SOME COMMENTS ON PREPARING AND TAKING TESTS (Revised 6/11/96, 1/3/97)

By Tuane Abram, Brett Altman, Francisco Arguello-A., Jayson Barfknecht, Jonathan Bowman, J. M. Bracci, Peter Brunone, Bill Byers, Karen Chou, C. Edward Clarke, III, Bryan Colopy, Jason R.Elms, Joe Gattis, Eric Greenman, David Gregory, Natalie Hall, W. E. Haisler, Ben Harrison, Mark Herber, Scott Hoelzle, Christy Hoiden, Reese Hurley, Matt James, Scott Jones, Stacy King, Jeff Knox, Mike Lee, Ron Lee, Eddie Lewis, Lee Lowery, Anthony Mannering, Mark Mendel, Christina Merten, C. J. Messer, Jason Morse, Chris Orosco, James Penn, Brad Partee, Stacy Pinkerton, Bobby Price, Jason Pirtle, Kathleen Quinn, Franz Rad, Kori Rader, Laura Reiter, J. M. Roesset, Chuck Salmon, Ryan Simper, Stephen Spencer, Andrew Starnes, Andy Tandon, Joel Thonen, Jeff Tomkins, Robert Valenzuela, Jeff Woodall, Jim Yao, Tina Yao, and A. T. Yeung. (These comments were started by Jim Yao on 11 April 1996, and amended by many students and colleagues of his. This list is put on the INTERNET by Lee Lowery for use by any interested persons on 25 April 1996.)

1. Preparing for Tests

- Become motivated to learn the materials. Do not wait until the last minute to study for the examination. Keep a steady pace and plan ahead. Be sure to have time to "let the information settle" and to understand it. Review your lecture notes after the class as soon as possible and often.

• Read lecture material in the book in advance of each class.
• Do not miss classes, and understand every lecture. Ask questions if you don't understand it.
• Understand the basic concept.
• Do homework problems and ask questions before they are due. Make sure that you do understand it.

- Ask the following questions in studying and reviewing course materials (and write your answers down. In case you have any difficulties to answer any of these questions, ask your instructor to clarify them.):

• What am I studying (e.g., definitions)?
• How do I apply basic principles and use them to solve relevant problems?
• How may I apply such solutions in practical situations?
• What are the main points that the instructor has been trying to get across?
• Ask other questions concerning the material, and try to answer your own questions.

- Summarize all of the important concepts, and work (or rework) the example problems in the book and class, and any other problems available to you (even the ones you think are trivial). Make a simple outline of the material to organize it and see how well the topics interrelate. Practice doing homework just like sports.

- Study with classmates, form study groups, and take practice examinations ("more sweat in training, less blood in combat").

• Remember that your life does not depend on one test. Avoid anxiety by preparing well.
• Make a schedule (e.g., make an overall review and then study different methods on different days).
• Take a break whenever it is needed during long periods of studies. Study in short spurts rather than one long period.

- Study a little bit each day so that at the end the bite will not be too large. Study before you go to sleep. Do not stay up all night. Eat a good meal (but not immediately before the test) and get a good night of sleep before the test. Do not study within 30 minutes of test time, relax just before the test. Doing some exercise or listening to classical music (e.g., Vivaldi, Mozart, etc.) may be helpful in relaxing yourself.

2. Taking Tests

- The main purpose of examinations is to determine how effectively one has studied. Think "I can and I will," and have self-confidence (it usually comes with a lot of preparation and study) and do not panic. If you do panic, stop and take a deep breath and exhale, and then proceed at a comfortable pace. If you give your absolute best effort in preparing for an examination, you should take pride in having given your best effort and the outcome of the examination becomes less important.

- Arrive early for test to avoid traffic and other potential problems.

- Keep an eye on time and do not spend too much time on one problem. It is better to get 80% of 2 problems than 100% of one problem.

- Read all the problems carefully. Think about each problem, understand what you are looking for, and then solve the problems starting with the basic principles. Make sure that you actually READ the problems-not try to associate it with a previous homework problem. Concentrate all your attention on it, one problem at a time.

• Ask for clarification on test problems if you do not understand them.
• Outline the approval with major equations to each problem before going into details.
• Start with the problem that you are most confident with.
• Write and verify any assumptions that you make.
• Write legibly and correctly.
• Explain method you are following.
• If you do not have time to finish the computations, state what you would do.
• Do not second guess yourself. Your first instinct is usually correct.

- Check your answers to see if they make sense (e.g., check the dimensions and the reasonableness of the size of your answers. If your answer is obviously wrong based on your intuition, write a note to the instructor saying why you think your solution is incorrect).

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