Exam Taking Tips
Adnan Aziz
ECE Department
The University of Texas at Austin
30 March 1998
PREPARATION
- Review material that you know; will help you do it faster in the exam.
- Look at the homework problems carefully; instructors usually base exam questions on these. Also previous exams.
- Review the lectures, asking yourself what might make for a good question.
- Make a crib sheet; even if it isn't allowed, it's a good way of reviewing.
- Take lots of spare pens/paper/erasers.
- For standardized tests (SAT, GRE, GMAT, etc.) do lots of practise runs, under the clock.
IN THE HALL
- Read over the entire exam first; get an idea of how long you should spend per mark.
- Start with the easiest questions; don't worry about proceeding in sequence.
- If you get stuck, go on to the next question. Your brain thinks in parallel, and you may find when you come back to the problem that it suddenly makes a lot more sense.
- If a problem takes inordinately long, it's a usually a sign that you misunderstood it - examiners rarely give ``trick'' questions. Go back to the beginning and read it again.
- Make sure you attempted everything - partial credit is usually given very generously.
- Multiple choice: if you don't know the answer, see if you can eliminate possibilities, then give it your best guess (statistically, this is a good idea even when there is negative marking).
- Feel free to ask the TA/instructor for clarifications, but only when you really need them.
- Don't leave early; review what you did.
- Don't Panic.