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Exams

What should I study for the exam?

You should skim through the lessons we have done, and make sure you could do the same tasks, such as using styles and tabs, writing formulas, naming ranges, etc. Most people do fairly well on the lab sections of the exam. The tough part is remembering all of the vocabulary from the concepts sections. To study for this, you can look through the summaries at the end of each section in CIYF, and answer the sample questions to see how well you are doing.

Don't worry about memorizing numbers. With computers, they are always changing, anyway.

Focus more on the main idea, rather than the specific names of things. Some of the test questions will ask for names, but you will get credit if you come up with a name that is close, or provide a description.

The diagrams in the text are usually important. Again, don't worry about the details, but you should understand the basic concept being explained in the diagram.

Finally, while the material in Introduction to Computing and The Better Way is incredibly useful, the exams are based mostly on Computers in Your Future, so please adjust your study time accordingly.

Do you have any tips for taking the exam?

The most important thing to remember is to read the question, and answer everything that is asked. Many students lose points by only answering half of a question. Some questions ask you to "describe" three items. For these questions, make sure you do more than simply name the items.

Try not to leave any questions blank. If you can demonstrate a basic familiarity with the topic, you may still receive some points, even if you have not fully answered the question. You cannot receive points for questions that are left blank.  

Good luck!