Tips for 8-Hour Take Home Exams? Forum

[kykiske]

Does anyone have any helpful tips for an 8-Hour take home final?

The stress I feel during this is a lot different from a 3 or 4 hour in class exam. It's not the stress of time necessarily, but knowing what to keep, and what to cut. There's a set word limit.

I've been working through the E&E for this final, and that's been helping.

Thank you.

[northwood]

yu have to learn how to be succinct, and learn to rank areas of importance. Since you have a word limit, you need to write your responses carefully. Go through some of the professors old exams to get a sense of what types of questions are asked. Depending on how many you have, you should be able to allocate your time accordingly. Then divide that into outlining your response and typing. Sine its 8 hours, make a good condensed attack outline and use that.

Also make sure to eat goo breakfast and have a lunch made the night before. YOu want to be able to eat something- but not waste time making it ( you may find that 8 hours flies by quickly)

A few more things. 1 since its8 hours, the grading may be more difficult an the curve tighter. and 2- with 8 hours, expect everyone to know and spot the issues. Learn to be succinct and rank them accordingly. 1 or 2 sentences may be the difference between an And a B+

[notedgarfigaro]

Does anyone have any helpful tips for an 8-Hour take home final?

The stress I feel during this is a lot different from a 3 or 4 hour in class exam. It's not the stress of time necessarily, but knowing what to keep, and what to cut. There's a set word limit.

I've been working through the E&E for this final, and that's been helping.

Thank you.

proper grammar goes a long way, as does proper organization. First hour, just read, look over your relevant class material and jot down notes- no writing. Sketch an outline, then start writing. After you finish your initial draft (don't worry about word limits right now), walk away for an hour (assuming you've still got plenty of time left) to clear your head and get some food.

Once you get back, reread the essay prompt to make sure you didn't miss anything, and then start editing your answer for grammar and clarity. If you're over the word limit, look for convoluted sentences and any adverbs- if it ends in "ly", it's expendable. If you're significantly over the word limit, look for minor issues to cut, but you really shouldn't be that far over unless your professor is a terrible exam writer. For example, severability on a conlaw exam is probably not going to score you a ton of points, so it's expendable. This is kind of a feel thing, so pay attention to what your professor emphasized in class- if he spent three class talking about equitable servitudes, then if it's there, spend some time on it.

Make sure if it's a multi-part exam that you allotted the proper amount of space to each question- i.e. if you have 2 questions worth 40% each and 1 policy question worth 20% with a 3k word limit, the policy question better not have more than 600 words.

Finally, relax. I had a 24 hour take home for one of my 1l classes, and the professor's intent was for people to take their time, get some sleep, etc. Instead, half my section spent the entire 24 hours working on the exam. That's just stupid (I was somewhat guilty of this, but mainly b/c I woke up after 4 hours and then there was hilarious TLS drama when a Duke student who was also taking a 24 hour conlaw exam that day broke the only rule on his exam by asking for help here...it was awesome).

Anyways, hope that helps.

[rad lulz]

there was hilarious TLS drama when a Duke student who was also taking a 24 hour conlaw exam that day broke the only rule on his exam by asking for help here...it was awesome).

That was awesome

Lost in a sea of "." threads

[ArmyOfficer]

Drink a beer.

[Citizen Genet]

So I remember that happening. Did the Dukie get caught and reverse outted?