Open-book exams should be easy, right? After all, your books and notes should contain all the information needed to answer questions and solve problems.
On the contrary, those with experience will testify that open-book exams are not easy at all. This is often because students take for granted that they have all that they need right in front of them.
Will open-book exams be the norm in the future?
The Covid-19 pandemic led many institutions to introduce online lectures and exams, inevitably making open-book exams more common.
They are already practised in many institutions.
Open-book exams are often harder than conventional exams as they require students to really understand the subject and be able to analyse the information rather than just memorise it.
Hence, students must study and get organised since they won’t be able to just regurgitate information.
Students must know which chapter the question is referring to and which part or section of that chapter to refer to.
Since time is of the essence, students must use it wisely to look for relevant information as quickly as possible. Students will need to be very familiar with the basic outline and content of the materials allowed into the exam hall.
Open-book exams give no credit for factual recall. All the marks are for analysis and justification of conclusions the students arrive at. This is what makes open-book exams so tough.
Most people may find thinking a much harder pursuit than remembering.
The questions are set in such a way that any possible advantage is largely eliminated. Students can look things up in the book but the questions demand details.
Students also need to know the general format of the exam. Open book exams can either be multiple-choice, problem-solving, essay-based or a combination of them all.
Thus, students will need to know how much time they have to spend on each section in the exam and to allocate enough time for each question.
Students may have the perception that open-book exams require less preparation as compared to closed-book exams but this is definitely not the case.
In open-book exams, students have to compare, analyse, evaluate or synthesise information given in a chapter, section, topic or case.
These methods demonstrate students’ ability to apply knowledge from relevant chapters or cases at a more challenging level, rather than just recalling facts.
This requires students to know their materials well and be able to see the sequence clearly.
Students must be selective in what they have available, and whatever they decide to use or bring as reference material needs to be organised.
The more students have, the more they tend to look through to find what they need and to prioritise them. This can be even more confusing!
Though having lots of notes can be helpful, it is better to read and understand the questions to identify the main themes, topics and important information required first before diving into all the materials you have.
Once students have a sense of all the questions, start by answering those that are more familiar before moving on to the more difficult ones that require the use of reference materials.
Sometimes, with open-book exams, students might be tempted to keep adding more information by repeatedly checking their answers, which is time-consuming.
It is crucial to be thorough, accurate and concise.
A final piece of advice, even if your exam is open-book, you should still study beforehand.
DR ARZMI YAACOB
Ex-academic
