With five weeks remaining before finals begin, it is time to start preparing for those big weeks. This is an exam-taking refresher scheduled for Monday, April 4th, over the noon hour, in the auditorium.
At this point, you have one semester of exams behind you, including your self-assessment and writing assessment from those performances. Your study methods and approach to classes is refined and intentional. You should be in a good position to perform well on the finals. Now is the time to finish pulling outlines together, review information from the first semester where necessary, and get back into exam-writing mode.
As I’ve mentioned before, there are many resources to help you move through this last stretch with some level of confidence. The Schimel book is a helpful resource on exam writing generally. One of the most important pieces of advice in that book is to practice writing exams. This means something more than simply reading old exams and thinking about how you would go about answering them. It means sitting down under similar exam conditions, writing out exam answers, and then critiquing your answers for the elements of good exam writing. You can do this on your own, in study groups, or in whatever way suits you.
Notably, this is not an exercise that is separate and distinct from reviewing the substance of your classes or building your outlines. In fact, it is quite complimentary. As you work through practice questions, you will find gaps in your understanding of the rules you have learned. You may find relationships between concepts that you hadn’t discovered before. And you will gain a clearer and deeper understanding of the subject you are studying. At the same time, you will be honing your exam-writing skills and reduce some of the anxiety associated with exams.
Many of your professor have old exams on file with the library in hard copy or on the College of Law Exam Materials page. Some distribute review materials to you directly or recommend secondary sources like the Examples and Explanations series. Check with your professor for advice on working with practice problems. As always, they are the best source of advice for you in their classes.
It may help to review the exam instructions at some point in the near future. Remember, those are on the Academics page in Sharepoint, under Exams.
I look forward to seeing you on April 4th, and don’t hesitate to contact me or anyone in Student Services, if you need assistance.
- prof. schutz