Test Preparation
Some general guidelines
Know what kind of test you’ll be having, so that you can study to the test.
If the class will have a comprehensive final, you will want to prepare for exams in ways that will facilitate review for the final.
Put yourself in the shoes of the professor. What would YOU ask students to determine if they understand the most important things you taught this semester?
Group study can be an effective use of time and a good tool.
Divide up subjects for drafting hypothetical questions, and then discuss
best answers.
Make each other explain concepts: you may be able to fool yourself that
you understand something, but when you explain it to a friend, you have
to face your shortcomings in knowledge.
Use outside resources
If your textbook doesn’t present questions on the material (the writer’s way of indicating what he/she thinks is most important), look at another book. Sure, your professor won’t be asking that exact question, but if a question requires you to grapple with the fundamental ideas of the subject, it’s worth answering.
Does your textbook make reference to an online study guide? Go to it! No such thing? Search under your subject--you might find all sorts of useful information and questions.
By “outside resources” we do NOT mean any unauthorized old testing materials. If you have a prior year exam that was not provided by professor or course webpage, ASK the professor if it’s OK to study from that. If it’s not OK and you use that exam--you’ve just cheated, and “I didn’t know that it wasn’t OK” is NOT an acceptable excuse.
You can also visit a Cornerstone Help Desk, see a Residential Peer Mentor, or join a study group, test prep classes are also scheduled around exams in Chemistry, Physics, MCATs, and GREs.
Multiple Choice Exams
Don’t assume these are easy because the right answer will be in
front of you. A well-written multiple choice exam will demand depth of
understanding and sensitivity to language. Study for these the way you
would for a short-answer exam.
Short-Answer Tests
These usually ask you to fill in blanks, or finish a sentence, or provide
a short description or definition. Organize what’s important so
that you can commit it memory. (This is called “elaborative rehearsal.”)
Use outlines or graphical organizers. Find ways to make yourself think
about the ideas.
Write your own test questions.
Essay exams
Again, pose hypothetical questions. Sometimes the professor will give
you these. If not, you must pose them. Friends can be helpful here and
so can the professor. Take your own “essay questions” and
ask if they seem to encompass the major points of the course. Most people
will answer you. But don’t go in and you have no idea what to study.
Useful Links:
Health Promotion Services: Managing Test Anxiety
http://shs.wustl.edu/healthPromotion/managingTestAnxiety.htm
Western Student Services Center
http://www.western.edu/ssc/study_skills/test_taking.html