21-260: Exam Strategy

I just responded to a student email asking about studying for the exam, and what type of exam you can expect. This is what I wrote:

I would say that working through practice problems is the best way to prepare. You should also review your class notes, and especially your graded homework. When you are working problems, keep track of things you need to look up or ask about. Those are things you should focus on as the exam date gets closer (as it is now!)

On the day of the exam, I would recommend taking a couple minutes to read over the whole exam. Sort out which problems look easy, and which look more challenging. Finish the easiest problems first, leaving you more time to think about the harder problems without distractions.

Regarding the makeup of the exam. You can expect 20-25% of the exam to be pretty straightforward, and another 20-25% to be pretty challenging. The rest somewhere in between. There will be some conceptual material, like on the written homeworks, but most of the exam will be more computational.