Exam Reference Sheets
Exam Reference Sheet Rules and Guidelines
Not every professor or instructor has permitted the use of a reference sheet for their exam. It is up to you to check with your professor/instructor to determine if you are allowed a reference sheet and what form that reference sheet must have.
For the coding portion of exams, you will be allowed a Reference Sheet, which you will create yourself and submit to me BEFORE the exam (I will post information regarding when/where in exam review documents/instructions). The Reference Sheet will then be given to you at the start of the coding portion of your exam.
Reference Sheet Guidelines
Reference sheets are hand written and must be submitted as a hard copy. No other formats will be accepted (see next section).
You must submit your reference sheet for approval. All reference sheets are due before the scheduled exam, on the date/time specified by the professor/instructor. If your reference sheet is approved, it will be given to you at the start of the coding portion of the exam.
All reference sheets must be returned to the professor/instructor along with the exam. Any exam submitted without the reference sheet will be automatically assigned a 0 grade.
- The reference sheet MUST BE HANDWRITTEN on a SINGLE SHEET OF 8.5 x 11 BOND PAPER (bond paper is the kind of paper you'd put into a printer - it's much sturdier and better for double-sided notes; you could tear a sheet out of a lined/blank notebook if you like, but it's harder to read when it's got writing on both sides, it's up to you).
- Make sure you WRITE YOUR NAME in the UPPER RIGHT CORNER of the page
(with the page in PORTRAIT, not landscape).
- If you don't follow this instruction, I will write your name in the correct spot with a black marker, which may obscure any content you've written in that spot!!
- Make sure that the top-left corner of your reference
sheet is blank (about 2cm x 2cm) - this is where I will write your
seating assignment number.
- If you don't follow this instruction, I will write your seat number in the correct spot with a black marker, which may obscure any content you've written in that spot!!
- All content must be original only - no photocopies or other reproductions
- You may use both sides of the paper.
- You are expected to prepare your own INDIVIDUAL reference sheet.
- From previous experience, some students have indicated that group discussions PRIOR TO PREPARATION (NOT DURING) of these sheets have been extremely helpful. Note that you are not preparing the sheet as a group!!! So don't copy someone else's material - create YOUR OWN!
Reference sheets that violate any of the above will not be approved by the professor and will not be allowed in the exam.
Preparing Your Reference Sheet
The preparation of your reference sheet assists you in developing key skills such as analysis and decision making in the face of ambiguity (de la Cruz, McKindsey, Hoffman, & Lander, 1991)
You learn more when you actively pursue learning and when you use repetition and reinforcement. Preparing the reference sheet helps you to focus, prioritize, condense knowledge, and apply the content you learn.
Use the reference sheet as a memory aid or a trigger.
Use your own notes that you have made during classes, the study notes, instructor's notes and the quizzes to help you identify what the learning objectives are and what material you need to focus on. This can include short segments of code, terms/definitions, diagrams, lists of commands/tags/properties/values/attributes/etc.