Speaking of getting As

[leviathan]

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I finished my first year with a 3.05 GPA (i think), so I am going to need to do much more work this year to improve that. One of my main problems in first year was not about understanding the material, or memorizing it. What the problem I mostly experienced was forgetting to write on certain aspects when answering a question, or I would word things the wrong way, or other stupid problems that lost me marks. Can anyone relate to this problem, and if so can you give me any tips to answering an exam with what the professors were looking for?

Thanks. 🙂

 

[bewitched1081]

do practice problems and have your professors look them over if possible. sometimes they have tutoring sessions for individual classes. and they are free. i didnt really have that problem but sometimes i would get points docked off for wording or for leaving stuff out. and sometimes the proff just had a wierd way of grading. you just have to pay attn to how you write things and try to write everything about the topic. there have been lots of times that i observed other exam takers scribble answers and turn in their tests while i sat in my seat and wrote and rewrote answers. i dont know if it helped or not but i certainly spent more time than most others correcting and proofreading my answers.

 

[leviathan]

do practice problems and have your proffesors look them over if possible. sometimes they have tutoring sessions for individual classes. and they are free. i didnt really have that problem but sometimes i would get points docked off for wording or for leaving stuff out. and sometimes the proff just had a wierd way of grading. you just have to pay attn to how you write things and try to write everything about the topic. there have been lots of times that i observed other exam takers scribble answers and turn in their tests while i sat in my seat and wrote and rewrote answers. i dont know if it helped or not but i certainly spent more time than most others correcting and proofreading my answers.

Yeah, sometimes I don't even understand where I lost marks. For example, I'm just looking at my final exam for a physiology class I finished last year.

Here is a 3 mark question and my answer that I only received 1 mark for:

"In Diabetes Mellitus, what is the effect of the excess blood glucose on kidney function?

Decreases osmotic gradient driving water out of kidney tubules, this leads to polyuria. Also, GFR of glucose > its tubular maximum therefore glucosuria occurs."

What in the heck was I missing 2 marks for there. 😕

 

[Medikit]

One thing that helped me was when I started paying more attention during lecture. Right now I get so much out of lecture I can practically consider it studying. To do this you must be prepared for lecture. You must do all the reading and be aware about what will be discussed in class. Then you must take very concise notes, this careful note taking will further reinforce you to pay more attention.

 

[Ajay]

One thing that helped me was when I started paying more attention during lecture. Right now I get so much out of lecture I can practically consider it studying. To do this you must be prepared for lecture. You must do all the reading and be aware about what will be discussed in class. Then you must take very concise notes, this careful note taking will further reinforce you to pay more attention.

Good advice.

 

[Medikit]

Good advice.

Probably worth mentioning that I had a lower GPA than the OP's after my sophomore year and I now have a 3.44

 

[meister]

What in the heck was I missing 2 marks for there. 😕

Did you ever consider asking the professor? I always clarify things like that, sometimes it gives you a point or two.

 

[bigbassinbob]

One thing that helped me was when I started paying more attention during lecture. Right now I get so much out of lecture I can practically consider it studying. To do this you must be prepared for lecture. You must do all the reading and be aware about what will be discussed in class. Then you must take very concise notes, this careful note taking will further reinforce you to pay more attention.

I did this same thing myself when I realized I could cut down on cramming for tests and all that junk by just listening and taking good notes in class. For a while, I just went to class and stared at the clock, but this method of "paying attention" seemed to work much better...

 

[leviathan]

Did you ever consider asking the professor? I always clarify things like that, sometimes it gives you a point or two.

There were quite a few questions on my exam whose assigned marks I did not agree with. I took it to my prof and he actually gave me the marks for most of the questions I felt were unfairly corrected. I think I missed that one, though.