Dr. J's Physics Examsmanship Bromides
- An exam is just like an athletic event or artistic performance. You
have to prepare yourself well in advance and be at peak condition physically
and mentally.
- Look ahead and work steadily toward
the next exam. Don't put off studying. Check your lecture notes. Instructors
love to sprinkle exam hints around just to see if people are attending and
paying attention. Learn to spot these hints.
- Get a good night's sleep the
night before the exam and eat a good breakfast. Never
cram!
- You must be able to do the easy things almost without thinking about
them. Drill! If the homework doesn't involve
enough drill activities, make up your own. Can a basketball player or a concert
pianist perform well if the basics aren't second nature?
- Warm up! Spend a few moments
before the exam working through a sequence of easy calculations and mathematical
manipulations you have designed and memorized for this purpose. This is not
for review; it's to stretch your mental muscles and to get your writing hand
working.
- Make sure you understand the exam's ground
rules. Too many points are lost because students tend to ignore
what the instructor says or writes regarding this. Take special effort to
read the exam instructions carefully.
- When you're given permission to begin, read
through the exam carefully from beginning to end, making quick
notations as you go. Then head for the easiest items and work up to the most
difficult. Remember: the name of the game now is
points! Don't let misguided pride get in the way. By the way, if
you have reading comprehension problems (more students do than we like to
think about) work on them. Read problems from the text and then rewrite them
in your own words until you can be sure they say the same thing.
- Don't sketch out your solution
on the answer sheet. Use whatever the instructor makes available as scratch
paper. Then transfer your solution to
the exam sheet in good mathematical and grammatical form. Indicate what you
are doing and why and what you have accomplished. If a particular quantity
is asked for, give it, and not some related substitute. If a proof is asked
for, give a proof, not a plausibility argument or example.
- Keep in mind that, while the graders have the responsibility of giving
you all the credit you deserve, they do not have to try to read your mind.
Be legible, literate and thorough.
Even if it seems obvious, if it's part of what you're being tested on, state it and justify it.
- Check your answer for reasonableness.
Are the units correct? Are the numbers plausible? Many instructors will slash
fiercely if the answer doesn't make sense, even though the work up to it was
correct. Leaving it that way just demonstrates you don't really know what
you're doing.
- Don't spin your wheels. Time's a wastin'.
If you feel buffaloed, close your eyes, lean back, take a few deep breaths
and think about what you're doing. You might have jumped in too fast and ignored
a much simpler approach. This may be true especially if you have done lots
of algebra without getting anywhere. Most instructors don't like to grade
complicated solutions. Expect the solutions to be easy and short if approached
with the most insight.
- If the problem is numerical, do all the algebra
you can first before plugging in the numbers.
A lot of time is wasted by running numerical computations through that have
to be undone later on. Things often cancel out! The final combinations are
frequently simpler.
- A few minutes before time is up review what you've done. Neaten it
up! Check your results for reasonableness.
But be careful about changing multiple choice answers. Unless it's clear you
goofed, you're better off going with your first impression.
- If there is a clear mistake in the grading, appeal it. The instructor really does want
you to get credit for what you've done right. But avoid
the reputation of being a "classroom lawyer,"
for whom ego and a couple of points is enough to cause a confrontation that
impugns the instructor's policies and integrity. Like an umpire, a professional
will not hold such behavior against a student, but the breaks may not be
so easily forthcoming later on when you need them.
- Good luck! All instructors worth
their salt want their students to do well.
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