Dr. J's Physics Examsmanship Bromides

  1. 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.
  2. 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?
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Good luck! All instructors worth their salt want their students to do well.
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