I've talked with a few people in the past week about test-taking strategies. I'm surprised at how few of my students have good test-taking skills. I attribute half of my success in school to good test-taking skills. In school, as in life, half of the battle is knowing just how the game is played.
So for those of you preparing for finals, here are a few test-taking tips I like, some of which are theory-specific:
Here's a good list of test-taking (and preparation) tips for math tests. Many of them apply with little or no modification to music theory.
Other test-taking strategies--music theory or otherwise--are welcome in the "Comments" section. I'll post more in the next few days if I think of them.
So for those of you preparing for finals, here are a few test-taking tips I like, some of which are theory-specific:
Look over the entire test first. Start with the easy questions and get them out of the way first. That should leave you with plenty of time to deal with the difficult problems.
Zero in on the problems with the highest point values. Getting three 20-point questions finished (and correct!) is better than getting fifty one-point questions correct.
Follow the directions carefully. This seems obvious, but I've seen students lose plenty of points because they failed to write a Roman-numeral analysis under their partwriting
Make a checklist that you can study of things that you need to look for. I've been pounding "Raise the leading tone in minor" and "4^-3^ and 7^-8^" into my student's heads. I would study those kinds of things and use them to double-check my work at the end.
Don't be afraid to write things like 664-765-4342 (the inversions of triads and seventh chords) or piano keyboards or other useful things on your paper. That having been said, don't spend 20 minutes drawing sophisticated circle-of-fifths diagrams, etc. on your paper.
Write legibly. If I can't tell the difference between M (for major) and m (for minor), I'm going to mark it wrong. I have many tests to grade and I don't want to spend half an hour trying to decipher your handwriting.
Follow your gut: if you think the next chord should be V, it probably should. If the interval looks like an augmented 7th, but you've never discussed augmented sevenths in class, chances are good that it's not an augmented seventh.
Here's a good list of test-taking (and preparation) tips for math tests. Many of them apply with little or no modification to music theory.
Other test-taking strategies--music theory or otherwise--are welcome in the "Comments" section. I'll post more in the next few days if I think of them.