In the open book exam, you can bring text or material from the subject being tested. You may take this exam for granted, and think that you only need to look for the answers to the exam in books. However, this thinking is wrong. Open book exams are usually difficult exams because you have to really understand the material. In addition, you are also required to apply the material, think critically, and write answers well. However, with good preparation, note-taking skills, and strategies for taking the exam, success in the exam is in your hands.
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Method 1 of 3: Preparing for the Exam
Step 1. Understand why teachers/lecturers hold open book exams
The open book exam is not meant to test memory. You will have information in front of you, but the questions you have to answer are generally quite complex. Open book exams generally aim to test students' ability to absorb information and apply the information well, instead of testing students' memorization. That is, memorizing material from books is not enough. You must apply the material in the context of the question.
- For example, in Indonesian Literature class, you will not be asked "What are the works of Marah Roesli?", but questions that will appear in the form of "In the eyes of feminism, what are the evidences of gender prejudice experienced by Sitti Nurbaya?"
- Generally, there are two types of open book exams, namely free exams and bound exams. In bound exams, you can only use certain materials as references, for example notes or textbooks. However, in the free exam, you can bring any material into the exam room. You may also be able to take the exam at home. Make sure you know the type of exam before starting.
- You don't need to memorize before taking an open book exam, but that doesn't mean you don't need to study. Understand the material to be tested, instead of memorizing it by heart. You won't get questions like "Tell me about X"; the questions that arise will demand that you apply X to situation Y, or explain the effect of X on event Y that just occurred. Make sure you fully understand the material before entering the exam room.
Step 2. Before starting the exam, find and mark the material that is important
If you are allowed to bring books to the exam room, organize your notes so that important information can be found quickly and easily.
- Use a marker pen if allowed. Mark keywords, important dates, formulas, and other material that is difficult to memorize and may show up on the exam. After marking the material, you can find it easily when you open the book in the exam.
- Side notes can also help you organize information, if you are allowed to use them. Writing teacher comments or summaries of difficult paragraphs in the margins can help you find material quickly.
- Bookmark book pages. Many people fold important pages in books, but those folds can be easily forgotten. Try buying special colored stickers to mark books, which can be purchased at most bookstores or convenience stores. You can even use color to structure the material you're marking. Mark different materials with different colors.
- If you're not allowed to bring books into the exam room, the strategies above can still help you. Organizing materials as you study can help you find important material.
Step 3. Try to understand the material
Studying for the open book exam can be quite difficult, because the skills that are tested are not only in the form of rote memorization. However, you can follow these tricks to ensure that you are ready to take the exam:
- Write comments and understanding of the material in the notes, as your understanding will be tested. Challenge yourself to explain what you understand about the material, and why you arrived at that understanding. This exercise helps you develop critical thinking skills, which will be needed when you take the open book exam.
- If the teacher gives you sample questions, try to answer them while studying. Open book exams require that you understand the material being tested, so these sample questions can help you prepare for the exam.
- Study in groups. While study groups can help you sit for any type of exam, study groups can be very helpful for taking open book exams. Instead of a rote test, you can discuss and debate the material in class, so you can learn to apply the information you just learned.
Method 2 of 3: Developing Note-taking Skills
Step 1. Take the whole class
As simple as it sounds, taking the entire class is a great way to ensure that your notes match the material being tested.
- Remember that the open book exam will not only test your memorization, but also your ability to understand the material. Each teacher/lecturer has a different focus when testing the material, and you can't learn that focus from notes alone. To understand the focus of the lecturer, you must attend the lecturer's class.
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Mark the part you don't understand, for example with a question mark. Clear some of the notes to note the explanation of the material later. If you're still having trouble understanding the material, ask a classmate or email the teacher.
- Not understanding some of the material is very reasonable. Good lecturers will gladly accept questions.
- If you still don't understand some of the material, that's fine. If you're asked to choose a question in an essay exam, it's great to know a topic you can write about.
