STUDYING FOR THE EXAMINATION

Try hard not to wait until the night before the exam to start studying for it. Cramming exhausts you both physically and mentally. You won't study as well, and you may blow the test, so give yourself a break by leaving yourself enough time. Studying for exams is a process that can conveniently be divided into steps:

STEP ONE: Review your notes again all of them. Go over them several times memorizing basic facts and concepts, basic causes and effects, definitions of terms. Know how one concept, event, or idea relates to another. Even if you haven't been reviewing regularly, beginning this process several days before the exam will give you the time to ask the instructor for clarification on gaps or unclear points in your notes (and don't hesitate to ask either).

STEP TWO: Write out new identifications on all terms and concepts. The more you write out in studying for an exam, the better you will lodge the material in your memory.

STEP THREE: If the instructor has given you practice questions USE them. Write out answers to them and grade those answers as if you were the instructor. Sometimes you will see the same practice questions (or similar to them) on the exam. If the instructor doesn't hand out any study questions and seems unwilling to do so, make up your own questions and answer them. Since you will be taking an essay test start your sample questions with "Compare" or "Analyze" and force yourself to fit the material together. Practice, practice, practice.

STEP FOUR: If you can, spend some time with a friend (old or new) who is taking the same course. Quiz each other and see if you agree on likely topics for test questions.

TAKING ESSAY EXAMS:

I. THE WRONG WAY:

Many students write essays as though they were feeding garbage down a disposal. Asked to compare the church structures advocated by John Calvin and Martin Luther during the Reformation, they put down everything they can think of about Calvin, Luther, and churches adding new paragraphs as their stream of consciousness flashes it to them. Every time they think they're finished with the essay they think of something else. “Oh, I better say something about that:" and more garbage gets tossed into the mess. The grader searches in vain for any sign of the question in this jumble of disconnected facts and statements and ends up flunking the essay. The student reacts with anger and frustration all that studying and an F on the test.

II. THE RIGHT WAY: ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Always remember that an essay question practically never asks you everything you know about a certain topic. It assumes that you know the facts and asks you to organize what you know into a coherent analysis. When you get the test, put down your pen (always a pen: pencils give instructors eyestrain) and read the question SEVERAL TIMES. How is it organized? Many essay questions with an introductory sentence and only get to the meat of the question in the second sentence. Here's an example.

The Carolingian and Byzantine Empires were very different in a variety of ways. Analyze their differences in culture, religion, and political structure.

The first sentence tells you that you're going to have to compare the Carolingian and Byzantine Empires. If you are following the Garbage Disposal Technique you already would be fast at work slopping down everything you can remember about the subjects. You might end your mess with a statement like "So we see that these two empires were different in a variety of ways." You would not, of course, have answered the question; you would only have repeated it. The second sentence of the question tells you specifically what to do: analyze the differences (not the similarities) in three very distance areas: culture, religion, and political structure. Your essay ought, therefore, to consist of three paragraphs, one on the cultural differences, on the religious differences, and one on the differences in political structure. Now you pick up your pen, and on a separate piece of paper or on the inside cover of your exam book, you quickly outline your answer:

1. Cultural Differences
a. Latin vs. Greek
b. Carolingian Renaissance vs. Byzantine Tradition

2. Religious Differences
a. Roman Catholic vs. Greek Orthodox
b. Pope vs. Patriarch
c. Catholic Unity vs. Eastern heresies

3. Political Structure
a. Carolingian courts vs. Byzantine theme system
b. Loose personal nature of king's court vs. central bureaucracy

Only after you've outlined your answer should you start writing it out, sticking with your outline. Reading the question carefully and outlining an answer will take a little more time, but not nearly as much time as the uncontrolled anarchy of the Garbage Disposal Technique. The well ordered essay that will result also will be a godsend to your battle hardened instructor as he wades through exam in the middle of the night.

IDENTIFICATION OF TERMS:

ID's are different from essays in that they ask you to summarize what you know about a person or event in one to three sentences. The first sentences ought to give the raw facts while the last should state clearly the significance of the term to the period or area being examined.

Thomas Wentworth. He was chief minister to the English King Charles and was responsible for the policy of "thorough" whereby the king attempted to centralize power and rule without Parliament. He was impeached by the Long Parliament and executed in 1641. His significance lay in the failure of his policies which removed Parliament to overthrow Charles in the English Revolution.

Note the first two sentences state the facts who he was, what he did, and what happened to him while the last sentence explains his importance. ID's should be precise and brief but written in complete sentences to avoid looking like telegrams or grocery lists. That goes for long essays as well. In all cases when writing out an answer to a question, remember to be imaginative, precise, and always answer the question that is asked.