Test-Taking Skills 
 
If you’ve ever wondered if there are some special skills needed to score high on exams, besides just studying hard, read on.
 
Q. Why do I often score low despite having gone over all assignments & notes?
A. It is frustrating to earn a low score when you thought you had put a lot of effort into preparation. A main reason is the misconception that, the more you study, the higher score you would earn. To score high on an exam, you need a special approach that prepares you to do well in the special atmosphere that comes with the exam, which is different from doing homework in your comfortable chair at home.
 
Q. So, what is the special approach?
A. Even if you were given unlimited time to do an exam, you would never finish it in your lifetime unless you can retrieve the correct ideas to do the problems. So, here are some suggestions that you may want to try:
 
1. On a daily basis, make a meticulous list of exercise problems that you (not anybody else) think are important. This list can take a form of index cards. Here is how it works:
 

•	In the exercise set for a section in the book, problems are organized in groups with the same directions for a batch at a time. As you do a batch of exercises, choose a couple that hit you hard.
•	On one side of an index card, write down such an exercise problem you think you want to review before an exam. On the back of the card, write down the answer.
•	At this pace, you will accumulate about a dozen cards per section. Say, an exam covers four sections. Then, you will have about fifty hand-picked exercises on the cards.
•	Shuffle well the deck of these fifty index cards. Pick the top dozen cards and try to do all of the dozen exercises in 60 minutes. That’s 5 minutes per problem, give or take.
•	What you go through is as close as you can get to taking a real exam. Uncertainty of what kind of problems to appear, how fast you can recall correct ideas on the spot, etc.

 
2. Before the exam, go over the problems on your list within a set length of time without referring to your notes or textbook.
 
3. Can you do them all? If there are some on the list that you do not recall how to do, you would not be able to do similar problems on the exam. So, you have found your weak areas. Review them again until you are absolutely comfortable with them.
 
4. When you see, say Problem #7 on Page 3 of the actual exam, you must be able to react immediately with a correct approach to this particular type of a problem. So, train yourself before the real exam by testing yourself with randomly selected problems from your list of exercises. Then, you are likely to be able to do Problem #7 well.
 
Q. Should I memorize all formulas, theorems, and definitions?
A. Contrary to a common belief among some, acquisition of intellectual knowledge relies in part on a substantial amount of background knowledge that has been studied, understood, and memorized. It is false that mathematics is not about memorization. You do have to memorize an enormous amount in mathematics.
    What matters is how you memorize definitions, theorems, and formulas. Staring at them or writing them down over & over again is the least successful approach. The most efficient approach is this:
 
1. Make a list of new definitions, theorems, and formulas as they are introduced in class.
 
2. Put the list right in front of you as you review topics and do exercise problems.
 
3. It is true that you would not be able to refer to your list on quizzes and exams. But, the point is that you want to practice problems with an organized list of information pertinent to them. This will help you remember now and recall later the needed information.
  
Q. The night before the exam, should I stay up late & study as much as I can?
A. Definitely NOT. You want to relax the day before the exam. Bring a clear mind to the exam after a good night sleep. Cramming is a ticket to a disaster in mathematics.