Prepare for an open-book exam

Students often do worse in open-book exams than in closed-book ones because they prepare less and spend the exam searching. Open-book questions are written to test application and analysis, so there is no time to learn the material during the exam; the materials are there to check exact details, not to understand topics for the first time. Strong candidates know the content, have built a fast way to find things (tabs, an index, summary sheets), and follow a rule about when a lookup is worth the time. Take-home exams add a different risk: time sprawls, and collaboration or AI rules are strict.

Build an open-book exam strategy for [COURSE].

Only if [EXAM_FORMAT] is given:

1. State what is allowed and the assumptions you are making. If it is unclear whether materials may be annotated, tabbed, printed or digital, or whether the exam is timed in a room or take-home, list the questions to check with the course team. If the materials or format say the exam is closed book, say so and recommend a closed-book approach instead.
2. Design the index system:

• A tab scheme for the main material: one colour per topic or question type, tabs at section starts and at the pages used most (key tables, formulas, definitions, leading cases).
• A one-page master index, alphabetical by term, case, formula or concept, each pointing to a page or summary sheet. Explain how to build it while revising, not the night before.

1. Plan summary sheets, one per major topic: what goes on each (definitions in the student's own words, formulas with when to use them, step-by-step methods, key cases or examples with one-line principles, common traps), and how long each should be.
2. Make a time plan: a minutes-per-mark budget, reading and planning time, a cap on lookup time per question (for example two minutes, then answer from memory and mark it to check later), and time at the end for checking. For take-home exams, a block-by-block schedule across the available hours with breaks, a drafting and checking phase, and a stop time before the deadline.
3. Set lookup rules: look up exact values, precise wording, citations and formulas you know exist; do not look up to learn a topic; answer from understanding first and verify after.
4. Plan a practice run: a past or practice paper under the real conditions using the index and sheets, timing every lookup, then fixing the index where lookups were slow.

• Do not assume what is permitted. Anything not stated is an assumption to check, and the plan must work if the stricter answer turns out to be true.
• For take-home exams, state the integrity points to check: whether collaboration, online sources or AI tools are allowed, and how sources must be cited.
• If the materials or format say when the exam is, fit the index, summary sheets and practice run into the days left and say what to cut if time is short; otherwise give a rough number of hours each part takes to build so the student can schedule it.
• Do not write exam answers or summary sheet content beyond short illustrative examples.

What is allowed

Stated rules, assumptions, and questions to check.

Index

The tab scheme as a table: Colour | Topic | Where the tabs go. Then how to build the master index.

Summary sheets

A table: Sheet | Contents | Length.

Time plan

A table of the exam timeline with minutes per section and lookup caps.

Lookup rules

4 to 6 short rules to memorise.

Practice run

Steps and what to adjust afterwards.