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The best studying & test-taking strategies for any open note exam
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An "open book exam" is a test that allows you to use the text or material you have been studying throughout the exam. At first, you might assume that you can just look up your answers on the day of the test (making this a very easy type of test to take), but that’s not how an open note exam often works. If you have an open book test coming up, rest-assured that this guide will tell you everything you need to know about preparing for and taking your open-note exam—plus expert test-taking tips from academic tutor Jake Adams!
Open Book Exams: Quick Test-Taking Tips
- Start with the questions you can answer easily, without your notes.
- Save more challenging or time-consuming questions for the end of the test.
- Read each question carefully and underline key words.
- Make sure your answer fully address all parts of the question.
- Verify and proofread your answers before finishing the test.
Steps
Section 1 of 4:
Taking an Open Book Exam
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Start with questions you can answer easily (without notes). This strategy will save you time by allowing you to get through certain questions without fumbling through your notes. Plus, if you end up having to leave some questions unanswered due to time, it’s better to skip the questions you’re unsure about. [1] X Research source
- Skip any questions you’re really struggling with and come back to them at the end of the test when you've had time to calm down and gather your thoughts. Sometimes, the other questions on the exam can even help you answer others or remind you of a concept you forgot!
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Read each question carefully to understand and answer it completely. When beginning to answer each question, read every word carefully and underline any words, phrases, or sentences that are key to what the question is asking. Make sure you understand all parts of the question before giving an answer—most teachers and professors will help you if you don’t understand what the question itself means. [2] X Research source
- As you begin to formulate your answer, make sure every part of your answer is relevant to the question. A succinct but relevant answer is better than a lengthy, unrelated one.
- If your answer to a question involves quotes or citations, avoid copying a long passage or quote over from your book (this may even be considered plagiarism if it’s not cited!). Instead, paraphrase content from your notes into an answer that clearly and efficiently answers the exam question.
- Similarly, make sure your final answer completely answers all key parts of the question before moving on.
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Review and proofread your answers, if time allows. If you have time left at the end of the exam, go through the questions one more time to look for mistakes—using your notes to your advantage. Double-check your answers against your textbook or your notes, if possible, especially when it comes to information that’s easily mixed up, like dates, names, vocab, and equations. [3] X Research source
- If you feel like you gave an overly-brief or weak answer to any specific questions, take a moment to flesh them out and improve them.
- However, don’t use this time to doubt yourself and end up changing correct answers to incorrect ones. Most often, your gut instinct is correct, so only fully change your answers if you remembered or found something that proved your initial response wrong.
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Manage your time effectively throughout the exam. When the exam begins, take note of how much time you have to complete the exam, as well as how many questions are on the test. Roughly estimate how much time you have to spend on each question. During the exam, keep track of time passing and adjust your speed if you need to increase or decrease your pace at any time. [4] X Research source
- Adams emphasizes the importance of “understanding how much time you should spend per question and having a plan for when to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this question and I need to move on.’ Realize that you can use your time efficiently by just not spending it all in one place.”
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Stay as calm and relaxed as possible throughout the test. Exam anxiety can affect performance, so make sure you know good strategies to keep your nerves in check in the exam room. Remember that you can only do your personal best on this exam, and you’ve done everything you can to prepare for this moment. [5] X Research source
- If you start to feel nervous during the exam, take a moment to stop. While time may be an issue, plowing through an exam despite feelings of anxiety will lead to a poor overall performance. Allow yourself to stop, close your eyes, and take several deep breaths to calm yourself before continuing.
- To help with your anxiety before the test, stop studying at least an hour before the exam and use this time to look after yourself. Take a walk or eat something light. If you're poring over material right before an exam begins, you'll likely psych yourself out.
- Put yourself into a good headspace before the exam by getting a good night’s sleep the night before and giving yourself extra time to arrive at the exam location and get comfortable. Getting lost or running late can increase anxiety and affect performance.
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Section 2 of 4:
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Find out exactly what’s allowed on your test. Before studying for your test, make sure you understand exactly what “open book” means to your professor or teacher. In some cases, you may be allowed to use all of your textbooks, all of your lecture notes, or anything you want! In other cases, you may only be allowed a singular textbook or a singular page of notes.
- Some instructors even specify the size of the notes you’re allowed to bring with you—e.g., a 3x5 inch (7.6x12.7 cm) index card.
- Knowing this information will help you understand exactly how to study for your test and what type of reference materials you must prepare for exam day.
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Organize your notes or create a study sheet ahead of time. You don't want to walk into your exam with a stack of papers covered in random facts and figures. Depending on what’s allowed in your exam, organize your collection of notes from throughout the course, or create a clear and legible study guide: [6] X Research source
- If you’re allowed to have all of your notes during the exam, organize them in a way that will best suit your needs during the exam. We recommend sectioning your notes by topic and creating an outline of your notes with key themes, ideas, and how each topic connects to the others.
- Also, it’s helpful to create a cover page for your notes with the most important information on it. List equations, key terms, dates, and any other information that may be tricky for you to recall and will likely show up on the exam.
- If you’re only allowed a single sheet of paper or notecard to compile your notes on, you’ll have to approach this a bit differently. Memorize the most basic and essential information, then use your study sheet to list the most important facts and details in an organized way. Write as small as possible (to fit more notes on the page!) without sacrificing neatness or legibility.
- If your instructor specified that you must cite sources on your exam, generate these citations ahead of time so that you can easily copy them over during the exam.
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Locate and mark key information in your textbook beforehand. If your exam permits you to take your book in, organize your textbook beforehand to help you locate key information quickly and easily. [7] X Research source
- If allowed, highlight key terms , historical dates, equations, and other difficult-to-memorize materials that you might need to draw from for questions.
