Taking
an Exam
Taking exams is
probably one of the most important things that you’ll do in a math class and so
it’s important to do the best that you can.
Here are some ideas that will help you while you’re taking an exam.
- RELAX!!! This is the first step to successfully
taking an exam. Unfortunately, it’s
also one of the hardest things to do.
The more worked up and nervous you are during the exam the more
likely you are to forget something or blank out. The worst thing that you can do in an
exam is panic.
- Be Smart. By this I mean be smart as you take the
exam. You should go over the exam
three times. First, go over the
exam and work all the problems that you KNOW you can do. Second, work all the problems that you
think you can do, but aren’t sure. Last, go back and work the remaining
problems. In this way you will get
all the points that you know you can get.
- Be Time Efficient. Watch the clock. Don’t spend a huge amount of time trying
to get the points for one problem!
If you spend too much time trying to get the points for one
problem, you may not be able to finish the exam and lose more points than
you gained by taking all that time for that one problem.
- If You’re Stuck Move On. If you find that you’re stuck on a
problem, move on to a different problem and come back later to finish the
problem. Don’t waste time trying to
get 10 points and then not be able to finish and miss 20 points because
you ran out of time.
Note that is really the same as the previous tip, but it was important
enough to make again and in a different way.
- Show All Your Work. Make it as
easy as possible for the instructor to see how much you do know. Try to
write a well-reasoned solution. If your answer is incorrect, the
instructor will assign partial credit based on the work you show. Don’t leave it to the instructor to read
your mind trying to figure out if you knew what you were doing or not.
- Never Leave a Problem Blank. You should never leave a problem
blank. Even if you don’t know how
to finish the problem, write down as much as you do know. The instructor can only give partial credit
if there is something written down for the problem. Writing
something down is not a guarantee of partial credit, but not writing anything
down is a guarantee of no partial credit!
- Read the Problem. Make sure that you read the questions carefully and
completely before you answer the question. If the instructor asks for the
answer to be written in a specific form then make sure that you do that.
- Does Your Answer Make Sense? Make sure you’ve gotten an answer that
makes sense.
- Recheck Your Work. If time permits go back over the exam
and check every problem. This means completely rework the problem from
scratch.