My first ever midterms. Help me find an appropriate level of stress.

[Mojambo]

Never dealt with this before. Exactly how stressed out should I be here?

Also, any tips on how to outline for an in class essay? Never really had to write an essay under a time restriction and frankly I'm a little bit terrified about it.

I think I have the facts under my belt, but I'm afraid I'm going to get all hung up on structuring it and I'll either get nothing written or what I do get out there will be a scattered mess of dates and facts.

How do you approach these?

My only saving grace is that the absolute knuckhead kids in my class seem vastly less prepared than even I do, so maybe even if I do get something less than ideal written it'll still look great compared to theirs.

[Inchworm]

1. Focus - don't drink a pot of coffee on test day

Eat well and try to sleep good the night before :)

That's all I remember.

Congrats!

:applause:

[Duer 157099]

2. Do you know the exact topic for the essay?

If not, try to guess and then write a practice one in the same time frame, just to see how you do.

Make sure your notes/outline is really well organized so that it's easy to reference. If you do a really good job on the outline, chances are you won't even need to refer to it.

The more prepared you are, the less stress you will feel.

Good luck!

[Mojambo]

3. There are six topics posted. Four will be on the test. One needs to be answered.

So if i outline three of the questions I'm guaranteed to have at least one that I'll have an outline for.

At least that's the way I'm doing it. We don't get to bring the outline with us to the exam.

I'm worried that no matter how good an outline i make I won't be able to remember it when the exam starts.

I may try and take a stab at a practice essay like you suggest. At least that'll show me any glaring holes.

Thanks.

[Duer 157099]

4. Don't worry. If you are prepared, you will do fine. That's the main thing.

The fact that you know what the questions are and can prepare is a HUGE benefit, and so long as you have the time, take advantage of it by being thorough and doing a practice run.

When you hit it out of the park, you will be even more confident next time around.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I know I am older and don't worry like I used to when I was young,

but I just graduated from college ten years ago, so I have dealt with this. Try to keep all stress out of it. By the time you walk in to the test, you cannot do anything more to prepare. It is what it is. As long as you are prepared, you should do fine. When I was first in college (after high school), I stayed up all night cramming. Not smart. Study until a reasonable time to go to sleep, and get a good night's sleep. You will do fine, I can tell by how you discuss what you have already done.

[LaurenG]

6. Don't stress over midterms

wait until the three hour semester finals, then stress...OK, not really.

Just relax and re-read your notes and study anything you have been told will be on the test. Best of luck to you.

[quakerboy]

7. Not very

I have noticed, at least for myself, my scores are(were) directly related to how stressed I get. luckily, I rarely stress. So I generally did well. I have noticed that this is true for others as well. Worry less, do more.

[nolabear]

8. Somewhere about midway between WTF and OMG!

You know if you know it. Eat well, rest well, take two #2 pencils and a snack and knock 'em dead.

[applegrove]

9. I studied hard and did well on exams. I would take notes on the textbook and notes on my class notes

Then I would take notes on those notes. Keep taking notes on notes till you are down to one page. Then memorize the page. Worked for me for economics. I enjoyed taking tests because I was always well prepared and I liked the adrenaline and the challenge.