Studying for an exam

Why is it vital

1. You want a good grade in the class.
2. You don't have enough time to do everything you need to do so you need to maximum the benefit you can get with a limited time.
3. You want to get the most out of the class by learning as much as you can.
4. You need to maintain grades for your scholarship, etc.

Guidelines on how to do it

1. Know what to study and what not to study. Of course, you need to study the right things not the wrong things. Dr. Bareiss believes that it is good if students are able to predict the material on an exam based upon what has happened in the course thus far.
   1. Things that are repeated often are important.
   2. When she says, "This is will be on the test," it will be. If she gives you the exact question, then that is the question. Often, she will also give the answer. Make sure you learn these!
   3. Lists, steps to accomplish things are typically important.
   4. Advantages and disadvantages are typically important.
   5. If she says something is "not important", "something you would look up", "an aside", or similar, it will probably not be on an exam.
   6. If a significant percentage of the class missed a question on a previous exam, it could easily turn up on the next one.
   7. Homeworks are typically designed to focus the student's attention on important things and to help figure out how well they are understood. Therefore they are a great source of material for an exam.
2. Many small investments in time usually count more than one large investment in time.
   1. In most cases spending 6 different 30 minutes sessions studying over the course of the material will generate better results that spending 3 hours the night before the exam. So after a given class session, review or rewrite your notes. As you do that, quiz yourself to make sure you understand what you are covering. Because handwriting involves more senses and takes longer, it is better in helping you remember what you are "writing." But you need to balance that with the fact that it typically takes longer than typing.
   2. Reviewing the textbook before class can help you remember things longer. The more times you go over something, the better you remember it.
   3. Discussing it with fellow students helps you and your fellow students.
3. There are techniques that can help.
   1. Because Dr. Bareiss rarely (if ever) gives multiple choice, true/false, or matching questions, you need to be able to do more than recognize the right answer! So reviewing your notes to see if you understand them is NOT sufficient. That is the first step. You must understand them but then you must go further.
   2. You need to be able to recall them. So quiz yourself. For example if you know there are 4 steps for writing a program, make sure you can repeat them without aid easily. Keep repeating them until you can.
   3. Sometimes parts of one question can help you with another question. Be aware of that and notice it when it happens.
   4. Dr. Bareiss puts the point value on each question to help you. You should not spend 10 minutes on a 2 point question and only 4 minutes on a 10 point question. You can use the point value as a guide for how long you should spend on each question.
   5. She also tries (not always successfully) to leave the appropriate amount of space. So if there is just 1 inch of space for an answer, she is looking for a short answer. If there is a half of page, she is looking for much more (unless it is the last question, of course).
   6. It is easy to get a little partial credit on most questions. Just demonstrate that you know something about the topic. Don't leave questions blank.
   7. Be sure to answer the question asked, not just talk about the topic.

Requirements for credit

1. Discuss at least three things in the guidelines that stood out to you (things that were insightful, things that might not work for you, things you totally agree with, etc.).
2. After taking an exam from Dr. Bareiss, report on what you did well and where you can improve.
3. What are three specific things (related to the guidelines) that you want to try for your next exam?
4. Try those things and report on how successful they were.