- If your teacher speaks fast, try recording the lecture with the teacher's permission. Although you are not allowed to bring recordings into the exam room, you can listen to the material after class to improve your understanding of the material. Some lecturers even provide recordings of their lectures so you can listen to them later.
- When you are sick or unable to attend class, borrow a friend's notes. Ask for help from friends who are known to be diligent in taking notes, instead of people who are often truant and seem lazy.
Step 2. Organize your notes during lectures, and while preparing to take exams
Don't go to an exam with a bunch of notes filled with random facts and formulas.
- Use a numbering and indentation system to mark notes. Most people use Roman numerals to mark notes, with uppercase letters for headings and lowercase letters for subheadings. (For example IV and i.v).
- Date each note so you can spot any confusing material, if you remember when it was taught.
- Separate notes per course. Use a separate binder or notebook to separate notes from each class.
- Write neatly. If you know your handwriting isn't very neat, try taking your laptop to class to type. However, be careful. Many lecturers do not allow the presence of laptops in class, because they are considered to interfere with learning.
- Try to avoid the urge to draw when the material in class is boring. These pictures can distract you when you try to study later.
- Place any difficult-to-understand material at the beginning of your notes so that you can easily open them during the exam. Also write down formulas, terms, and important dates at the beginning of your notes, as they all appear frequently on exams and can be hard to find.
Step 3. Focus on the material that matters
Sometimes, we want to write an entire book or lecture while preparing to take an open book exam. However, apart from being inefficient, writing entire books or lecture materials is also ineffective. By writing all the material, you will find it difficult to find the required material and run out of time during the exam.
- Pay attention to the focus of the material during lectures. If a material is written on the board, repeated, or discussed continuously, it may appear on the exam. Include the focused material on the notes.
- Listen to the material at the end of the lecture. Often, the lecturer gives a short closing that summarizes all the core material in the lecture that day.
- Compare notes with classmates. If you also find some material in a friend's notes, you may need to study the material in focus. You may also be able to see what material was missed.
Method 3 of 3: Taking the Exam
Step 1. Stay calm
Tension can affect your abilities, so make sure you can calm yourself down in the exam room.
- Stop studying an hour before the test, and use this time to calm down. Take a walk, or do other light exercise. If you study right before the exam, you will feel scared.
- Know the time and place of the exam, then make sure you leave early. Delay can increase anxiety and reduce performance.
- Sleep well before the test. Anything that affects your physical condition before the exam can affect your mental state, so make sure you get enough rest before entering the exam room.
- If you start to feel anxious during an exam, take a break. Even if you're pressed for time, forcing yourself to do problems when you're feeling anxious will only make your performance worse. Feel free to pause and take a deep breath to calm yourself down before continuing with the exam.
Step 2. Use strategy when taking the exam
There are a variety of strategies you can try to maximize your exam time and increase your chances of getting a good grade.
- Your open book exam will most likely have a time limit. Know the time limit, then calculate how long it will take to answer each question.
- Answer questions that can be answered without notes in advance to save time. The remaining time you can use to answer questions that are more difficult and require references from notes.
- If you're really having trouble answering a question, treat the question like any question on any other exam. Leave the question behind and come back to thinking at the end of the test, once you have calmed down and think clearly.
Step 3. If there is still time left at the end of the exam, double-check the answers by adjusting them to the notes
- Look again at the test answers, then check for answers that may be confused, such as dates, names, vocabulary, and counts.
- Pay attention to answers that seem "weak," then try to improve them with the time you have left.
Tips
- Take notes, even if your exam is not an open-book exam. The notes may not be used in exams, but they are still a good study guide.
- If you don't know what items can and cannot be brought into the exam room, don't hesitate to contact the teacher/lecturer before the exam.
Warning
- Don't take notes too much, as you'll have a hard time finding information on the exam.
- Do not copy the textbook while answering. Copying is plagiarism, and may result in you failing exams or courses, or even getting academic/legal sanctions.
