More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:16 am
edit: n/m
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Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:17 am
You're a douche for posting this.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:18 am
edit: n/m
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:20 am
My first response: Thank god. I thought 3,800 words for a three hour final was a horrible showing, thanks to TLS. Maybe I have a shot at an A?
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:22 am
edited
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:30 am
I just want to get it back. That is all. I'm worn out waiting, and I know you are, too.thesealocust wrote:Yep. I'd say that puts you solidly in the 'no strong correlation between word count and grade' camp. Many ways to skin the law school cat, etc. 3,800 words of applying law to fact will trounce a 10,000 word outline dump that's all over the place. 10,000 words of applying law to fact is probably not getting points nearly as efficiently as 3,800 words of applying law to fact. Very zen, everybody wins, we're all on the same side here. No thunderdomes to be found!OperaSoprano wrote:My first response: Thank god. I thought 3,800 words for a three hour final was a horrible showing, thanks to TLS. Maybe I have a shot at an A?
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:34 am
I can say this is pretty true based on my experience. I probably could've used the time a lot more wisely and gotten more points with fewer words. I didn't do badly, but I sure could've done better, of the grades I have so far.thesealocust wrote:10,000 words of applying law to fact is probably not getting points nearly as efficiently as 3,800 words of applying law to fact.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:54 pm
Now that I have all my grades back, my highest word count answer not only earned me my worst grade, it came back below median and took my GPA down with it. I have no explanation for this at all yet, though I will be attempting to find one soon enough.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:08 pm
I have gotten A/A+s on every exam I have written more than 20 pages for, and nothing higher than a B+ on any exam that imposed a word limit.
I no longer take classes that have word limits on the final.
Now I just need to learn how to type
I no longer take classes that have word limits on the final.
Now I just need to learn how to type
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:12 pm
I have yet to find out, but my two exams with word limits were balls
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:14 pm
ToTransferOrNot wrote:20 pages
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:15 pm
The one I just did below-median on was 24.eth3n wrote:ToTransferOrNot wrote:20 pages
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:16 pm
Er, 20 pages double-spaced, anyway.eth3n wrote:ToTransferOrNot wrote:20 pages
Normally closer to 25 for a 3 hour exam
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:33 pm
My best grade was on my longest exam.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:35 pm
Best grade on shortest.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:01 am
I received equal grades on short and long exams. FWIW, though, one of my profs said she likes longer exam answers since they tend to include more analysis. I'm guessing it comes down to preference. That being said, if someone is just verbose and takes 12,000 words to say what can be said in 4,000, I don't really see how that could translate to a high score.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:05 am
napolnic wrote:Best grade on shortest.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:19 am
Worst grade on the shortest and best grade on the longest. But I've generally done better than the brevity of my exam answers would indicate. I estimate that I've been bottom quarter in verbosity on most exams.
I am very curious as to what everyone was writing to get up to 6,000 words when I had 3,000 and saw nothing else to talk about.
And I have a theory that writing a 20+ page novel just pisses most profs off.
I am very curious as to what everyone was writing to get up to 6,000 words when I had 3,000 and saw nothing else to talk about.
And I have a theory that writing a 20+ page novel just pisses most profs off.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:15 pm
JSUVA2012 wrote:Worst grade on the shortest and best grade on the longest. But I've generally done better than the brevity of my exam answers would indicate. I estimate that I've been bottom quarter in verbosity on most exams.
I am very curious as to what everyone was writing to get up to 6,000 words when I had 3,000 and saw nothing else to talk about.
And I have a theory that writing a 20+ page novel just pisses most profs off.
I agree. My longest exam answer was a shade under 3,000 words, and while I may not have gotten everything, there is no way I only got half of what was required. This was a 3 hour exam, and I would guess that a really optimal answer would have been about 4,000 words.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:30 pm
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Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:33 pm
Same herenapolnic wrote:Best grade on shortest.
Re: More musings (and data!) on exam length
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:04 pm
Same. I had one 3 hour final with no word limit that I finished with about 30 minutes to spare (which really worried me at the time), and I got an A. Another final had a very severe word limit and I got an A. Last final I typed feverishly throughout the whole period and got a B+. I felt like I understood the material amongst the classes equally well, but if I had to guess my really long essay was not as well written as the other two tests.Grad_Student wrote:Same herenapolnic wrote:Best grade on shortest.