor or career choices.

GOOD LUCK!

--Written and/or compiled by James A. McShane