Damn you're in a real exam
16 November 2007, 4:50 pm. View comments. Filed under School.
Following on from my method for exam studies, I should be reasonably well-prepared for exams. Unfortunately, having A+ answers in the head won't always guarantee an A+ answer script. As requested by Alex, here are the good things I do during a real exam:
- Time management: weigh the time against maximum marks allocated. A two-hour test (120 minutes) for three essays means maximum 40 minutes on each essay. Key is to finish the paper overall. If time's up for one question and it's incomplete, skip and go to the next because there is "diminishing marginal contribution" for each word written. Two excellent answers doesn't beat three above-average. Go back and add extra blabbing if there's leftover time in the end.
3 x 80% > 2 x 90% + 1 x 50% - Plan, plan, plan: before writing an essay or long answer, do a plan. I scribble bulleted main points to provide a basic structure and direction so I know where I'm going. If I don't have enough time to finish my answer, the examiner would refer to the plan and see where I intended to go. There's usually marks awarded for the main points in plans if the actual answer is unfinished.
- Easy first: this comes down to personal preference, but I like getting easy questions out of the way first. It tends to build up confidence during exams and the easy could be finished quickly to save extra time for the hard. If I'm writing a hard question first, the nightmare of even more questions to do afterwards haunts me while I'm writing. Scan through all the questions of the paper before writing and attack the little weaklings before the big-heads. Most of the time, answers don't have to be written in the order of questions given.
- Write legibly: neat handwriting is not a priority during exams, but pleasing the marker could only be a good thing. If a marker is wavering between giving a four or a five, the one key determinant could be down to legibility. Of course, speed writing is worth more than neat, so speed and "comfortably legible" is the way to go. (Because "barely legible" is still a synonym for bad.)
- Check answers: finishing an exam early doesn't mean "Yeah baby I'm outta here!" But rather, going back and redo the entire test paper or just rechecking the answers. I have this habit of not leaving exams early. I had 1.5 hours left after I finished my last Statistics exam. So I sat there doodling this current site design (Version 19). While doodling, a thought struck me and I knew I got one answer wrong. If I had left early, I would never have been able to correct it.
(In the end however, I did leave my Statistics exam 30 minutes early and retreat to MSN on school computers. Don't copy.)
During an exam, much of it comes down to the study beforehand, confidence and time. I tend to know my stuff, but I also tend to lose confidence just before entering the exam room and spend too much time perfecting answers. I get my confidence back by answering easy questions first, and time is a bigger problem. I'm a fast writer (I write short and concisely, arguably good or bad), but most of my time go into deciding what and how to write. So #1 and #2 are my "big things".
Some people are good at studying, some people are good at writing exams, I'm probably good at neither. I just know how to cram and I stick to the above tips. A lot of study and exam techniques depend on individual habits, but I hope these may help nevertheless.
24 Comments »
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Well, this is kind of late for me. Lol. I suppose I could use it when I go back to school. Actually, I already followed all of these tips. I loved exams. Seriously. You got to either come to school late, or leave early, you could visit with friends, it had a grand sense of occasion, you got to whine about how badly you did, even if you knew you aced it. Good times.
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Kaylee, yeah it's weird. I don't have school for the next three months and more. But I only got collected these tips from my last round of exams this year! That's why.
Aisling, go shoo. Exam-lovers are not welcomed. (Except for maths) -
The extra time left at your exam sure is worth it. You got an answer corrected and a cute layout! Yes, I like this layout a lot
The tips will be very useful to me, because my exams are coming up this December. And congrats on the marks! (read the last post) -
My hand writing is naturally neat but I have been known to get panicky toward the end of a science exam hence lots of scribbling to get done. I try to just quickly scan my answers instead of thoroughly checking them; I normally doubt myself, cross out the right answer, and put the wrong one down.
Mocks exams start in 2 weeks for me, and after Christmas the real exams begin in earnest.
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Neat tips. I like! I was always the cramming type... couldn't remember a thing the day after the exam, but always managed to remember it during. Sigh. I'm sure I would have gone better with better prep and study beforehand though.
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Yep you wrote some good things that you should do during an exam. I always do that too. I'm also pretty fast in making exams, but I do take the time to look them over. Unfortunately I like the adrenaline rush of studying an exam in to few days *sigh* I plan on changing that though - but hufff overall time management during a semester is hard *cough* *cough*
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Wow. Thanks so much for sharing these tips. They will definitely make future tests and exams easier! I always started at the first question, then second, etc. and it would take ages for me to finish it (and I usually got a lot of answers wrong). So thanks again for sharing these GREAT tips ;)
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Ahh... I really enjoy these tips... thanks for sharing!
You always portray your experience!
