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Preparation:
- Begin preparing early
Pay attention during class: every minute you daydream in class is many
more minutes of studying later.
Do assigned homework problems: math is a building process and
in order to understand the next step you need to comprehend the
present, and previous, ones
- Simulate test conditions
After you have studied and think you know the material, practice it
under test conditions. Solve unassigned homework problems and see if
you can finish them in the allotted time for the exam
- Know your professor
Study a copy of the exam of a previous class if available;
Talk with someone who taken the professor before, preferably someone
who has succeeded in the same class
- Form a study group of 3-4 dedicated students
Not only will other students be able to help you with problems, but by
helping others you will better learn the material. If you are unable
teach another student a topic you believe you know, chances are you
don't know that topic very well after all. If you can't teach it, you
don't know it!
Testing:
Read through the exam
With reading through the whole exam you can
know what is expected of you;
prioritize items on the test;
pace yourself.
Carefully read the instructions
Make sure you are answering the question that is being asked!
Often students know how to solve a problem, but they misread or
misinterpret the question itself;
Check that you have correctly rewritten the problem
If you use a scratch piece of paper make sure that you correctly
rewrite the problem. Don't skip steps. Start from the beginning;
Clearly write each step of the solution
Be neat and don't rush writing numbers down.
Keep checking your solution as you are working.
Neatness makes it easier to recheck your work;
Double check your math, especially your calculator entries
Double check your calculator work immediately.
The chances of hitting a wrong number are high, but the chances of
hitting the same wrong number are not;
Don't Dilly Dally
If you get stuck on a problem move on and come back to it later.
When you are finished, recheck all your work.
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The Study Guides and Strategies web site was created and is
maintained by Joe
Landsberger,
academic web site developer at the University
of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota. It is collaboratively
maintained across institutional and national boundaries, and last revised
September 04, 2002 .
Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, print,
transmit, and distribute
Study Guides in settings that benefit learners. On the WWW, however, please link
rather than put up your own page since pages are frequently modified and
improved in consideration of educational research. No request to link is
necessary. Additional contributions and translations are warmly
received.
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