Most students, when they get back an exam where they didn't do well, make one of two assumptions:
I had a bad day but I'll do better the next time. Well, the chances are you will not and, in fact, things will probably get worse! There were some very specific reasons why you didn't perform and you need to know what they were in order to do better the next time. That's what the rest of this page is all about!
I need to study harder. Well, maybe yes and maybe no! Poor exam performance is a result of two factors, one or both of which may be important in your case:
As soon as possible after getting your exam back, you should go through it, spotting each question you got wrong. For each of these questions, ask yourself the following questions in the sequence indicated. Be absolutely honest with yourself, otherwise you are wasting your time!
If you don't understand why the key answer is better than the one you chose, you have a study problem with respect to that question.
On the basis of your study for the exam, did you know the right answer when you took the exam? If the answer to that question is yes, you have a problem taking the exam. If the answer is no, you have a study problem with respect to the question.
By the time you have gone through the entire exam, you should have a precise tally of how many questions you missed due to study problems vs. problems taking the exam. If study problems are a significant element, refer to Academic Survival and Study for some techniques that will probably help. If problems taking the exam are a significant element, read on!
For every question where the problem was taking the exam, you need to reconstruct how you approached the question and what got you off track with respect to the answer. Keep track of the reasons for each question. If you are like most students, you aren't doing lots of things wrong but you are probably doing one or two things on a regular basis that are causing your problem:
Careful Reading. You must read both the questions and foils carefully! I don't waste words on questions so qualifying words or phrases are probably important.
Understanding what the question is asking for. You cannot answer a question unless you understand it. If careful reading doesn't do it, stick up your hand and ask one of the proctors. The TA can't give you the answer or even an unfair advantage, but often they can help you get on track. Most other Bio Sci sections do not permit questions during the exam but I do! You can't be any worse off by asking a question so use the option!
Take your time! There is plenty of time allotted for the number of questions asked (typically 30 questions in 50 minutes) so don't rush. If you can't crack the question on the first pass or two through it, skip it and go on to the ones you can answer, but don't rush! When you are done with the first pass through the exam, go back to the questions you have skipped and repeat the cycle.
Don't make scoring errors. It does you no good to have picked out the correct answer if you then make a mistake in transposing the answer to the answer sheet. Take your time!
Answer the right question. Many students pick an answer that is correct but it has no bearing or relationship on the question that was asked! Make sure you understand the scope of the question!
Be logical! Science is grounded in logic. Using some elementary logic can often help!
A tip! Most questions are looking for statements that are either true or false with respect to the conditions established by the question. Most of the time you will be looking for true statements but true statements are slippery, since they may be true simply because they don't contain anything false! In contrast, false statements are false because they definitely contain something that is wrong! Regardless of what the question is looking for, you may find it easier to identify the foils that are false with respect to the question and then proceed accordingly.
Use some old exams to test your progress in developing your multiple choice skills. Many of the significant bench-mark tests you will take later in your academic career (MCATS, Graduate Record Exams, etc.) will be multiple-choice, not to mention many future courses. Learning to take such exams is an essential to academic recognition.
Ralph E. Taggart (taggart@pilot.msu.edu)