Prepare for exams

There are several ways an open book exam can be conducted, and this will depend on your discipline area. It is important to check your Course site for the details for any upcoming exam so that you are clear about the expectations for your school. Details of the permitted reference materials and/or restrictions will be noted on the exam timetable.

On-campus open book exams

This exam is conducted in an on-campus venue, so you will be required to bring any permitted materials to complete your exam. This may include printed textbooks, reference books, lecture/student notes, journals, extracts, or other items specified by your course convenor.

Online open book exams

This exam is conducted via an online environment, most often accessed through your course site. You will be able to use printed textbooks, reference books, lecture/student notes, journals, extracts, as well as electronic files, software, websites and search engines such as Google. There are no restrictions.

Open book with restrictions exams

Your discipline area may place some restrictions on the number and/or type of reference materials that you are able to use.

Open book exams provide an opportunity for you to show your higher-level thinking skills. These include being able to critically analyse and evaluate information, interrogate data and/or findings, synthesise sources to support your ideas, and apply concepts to determine solutions to problems. They test your knowledge competence beyond that of simply memorising information.

Problems related to your specific discipline area may be presented in a variety of question types, for example, scenario based, hypothetical case study or essay.

Open book exams demonstrate your ability to:

• critically analyse the question task/scenario
• quickly locate information relevant to the question topic
• interpret information gathered for relevance to the question task/scenario
• apply specific knowledge to support the response you make
• demonstrate your overall understanding of the topic.

You need to be strategic when studying for an open book exam. It is important to remember that just like other exams, open book exams have a strict time limit. You need to organise yourself, as well as all the materials you wish to have available on the day, in such a way that key information can be accessed as quickly as possible. This requires a lot of preparation beforehand.

Consider including these activities in your study timetable so that you are thoroughly prepared on the day of your exam:

1. Allocate study time to learn the foundational knowledge for the topic. A strong knowledge base means that you can draw on varied information to help you address any problem posed.
2. Clarify your understanding about how different aspects of the topic are linked. Making connections between all aspects of the topic helps you to see the relationships between specific information and how that might relate to any problem posed.
3. Select only the most relevant materials/sources. Focus on quality rather than quantity. The more items you have with you the more time you will use to locate information you need.
4. Become familiar with all materials you have selected to help you with your exam. Locating the information you need, as quickly as possible, will help you create and write your response in a shorter timeframe.

Practise locating key information so you are aware of how much time it will take. Having this knowledge allows you to plan how you will approach your response/s on the day.

Some disciplines will have strict guidelines about how the materials you bring into your open book exam are prepared. Read your course profile carefully and check Learning@Griffith for exam material guidelines before using any of the following suggestions:

1. Mark key areas with labelled, coloured sticky tabs for quick access to specific topics.
2. Annotate materials in advance. On the materials you have selected to take into the exam, write notes using your own words about how you understand the information you are working with.
3. Highlight key information using different colours to draw your attention to specific aspects of the topic. This can help speed up the process of finding information when you are under pressure in the exam.