Learning. Life.

Preparing for an open book test is a bit different to a closed book test. The emphasis isn’t on memorising as much - although it’s still worth doing that - but your main focus is on understanding and preparing notes to take into the test.

1. Understand the materials

Your aim is to have a broad understanding of all topics that are to be covered in the test. Use methods that suit your preferred learning style. Discuss it with others (auditory), draw mind-maps (visual), read background information (read/write), apply it (kinaesthetic).

Make sure you know what topics are in the test - check the course outline and ask your lecturer. Make sure you study all topics that are in the test, and don’t study those that aren’t (if you’re really sure they’re not in the test).

Add background information from the textbook and other places to your study notes. Deep and wide understanding is better here than memorising the few facts you wrote down in class.

Typical questions involve scenarios, which require you to apply the theory to a case study which is completely new to you, compare and contrast questions, which require you to relate topics to each other, and analyse and develop questions, which require you to use the skills taught.

You will not see a lot of questions that ask you to list, describe or explain a topic. These answers would come straight out of your notes, and unless the lecturer is trying to give you an easy time, they’re only going to use these as warm-up questions to help you started.

2. Prepare notes to take into the test

Your aim is to take in only what you need for the test, so that you can find what you need, quickly. You won’t know what you need in advance, so try to get as much information from the tutor as possible.

Identify all the things that might help you, then consider them carefully. Don’t take in too much - the more you have, the more time you’re going to waste moving books around and trying to find what you’re looking for.

Three top tips:

1. Use post-it notes as bookmarks. Use different colours for different topics, and write the topic on the bookmark, so you can find it easily - you don’t have to flick through a whole lot of bookmarks to find the right one.

2. Highlight mercilessly. Key words and the heading of important sections are good things to highlight. Use different colours.

3. Make kick-ass study notes. The more concise your notes are, the easier it will be to find what you need.

If this level of preparation is new to you, here’s a very, very useful hint: you know those people who always do really well in tests and exams? This is what they do for every test. Honest. It makes their study time much more effective and, of course, as they do this preparation they’re learning the stuff, making sense of it, and relating it to other things they’ve learnt - all of which we call deep learning, and which is the key to getting really good grades (and really learning the stuff). Seriously.

Once you’ve got a broad understanding and have prepared your materials, then you can prepare like any other test. When you sit the test, do what you would in any other test, but keep a very careful eye on the time you spend on each question.

Good luck.