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A good exam answer
A good exam answer is very much like a good homework answer. Read first the instructions for a good homework answer and then look at the list below.
- Read the question.
Read the question very carefully. You will only get points for the answers that answer the question asked in the exam.
- Structurize your answer clearly.
A well done structure of an answer is already half an answer. Doing the structure division will help you to remember all the possible point of views in the answer that might otherwise be forgotten.
- Use tables and drawings.
Usually a hard problem can be perceived and explained easily with the aid of tables and drawings. Use table and drawings.
- Do not explain too much.
Do no explain too much around the question. If you explain too much and list unrelavent things, it gives the person who grades the exam a feeling that you really don't know what you are explaining. Explain only what has been asked in a compact and exhausting manner.
- Answer only one question at a time.
Do not answer to questions 2 and 3 together or the subquestions a and b together in the same answer. If the questions are separate maybe you should focus your answer differently in the different answers. This way also you won't miss any questions. You can always refer to other answer in you exam paper.
- Write something.
Don't leave a question unanswered. In many cases a hard question is also hard for everyone else. When the person checking the exams sees this, he might be more lenient in the checking. If you put down what you know, you can get points. If you leave a question unanswered, you cannot get points.
- Write also intermediate stages.
Write every intermediate stage into your calculations. Write down also you assumptions. If the result of your calculation is wrong, but you have written down the intermediate stages, you might get points. If you have not written down intermediate stages and the result is wrong, you won't get any points.
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E-mail: perus@tml.hut.fi
The page has last been updated 16.1.2008.
URL: http://www.tml.tkk.fi/Studies/Guides/exam_answer.html