The worst thing that could happen in the exam

[billyjackson768]

Not finishing on time. Even if you're a little unsure about something you can still probably bs one mark  or two marks in a three mark question. If you run out of time though it isn't pisdible to do that. You could potentially be missing easy marks.

I write this only because I run out of time on the Physics exam today which I probably shouldn't hsve given how well I was doing to begin with. So I just want to stress the importance of having a plan, keeping to the time and not letting time escape you. As I think it may have for me as bit today after getting caught up on a minor hiccup with a formula, but not worrying about it too much as I thought I was doing well for time.

What's everyones "stratergy" for the ITSD exam?

I'm intending to do C-A-B. Then just roughly split my time based on marks in each section. Should probably try to answer a few multiple choice questions, in reading time, after reading the case study and skimming through the exam. Those case studies take forever to read though.

[availn]

Did SD last year, and I ran out of time. You certainly are on a strict limit, but running out of time is not the worst thing that can happen (I left 5 marks blank, still got a 43). I went through ABC, that was a mistake, I should have left A for last, so I could just tick all the MC when I came short of time.

The worst thing you can do is waste time on a question. I did that way too much, looking over MC for too long. And ugh, that question with the magical "not-very-large" 80GB software some numb-nuts wanted to fit onto a DVD, plus data files, I read that over for 5 minutes trying to figure out what I was misreading, and ended up just leaving that question... just keep moving through the exam, and make sure you attempt the questions you think you can do. Leaving stuff blank to work on questions you're more confident with is fine.

[billyjackson768]

Yeah, I guess I'll try not to freak out to much if I run short on time. Leaving A for last may actually be the best bet given I'm likely to spend time making 100% sure I answer everything correctly when the gut feeling at first glance is more often than not correct. Plus they're only worth 1 mark each so it mightn't hurt to get a couple wrong.

That 80GB program question was ridiculous... At if another one pops up this year at least I'll know to 'just go with it'.

Thanks. I feel more prepared and think I should be alright now.

[Yendall]

I think i'll attempt this exam like I attempted my English exam.

• Skim the question in A and B during reading time, leaving the bulk for the Case Study interpretation
• Complete Section C first while the case study is fresh in my mind
• Proceed to Section B and complete short answers while i'm in a "sentence structuring" mood
• Complete Section A last, attempting the algorithm multi-choice questions first as they are the most time consuming.

If I freak out on the day i'll probably just do ABC in that order, but my plan seems reasonable.

[MJRomeo81]

I also made the mistake of doing ABC last year and it cost me big time. I would allocate 5 minutes to sections A & B in reading time, and use a good 10 minutes to go over that case study. When writing time begins you want to start completing section C. I wasted at least 10 minutes in the 2011 exam reading the case study again during writing time (since you forget the specific details after completing section A & B).

Do MC last for two reasons. 1) You can quickly answer something with one minute to go. 2) The tricky questions require your full attention. I stuffed up on a few last year because I was taking more time than I had planned, and your head starts screaming case study. It's better to approach MC with a calm head at the end of the exam (when you know that the worst case scenario is a 25% guess in comparison to blank responses).