During the exam period, you may be asked to take a home-based online open book exam. Open book exams allow you to consult external sources such as textbooks and your own notes during the exam time. Here are some tips from former Academic Skills Course Leader Tom Reid to help you prepare for this form of assessment.

Before you do anything, you should find out:

• when you'll be able to access the exam
• the time and date the exam should be handed in
• where, how and what format the exam should be handed in
• how much time you have to complete the exam
• the topic areas the exam will cover
• how long answers should be
• whether you need to reference
• the types of questions, essays, short answers, report, etc.

Getting this information should help to steady your nerves.

During the online open book exam, you may be tempted to have a large amount of notes and resources at your fingertips to make you feel more secure. However, this can lead to confusion, loss of focus and wasted time. It's best to work from a few pages of relevant, concise notes and carefully selected texts.

• Use tables of contents and index pages to locate relevant sections in the books you plan to use.
• Bookmark useful chapters or pages with Post-it notes.
• Prepare brief summaries, e.g. in margins of texts, to provide a quick reference.
• Prepare a list of key information (formulae, key definitions etc) likely to be used.
• Use index cards to list key topics and relevant page numbers of texts. Use one card per book. This can help you find information quickly.

• Review the subject to get a good overview
• Work out the key themes and topics
• Identify key concepts, information, arguments, theories, conceptual frameworks
• Make brief and legible notes
• Summarise important information
• Use clear headings
• Organise notes by topic
• Identify how topics are connected
• Include real-world examples to illustrate concepts.

When preparing your notes, it's best to avoid preparing a 'model' answer to a predicted question. Essay style questions tend toward a 'free' response rather than a fixed 'single right answer' question, so formula answers just won't work.

Revise around the topic and look for key points, arguments, evidence, examples, relevant conceptual frameworks and theories etc.

In other words, approach your revision for the open book exam in the same way you would approach a 'normal' exam, or even a quick-time assignment.

The University Library has a large collection of past exam papers, listed by department, course and year. Past papers will provide you with really useful and relevant questions that you can use to revise and practise. Tutors often recycle or adapt existing questions, so it's possible that some questions may make a reappearance!

Remember, don't pre-prepare a model answer and don't second guess the content of the exam.

Because this is an online open book exam where, in theory, you have access to unlimited resources, the questions are more likely to focus on testing your ability to critically assess facts, methods, ideas, theories etc rather than simply recycling learnt information or answering true/false type answers.

When studying each topic, you'll need to demonstrate a critical, analytical and evaluative approach in your responses, and consider areas such as:

• issues and problems related to the topic
• impact and implications of the study or research
• arguments for and/or against
• limitations of research/future research opportunities
• examples to illustrate successes and/or problems in practice
• the real-world application of theories/frameworks
• your overall evaluation of the topic, based on the evidence you have presented.

The video below is also a useful guide to help you prepare for open book exams.

Blog post adapted from:?https://student.unsw.edu.au/open-book-and-take-home-exams

 

If you're taking an online open book exam, you'll need to deal with a number of challenges including maintaining focus and managing your time. This short guide by former Academic Skills Course Leader Tom Reid gives you some strategies to help you succeed in your examination.

The first and probably most important thing to remember about online open book exams is that in many ways they can be similar to coursework assignments. The difference is that time is more limited. So you can use all the same skills you've gained during the academic year (and you have way more than you think!) to produce a first class answer.

You may feel too nervous to eat, but you need to feed your brain and ensure your energy levels are high. So make sure you've eaten something (but not too much as that can lead to different problems!) before you start. You could also have a few healthy snacks to hand during the exam, to keep your energy levels high.

• Make sure your desk area is prepared and organised with notes, pens, paper etc.
• Choose a room or space where you won't be disturbed. You could pin a notice to your door saying 'EXAM IN PROGRESS - DO NOT DISTURB'.
• Don't forget a watch or clock to keep an eye on time.

Read through your exam paper and work out:

• How many questions are there?
• How long should you allow per question (if your exam has a set start and end time)?
• Where do I start? Start with easiest questions to help build your confidence.

Before you start writing, it's important to understand what exactly the question is asking you to do. Unpack the question by identifying:

• The focus - what is the specific topic area you need to address in your answer Here you're looking for key words that point directly to this target area.
• The instruction words - these are the words that tell you exactly what you have to do e.g. discuss/analyse/highlight/compare etc. Make sure you understand the meaning of these terms before you start the exam (see this blog which explains the common terms).
• The scope/limits - it's also vital to identify how far you need to extend the focus area. In other words, what needs to be included and what doesn't. This will help you avoid including irrelevant content which can waste time and lower your mark.

Once you've analysed the question, devise a quick outline of how you'll approach your answer. Think about:

• Introduction - what to include and the thesis statement
• Structure - how many paragraphs and how will they link together
• Focus points to include
• Relevant theories, arguments, examples
• Relevant quotes (use sparingly)
• Your conclusion - implications, critical evaluation.

Taking time to plan your answer will help you stay focused and avoid including irrelevant information.

Don't over-use your notes, write too much and get bogged down in too much detail. It's highly likely you're including irrelevant information and you'll run out of time. Stay focused, on topic and include only relevant information presented as concisely and clearly as possible.

Make sure you include time at the end to go through and check your work, and edit if necessary.

Things to check may include:

• missing information - relevant content/range of arguments/sufficient examples/ theory etc
• irrelevant information - ask yourself: does this connect to my thesis/essay aim?
• typos /errors
• structure - is there a logical flow of ideas and line of reasoning? Do paragraphs link together? Is everything clear?
• conclusion - are implications and overall evaluations included?

Follow these tips to make sure your online open book exam experience is positive and successful.

上一篇：山东电竞学校哪个学校最好

下一篇：Windows 11 系统还原指南：超详细图文教程，轻松创建与恢复还原点