Professors do not give take home exams because they are kind or because they want you to work on the exam for 24 hours straight. Professors give take home exams because they want to read decent exam responses. A take-home exam is tough because it promotes false confidence: it’s easier because I have more time. False. More time for the exam means more time for distractions. I don’t need to study because I have more time. False. You do not have time to study during the exam. What you do have time for is thinking, outlining, writing, and editing.
Also consider the word limits. Professors have set a word limit that is more than enough to write a thorough response. If you are over the limit and find yourself cutting “a” and “the,” you’re missing the point. It is either a substance issue: you’ve addressed issues that aren’t worth mentioning, or a style issue: you are wordy, redundant, and unclear. Chances are, it is a little bit of both. This is where the thinking and outlining part comes in. Don’t skip these steps. Professors expect a well-thought out and well-written exam response. This doesn’t happen during the take-home exam itself. This happens because you prepared for it: you organized your notes, identified potential issues and how to address them, and set up a test environment where you have easy access to all your material and have minimized distractions. Think about what you want to write. Organize what you want to write. Then write. Approach a take home exam as you would an in-class exam: preparation and practice.
(ksk)
