Preparing for Departmental
Exams
“Don’t Panic, Be Prepared!”
Bev Ptolemy
Sun West School Division
What Would You Do If
This Happens To You?
Be prepared so this
freeze up doesn’t happen
to you, but, if it does . . .
Flip over the exam or on blank paper, list
information /topics you remember
taking in the class. Soon your brain will
function again and most of it will come back!
Format of Final Exams
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- Math and Sciences:
* 50 multiple choice
Chemistry is “open book”
- ELA: Combination of:
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* 25 Multiple choice for essay structure/ sentence
errors/ literary terms/ reading comprehension
* Short answer
* Personal response
* Literary essay writing
A30 has one less essay than B 30
General Study Tips
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Listen to your mother’s advice:
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you need to study ahead so that you’ve done the
bulk of it and have only to review the night before, in
case a crisis occurs!!
Get lots of rest, get fresh air & exercise just before
exam
Eat a nutritious breakfast & lunch to kick start the
brain
If you have a stress headache, drink a Coke or
coffee a half hour prior to the exam, opens the blood
vessels to brain
General Tips Continued
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Use Active study not passive:
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Don’t just reread, every operation your brain does
stores the information 2 X longer than just reading!
Make your own study notes, don’t just use
someone’s. Make them concise. Then, compare
yours to theirs.
Create acronyms or other memory tricks, use
diagrams
Describe or explain to yourself aloud
Do in class reviews, ask questions
Continued
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Turn questions into notes
Redo questions and then compare your answers
Make up practice quizzes and do them at a later time
Study with a friend but not until you’ve done the
individual work. Try to explain/demo/ teach each
other.
Visualize what you want to remember
Work at it; if you’ve forgotten how to do it, look back
at text, notes, examples, find out what stumps you
and ask for help from there;don’t give up!
ELA Study Tips:
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Make study notes
/webs. Practise fixing
grammar/spelling etc
Create acronyms.
Frame answers to
essay questions.
Identify selections
and genres that could
be used for each
theme essay.
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Review answers to
prototype/review
rubric to see “the bar”
Choose pieces
enjoyed and
understood to use on
exam.
Avoid plot summary
or theme discussion
only, there must be
analysis in relation to
theme.
Study Tips for Math/Science
(Yes you can and should study for math!!”)
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Make study
notes/webs of terms,
formulas, examples of
questions & solutions
Redo unit
tests/reviews, actually
doing the calculations
to remember
procedure.
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Then do the related
questions on the
prototype and check the
answer key. Do more
than one so you can see
different ways questions
may be asked.
Study using the formula
sheet from prototype, id
the ones which were from
optional units to prevent
freaking out over
unfamiliar formulas
Continued
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Review how to use
your graphing
calculator
Bring calculator to
math
Bring dictionary, text
&/or notebook to
chemistry as its open
book
(exams/prototypes
not allowed)
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Study for open book as
you don’t have time to
look up everything and
won’t finish!!
Flag important note/text
sections, formulas,
examples to refer to
quickly on the open book
Math/science questions
usually in order of units,
number of questions
correlates to time given in
course
Test-Taking Strategies
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General Tips for Test Taking:
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Take 2: take 2 min to unload memory bank of nb stuff onto back
of paper (names, dates, formulas, memory tricks etc.)
Read directions (circle key directions)
Skim entire test before starting
Answer questions
Star the ones you don’t know, and continue on, coming back
later
Double check answers
If you aren’t certain of an answer, go with your “first instinct”
Budget time wisely, do ones you know & worth a lot first (ex.
essays)
Multiple Choice Strategies:
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Read the whole question
Try to answer the question before looking at the
answer choices, compare yours to the one that
is similar
Use the process of elimination; look for
distractors, eliminate the choices that are wrong
Work backwards from each answer choice to
see if it is possible.
Eliminate choices that seem to general, or too
vague
MC continued
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Eliminate choices that don’t fit grammatically
If there are two opposite answers, one of them is often
the right answer
Correct choices are sometimes longer
Use information in the other questions as clues to help
Don’t just guess, do the questions on paper to find
answer
Double check answers to math questions by substituting
in answer into the equations
Essay question strategies:
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Know the key words
Develop a quick outline first (planning box on ELA)
For short answers, start by rephrasing the question as
answer
Stick to formal style
Analyze and give examples, don’t just retell plot or
comment on theme
Follow structure for paragraphs & essays being sure to
have thesis/topic statements that you prove with
evidence
Reread, revise and edit to be sure your answer is clear