TESTING PROCEDURES

Here are some guidelines for my examinations.

You may not bring anything with you to take the test other than the knowledge in your head.

Read the questions carefully and ANSWER THE QUESTION. Don't tell me your opinion of the state of the world. The test is not the time to share invaluable insights. LOOK AT EACH PART OF THE QUESTION AND ANSWER IT SPECIFICALLY.

Come to the test with your thinking already done and organized. You will be expected to write about three to six pages. If you need to sit and think about an answer, you will run out of time. ( I will allow you some extra time if needed.) This could create a great deal of frustration. If you are not sure about what I'm looking for in a question, ask me before the exam. You should understand that I expect careful answers with details and examples. You have the questions beforehand; you have time to prepare complete answers, not just generalizations.

Write your answers so that they can be easily understood. This means you should try to use clear, simple language. Don't assume that I will understand what you mean or that I know that you know something. I grade what I see. You won't get credit for something that isn't there.

Organize your answers into complete English paragraphs. If you do not use paragraphs and sentences correctly or make other serious errors in grammar, spelling or syntax, I will take off five or ten points, depending upon the gravity of the errors. These points will be added back on when you resubmit the exam with the corrections made. If there are serious errors on the final exam points will be taken off the test grade and there will be no opportunity to resubmit.

Generally, each five points on the exams should correspond to one paragraph. This is meant as a guideline, and need not be followed in all cases, since some people will need more words to describe their meaning. On the other hand, if you are answering a 20-point question with one paragraph, you can be sure that you have not developed the answer fully.

Do not be brief. Try your best to explain what you mean fully. Give explicit examples when possible. Most students do not provide sufficient detail in their answers.  Explain what you say. However, if you make an incorrect statement of any kind you will lose some points. Also, if you quote an exact statistic and are wrong even slightly you will lose credit. This is to discourage rambling and reinforce a respect for careful and exact thinking. If you think the number may be 26 or 27% just say approximately 25% or about one out of four as you recall.

Needless to say, you will have to study the questions carefully. The answers should make sense to you. If they do not, then ask me about them before you take the exam. It is extremely difficult to remember information that makes little sense to you. On the other hand, if you understand the answer, you need to memorize very little and the information will stick with you for a long time.