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1.) Stay current with your homework. If, prior to an exam, you are scrambling to catch up with the assignments, you won’t have the time or energy you need to actually study for the exam.
2.) Be sure you understand the assignments. Most of the time, I write exam questions directly from your assignments – straight out of the textbook. If you do, and understand, the assignments, this should translate to good grades on exams. If you don’t understand what you have been assigned, then you need to spend some time with a tutor and/or in my office during office hours. (By the way, if you don’t even do the assignments, don’t expect to pass the course.)
3.) Study the assigned exercises. As I have said, the exam questions often come straight from the textbook. If I have assigned a particular group of exercises in a particular section, I will probably put a question from that group on the exam. I won’t use the easiest one I can find, but I won’t use the hardest one either. Sometimes, I will use the very odd-numbered exercises that I assigned! There should not be any surprises on any of my exams if you have studied the assigned exercises. If you feel that you would like some “fresh” exercises to study, spend some time with the Chapter Summary and/or Chapter Test sections in the textbook.
4.) Take a minute to go over the exam policies one more time. Remember, you signed a “contract” stating that you have read, understood, and will abide by those policies. Also, make sure you read the information on Showing Work On Exams in this Academic Success Kit. There may be a few questions that won’t require any work but a one word or one number answer instead. However, when there are steps involved in solving a problem, you need to show those steps in a legible and organized manner to get credit. I don’t grade answers; I grade the steps you use to get those
answers.
5.) Review the Tips on Taking Exams also posted here. Certainly, a big part of being successful on exams depends on your understanding of the material. The other half of the story has to do with the strategies you use to take exams. Take time to review these tips. They will help you more than you might think.
6.) Try to relax! Yes, relax. If you have completed the assignments, and you understand them, the exams you will see in this class couldn’t be more straightforward. The worst thing you can do to yourself as an exam approaches is panic. You know what you know, and all you need to do is show that to me.
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