exams...

[Reynolds 101]

What an insignificant way to show knowledge...

Anyway, Im cramming right now because I have exams Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, each 7-11 am.

Does anybody have any tips whether its studying, test taking skills, etc?

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Just keep re-reading as much as possible.

Re-write your notes yourself.

Make sure to be able to draw up diagrams. Diagrams of what is spoken in the text helps too.


Who said they are a way to show knowledge? IMO they are a way to show how well someone can work individually and how well they can express themselves under pressure.

 

[Reynolds 101]

Yeah thats what Ive been doing so I should be fine.

And they are that, but also to show what knowledge you have obtained over the year.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I do not know what level of study you are at, but generally your understanding is often pulled from other parts of course work.

While yes, you obviously need the knowledge to do well, they test your ability to discipline yourself and study, and then your ability to preform under pressure.

I hate exams with a passion!

 

[jucas]

What an insignificant way to show knowledge...

Anyway, Im cramming right now because I have exams Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, each 7-11 am.

Does anybody have any tips whether its studying, test taking skills, etc?

Start studying last month.

I don't really have anything to add for tips... just thought I'd say good luck, tommorow's my last pair for the year after a simiiar 3 days of finals. I always kinda enjoyed this time of year though. Everone gets a little loopy and it keeps life interesting.

I always saw exams as more of a hoop to jump through than a real demonstration of much of anything... Some exceptions of course.

 

[Reynolds 101]

Yeah exactly.

The concept of taking exams is not hard at all if you think about it, but the way schools place them is what makes them challenging.

They place 2 finals in 1 day, then the same thing for 3 days straight. It makes your brain work in overtime because of going over such a variety of information.

 

[jucas]

Yeah, the scheduling really doesn't help... What are you taking? (And also, why are you on talkbass and not studying?)

 

[Reynolds 101]

Well tomorrow I have Government and Biology.

Then thursday is Health and Spanish...pfft both are blowoffs

And friday is American Lit and Geometry.



And my computer is being slow so it gives me time to multitask ;-P

 

[fdeck]

For some reason it helps me to memorize things if I read them out loud. If you can get together with a classmate, you can quiz one another on the basic facts. Being able to quickly nail the basic stuff on an exam gives you time to think about the hard stuff.

About geometry, re-work the chapter problems over and over. Not just knowing the answers, but actually doing the steps. Quiz yourself on definitions. These are the basis for many of the proofs. Again, this lets you rip through the easy problems quickly, so you can spend more time on the (probably) one or two problems intended to differentiate between "A" and "B".

 

[Brad Barker]

hehe. i've got Invalid Link Removed to study for. i started about a month ago, and i won't stop studying until the night before. i, for one, relish the opportunity to really learn everything i've been exposed to the last four years... but even some physics professors look at me like i'm nuts when i tell them that.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Yeah exactly.

The concept of taking exams is not hard at all if you think about it, but the way schools place them is what makes them challenging.

They place 2 finals in 1 day, then the same thing for 3 days straight. It makes your brain work in overtime because of going over such a variety of information.

You think two finals in one day is bad. This year, we had 8 subjects, and 4 exams. Each exam contained two questions, one for each subject from that unit. Each subject could be completelly different. Studying for two completelly different subjects and then be examined on them both in the same exam, is horrific

I do understand what you mean though. The weightings in our course was stupid.

Here is the work I did through the year:

12,000 word dissertation - 20%
Two presentations, Interview and Tutors report all on dissertation - 5%
8x 2,000-2,5000 word essays - 12.5%
8x Literature Analysis - 6.25%
4x Problem Solving Exams - 6.25%
4x Final Exams (covering 8 subjects) - 50%

For some reason it helps me to memorize things if I read them out loud. If you can get together with a classmate, you can quiz one another on the basic facts. Being able to quickly nail the basic stuff on an exam gives you time to think about the hard stuff.

+1

 

[Jereth]

Just started my state exams this morning...
The ones that determine the rest of your life

However, it was English(paper1) and I think I did exceptionally well! I was the only one beaming coming out of that exam!

Paper 2 tomorrow though... that'll be much less fun...

 

[werbo1]

I agree with whoever said start studying last month. For tests I usually go back and read the material once through, daily, for a week or two. After the first half of your study regime, see how much you have memorized.

I tend to do better If I study in extremely short blocks multiple times a day/week before an exam. I never cram, although it's possible i'll have to one day.

 

[Techmonkey]

exams are too much of a memory thing for me. I mean stuff which I did *last week* doesn't even stick well, yet alone things I did a month ago =\ of course I read over and over my notes, copy it out, speak to myself, record myself reading notes and listen to them, and devote hours upon hours to them. at the end of the day, as long as I've been paying attention in the subject all year, it makes no difference whether I do 10 hours of revision or 100 hours of revision... the mistakes I make are always the same.

I just had my last AS level today. a relief to have them over, but I did some stupid things, as I always do. in physics, I missed out the entire last page of the particle physics booklet... they always end on an essay question, and this was an essay question... with a blank page opposite. It almost always says "turn over" at the bottom of the page if the question carries on, but it wasn't there this time. so I thought question 9 was the last question on the test, and spent the next 20 minutes checking over the rest of my paper.

it was only after the exam that I heard my friend swearing loudly, after he missed out question 10...

my reaction: "...question 10? "

ah well. I just need to work on being less of an idiot :scowl:

 

[Tsal]

By the way, I love taking exams. The preparation with all the cramming is what stresses me, but at the exam I'm pretty relaxed. Anyone else like this? I, too, take my cramming in very small bits, as I have a very short attention span. I usually have a notebook next to me, and take notes after every two or three sentences. Constant shifting between reading and writing helps to keep me focused.