How to Take an Open-Book Exam

Open-book exams sound like a dream come true, but are often harder than regular exams. Follow these steps to open the book on success.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Running Watches
• Post-it Notes
• Highlighter Pens
• Index Cards
• Spiral Notebooks

1. Study hard for the exam (see Related eHow).
2. Bring as much material as the teacher or professor will allow. If you're lucky, this will include lecture notes and study notes.
3. Decide on the order in which you will answer the questions. First tackle the questions you're most confident answering, to help get you into the groove.
4. Allot yourself a realistic amount of time to answer each question.
5. Scan through your materials for anything that might be relevant to the question.
6. Use sticky notes or tabs to mark places where you find useful information.
7. Make an outline for your answer based both on your knowledge and on the information you found.
8. Write your answer by following the outline and looking up material as you go.
9. Repeat this process for each question.
10. Don't look over your answer once you're done; instead, move on to the next question. If you have spare time at the end of the exam, go over your answers at that point.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring a watch so that you don't have to rely on anyone else's timekeeping.
• Watch the time closely as you write your answers. The problem with an open-book exam is that you have so much information at your disposal that you could write forever.
• Pay more attention to content than to style. Your teacher understands the tight constraints of a timed exam and will make allowances.
• Avoid accusations of cheating by making sure you only bring the materials allowed by your teacher or professor.
• If you're running short on time, don't panic, since panic feeds on itself. Instead, take a deep breath and think about how to re-allocate your time.