- Jot down notes in the margins with your instructor’s commentary or brief summaries of difficult paragraphs in the textbook.
- Mark pages with multicolored sticky notes to highlight important information (especially if you’re not allowed to write directly in your textbook). Use different colors of sticky notes to indicate different areas of focus, if needed.
- Even if your open note exam doesn’t allow the use of a textbook, these strategies may still help you in preparing for the exam. Organizing your book during the course of a class can help you easily spot key information while studying and may even help you better retain information.
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Focus on the most relevant and challenging topics. We're sometimes tempted to study or transcribe entire books or entire lectures when prepping for open book exams—after all, you never know what a teacher or professor might ask! However, this method is not only incredibly time consuming, it's actually ineffective. You'll end up scrambling through pages and pages of notes and run down the clock during exam time. [8] X Research source
- Instead, pay attention to where the most focus is placed during lectures. If something is written on the board, repeated, or discussed for an extended period, it will probably show up on the exam. Include those subjects in your exam notes. [9] X Research source
- Listen at the end of lectures for what your instructor ends the lesson with. Oftentimes, your teacher or professor will provide a brief closing statement that summarizes the most important takeaways from that day's class. Note these takeaways and include them in your study plan.
- Compare notes with classmates. If certain subjects overlap across all of your notes, these are probably important areas on which to focus your studying for the exam. You can also see what key issues you might have missed in your own notes [10] X Research source
- Prioritize concepts and bits of information that you really struggle with. If you’re pretty sure you have a certain concept memorized, don’t bother including it in your notes or study guide for the exam. Instead, include topics from the class that you have a hard time remembering.
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Study to understand the material—not just memorize it. Studying for an open book exam can be tricky, as the skills required are not as easy to test as simple memorization. [11] X Research source However, there are tricks you can use to make sure you're prepared for an open book exam:
- Develop your own commentary on information. As you'll be tested primarily on interpretation, write down your own commentary and insights in your notes. Challenge yourself to explain what you think about the material, and why. This strategy will help hone your critical thinking skills, which will be needed for an open book exam.
- Use practice questions while studying. Open book exam questions promote a genuine understanding of the course material, so quizzing yourself using model questions provided by your instructor is a great way to make sure you're prepared going in. Even if you don’t have practice questions supplied by your teacher, try to anticipate potential test questions and prepare answers ahead of time.
- Team up with other students to study. While study groups are great for any type of exam, they can be especially helpful for an open book. Rather than quizzing one another on materials, you can discuss and debate information from class. This approach helps you learn how to apply the information you learned.
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QuestionWhat is the best strategies for an open book exam?Community AnswerSkim through it. Read for flow. You are not about to read the whole entire textbook while taking the test, when you are most likely timed. You can take notes and skim through those too. Or you can use sticky notes and put them on each page as a summary of the page. The last thing you want to do is re-read the whole entire book. If you are not allowed to use notes in the textbook, then study the notes you would take on a separate piece of paper. At most you need to know generally where things are in the book so that you can find them quickly for the answer.
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QuestionI have a big closed-book exam in science. I have to memorize, apply and analyze information. There are about 300 words and 100 concepts. I can't use anything other than my brain and a pencil.CanadianUserCommunity AnswerYou may have to make flash cards or ask the teacher for a study guide. If that is applicable, try to make a game on Kahoot. You may need an account, but it's free.
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Tips
- The best way to assure your notes are reflective of the testing material is to attend all lectures and class periods regularly. [13] X Research sourceThanks
- Even if you have a closed-book test, make a note sheet. You don't have to use it on the test, but it is a great study guide.Thanks
- If you do not understand something ahead of the exam, ask for extra help from other classmates or your professor.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- If you're unsure of a question, jot down the problem number on a separate piece of paper to remember to return to it. This keeps you from spending too much time on it so you have more time to answer questions you do know.
- Before the test, prepare a list of questions the test might have. This gives you an idea of what might be on the test and helps you prepare for it.
- For exams that have both theories and calculations, create a separate sheet that just lists the formulas you need.
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Warnings
- Don't transcribe too many notes as this can make it difficult to locate information during the exam.Thanks
- You can't simply copy information word-for-word from your textbooks. This is plagiarism, and could make you fail the exam or even the course, as well as incur disciplinary action or penalties.Thanks
- Be sure to actually study for the test. As said earlier in the article, you might have to apply and analyze information rather than just remember it.Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/open-book-and-take-home-exams
- ↑ https://centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/test-taking-tips.html
- ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/test-taking-strategy/
- ↑ https://centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/test-taking-tips.html
- ↑ https://intranet.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/20794/Staying-calm-during-exams.pdf
- ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
- ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/open-book-and-take-home-exams
- ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
- ↑ http://www.testtakingtips.com/note/
About This Article
Article Summary
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An open-book exam is a test that lets you bring your books or notes in with you. While this may seem like an easy way to take a test, open-book exams may be harder than you’d think since they are about taking information and applying it in a more thoughtful, meaningful manner. But, with some preparation, you can pass your next open-book exam with flying colors! Before your exam, spend some time marking key information in your text or notebook so you can find it quickly and easily. If you’re allowed, write some comments in the margins so you can also work on interpreting the material or putting it into your own words. If your professor gives you model questions, spend time answering them or work with a group to discuss or debate what you’ve learned. This will help you apply the information in a more thoughtful way. To learn how to organize your notes for an open-book exam, keep reading!
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- "The article helped me. Time management is very important and always when I read I should indicate the keywords, I should take notes of important information and nevertheless I should rest enough before the exam." ..." more
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