My Best Advice
Just Answer the Damn Questions!
Don't try to "sound academic". Just answer the questions in your own words. In a sense you are better off to forget you ever took a course. Don't try to frame your answer in any particular course content. If we did our job, your answers will reflect your education. If you don't remember a citation, say so -- most of us remember the provisions of a law or theory.
Use Plenty of Examples and Analogies
These may be from your own experience, companies you know, or cases you studied. Most of us can recognize theory easier than we can define it in the abstract. (Try to give me a universal definition of "productivity") If you can apply it, you know it.
Get Organized
Think about what you are going to say before you write. Make a brief outline in the answer booklet. Use a few paragraph headers. Be concise in your arguments. Don't just start writing and hope you'll get there. This usually results in a "core dump". If you haven't started making sense by the second page, the remainder of your answer may not be read.
Just the Gist Will Do
If you review or study, try to reduce the major points of the course to about a page or so. That's typically the level of detail you will need for the comps. Try reviewing the table of contents for the book -- if you haven't sold it.
Some Common Problems
Core Dumps
Some students panic and try to tell the grader everything they know about the subject. Apparently they hope that if they write enough, the answer will be in there somewhere! This is often accompanied by regurgitation from the book. Don't tell us how to do a SWOT analysis, DO A SWOT ANALYSIS! Your answers are supposed reflect mastery of tools not memorization.
Not Answering the Question
Sometimes students don't answer the question that was asked. Occasionally, answers appear to be "canned". As if the student has prepared one answer to Labor Law and he/she is going to use it no matter what. Make sure that you answer all parts of the question - or explain why it can't be answered. People in the real world ask stupid questions. You will have to answer them too. If you are asked for financial ratios, and no numbers are provided in the case, explain what figures would be required for you to answer the question. If you don't quite understand the question, or it is too vague, restate the question you are answering in your own words.
Incomplete Answers
If you can't fill up two handwritten pages on these questions, you don't deserve to pass! If you get hung up try to flesh out your answer with examples or analogies from your own experience or from companies you are familiar with. You are supposed to take the ball and run with it. If you really lock up. Try moving on to some other question.
Writing for a Specific Reader
Our quality control procedures require that a certain sample of tests be sent to other regions for grading. Most instructors have strong opinions, you may or may not agree with them. By all means, go to hell for your own sins! Don't try to make a case for something you don't believe in. Do answer the question in your own words with your own opinions. You will be graded on the strength and lucidity of your argument - not on whether the grader agrees with you.
Misuse of Buzzwords
Admittedly some graders look for the right "buzzwords" . If you don't know them, don't use them. I personally get a little irritated when students don't know the difference between linear regression and linear programming. Some students know 8 or so of the right buzzwords. They will try to use them in every sentence, in virtually every permutation. This is typically interpreted as "I really don't have a clue".
Poor Time Management
Nobody will budget your time for you. No grader expects a dissertation. Give us the six hour answer - not the two day answer. |