I really enjoy your site, I was wondering if you'd like to exchange links? -
My writing is always legible =) even when I'm scribbling down notes... roughly. My time management = turbo through the exam leaving dirty dust trails behind because I'm just quick XD I ALWAYS leave the exam room early. And I don't do the 'easy first' like you do. I take it like a man and tackle each question head on =) ahaha. And I only check answers if I feel like it.. like if theres particular questions that stuck to my head because I got a feeling it's not correct or only partially correct. Plus I don't plan... I just wing the essay questions :p
I think I don't use any of your exam tips XD ahahaha
.... so sue me -
Nice tips.
I'll be sure to use the one on checking your answers. I always finish quickly and then when I get my tests back, there are always all these careless errors (math especially). Maybe if I had gone back to check the answers, I would have gotten them right. I'm really bad at taking math/science type tests. However, if you give me a writing exam, I'm pretty confident that I'll do alright. It's just the things that involve critical thinking and calculations that throw me off. Grrr. -
Getting easy questions out of the way first is definitely the smart thing to do.
I pretty much go by the same test methods as you do, and I want to add a little reminder: Read the whole test first. Don't just start off point-blank. It may seem like common sense, but seriously you'd be shocked how many people do that. At least, in high school. -
Cindy, yeah I have that tip included under #3. It's not so much a problem for me now in uni because they always give us 10-15 minutes reading time to read through the whole exam. In that reading time, pens are not allowed. So people are compelled to actually read the test paper test.
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Those are great tips really. Especially for #1 - I never thought of it that way (about doing all 3 instead of doing 2 great essays and 1 lousy). But I don't think I've ever not done my questions in the order set. Which, has at times caused me to panic when I run out of time. But, I don't learn, sad to say. Oh well.. I just finished exams, so like you, it's just time to wait for the results.
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Those are great tips, thankyou - i've been wondering how I could improve in exams because I've got some big ones happening in January. I'm going to have to remember #1, I'm rubbish with time management in exams.
I think I should practice writing really really fast, to improve my handwriting because in exams it usually starts really good but then ends in a scribble lol.
At my school they don't let us leave exams early, so we're forced to stay there anyway -
Great advice. I have this bad habit of leaving exams early, but on my last one, I just sat there after I was done, staring into space, not really thinking about my exam (which is what I do when I leave), and suddenly, I thought of something I did wrong. This happens to me all the time after I leave, but this time I forced myself to just sit there, and I was able to change it.
Yeah. So I need to keep this in mind more often when I take exams. -
Good tips, I don't think I'll be doing an exam for while but I'll take this in consideration when I do. BTW, I love your layout! PEACE.
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It's funny, I used to be the same way, tackling the easier questions first and then proceeding to the more difficult ones. It's a very effective method indeed. One thing I also like to emphasize is that when taking exams, people are often VERY concerned about time. I learned not to be so concerned about it because it only clogged my brain and made it harder for me to concentrate.
Have you thought about putting these tips in a section for visitor content? I think it would be very helpful to people. You did a great job explaining them. -
That is a really good idea Shannon! I didn't expect to get such positive response for this post because it's most just my ramblings and useful notes I took down during my exam time. Thanks. I suppose a lot of readers are like me then, students.
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I fail at time managment. Usually I keep trying to solve the problem, and then I have really little time left for other answers.
I like the "easy first" advice, I should try it out. I usually just do the questions in order they're written.
BTW, you've been tagged: http://brontide.org/2007/11/18/ive-been-tagged/ -
ha, e-x-a-m tips. I'm kinda running away from anything to do with e-x-a-m-s because I've got bad grades and I'm gonna get killed ><
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When legibility may tip the balance — consider Handwriting Repair. Visit the web-site at http://www.learn.to/handwrite .
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Wonderful tips Rilla. I have used all of them myself. Though I do leave early if I have re-checked my answers and sat there awhile doing something else with my brain thinking of something else. You would be surprised how many times something that you are not even thinking of will pop into you head. Your essay tip about outline your points was wonderful. I wish teachers would inform their students of that. But they don't. A lot of times you can just take those outlines and fill in blab sentences in between the sections. But then my outlines were always very thick (as my professors called them), for example where other students outlines were only two pages mine were about five. When I made outlines I made sure to get everything down. As for the handwriting, for me, I printed faster then I handwrite so I never had to worry about the teachers being able to read it.
BTW, you have been tagged, now don’t hate me, Rilla. Heidi & Zala made me.
http://blog.tigerwhispers.com/?p=91 -
Uh great post.
I do exactly that when taking an exam. Problem relies on how lazy I am and that I never read for my exams. Thankfully I have a good memory, so I can read things once and recite them by heart.
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I need to keep in mind that 3 x 80% > 2 x 90% + 1 x 50%
I sometimes spend too long trying to improve certain responses...
I usually write really fast and quite messily, then go back and rewriting neatly if I have time. I rarely leave an exam early, unless I've gone over it three times and I think I got everything right.
It feels weird to be discussing exams when it's still around the middle of the term for me - exams are still a long way to go here!