Preparing for Emergency Exams
Supplemental Instruction by Ms. Andrea Haymond-Tang
The information available through this site is inteded to assist students in becoming effective and efficient learners. The pages were adapted from material presetned at two websites: www.academictips.org and www.studygs.net. If you are interested in obtaining additional help, you might visit either of those two sites or perhaps two others: www.studyguidezone.com/resource_tips.htm and www.studytips.org.
General Exam TipsAnswering Multiple Choice Questions
Answering True-False Questions
Answering Essay Questions
Answering Short Answer Questions
Taking Open Book Exams
Preparing for Emergency Exams
Coping with Test Anxiety
Note Taking Strategies
Active Listening
Preparing for Emergency Exams
First, you should always try hard to avoid being in this position. However, we all know that things can happen beyond our scope of control. Here are some tips on how to maximize a small amount of study time.
Even though you're cramming, you should still have a structure to your studying.1. Preview the material that will be covered on the exam.
2. Be selective - skim the chapters for the main points and concentrate on them.
Start with five sheets of paper:
3. Identify five key concepts/topics that will be covered on the exam.
- enter one of these key concepts on the top of each page.
4. Write an explanation, definition, answer, etc. that is several lines for each concept.
- use your own words.
- use only key words or short phrases.
- do not use the text or your notes (this is from your memory).
5. Compare your responses with the course text and your lecture notes.
6. Edit or re-write each concept in a way that helps you understand it, using the text and notes to supplement this.
7. Number each of your five pages by importance, with 1 being the most important.
8. Repeat steps 3-6 for two additional concepts, provided you have time.
9. Re-number the pages for importance with the new pages.
10. Continue to add concepts and rearrange their importance if you have time.
- stick to your own comfort level. If that means staying at five concepts, fine.
- add topics only if necessary and try not to exceed nine. Going over nine begins to stray beyond the truly importance material.
11. Review the day of the test, but allow yourself some time to simply relax just before the exam.