The Cram

I’ve been in super study mode for the past week.

Although it really didn’t work out for me on Monday night. I love my media ethics class. I really do. The professor is top notch also. Best professor I’ve ever had.

He hinted towards what he would be asking on the exam. I knew this and I still couldn’t figure out a way to approach it.

After cramming, I sat myself down and lo and behold, it was what I expected – a single question dealing with what my opinion was and I needed to back up my opinion.

So far in my academic career, I have mastered the art of regurgitation – memorizing facts and spewing them back onto a piece of paper. No worries there. I can tell you what each Supreme Court case dealt with, what the verdict was, and the main issue to learn from it was.

But I haven’t mastered the art of providing my opinion and backing it up. Lord knows I have an opinion on many issues…but I usually just throw out random tidbits to back up my arguments, not some full blown examples from six Supreme Court cases. Gak.

I froze. I felt sick. I think a tear dropped down my face. Alright, it wasn’t that bad. (no really, it was!) I really didn’t know how I was going to approach it. The fact of the matter was, I didn’t know if I did have an opinion anyhow!

Krista mentioned how it’s not about having an opinion – it’s about finding the knowledge to back up either side of the argument. I will know for next time, that’s for sure.

I wish I would have had a week to work on this exam – I could have put a lot more thought into it. But two hours was all that I had and I have a very bad feeling that the two tests that I aced in the class will be relied on heavily to bring my mark up from the bottomless pit which will be my mark on the exam.

I’m always interested in the markings of exams. I’ve had this feeling before back in college (but not this bad) and I think I did really bad on the exam and in the end I come out with a decent mark. How did that happen? Then I wonder if some Professors go easy on the whole group during exam time because they know they under pressure so they are easy on the marks. I need to find the inside scoop.

Anyhow, I have another exam on Thursday and then I’m a free man for 2 months until the school thing starts up again for me. I haven’t been doing too well in this other class so I am cramming hard for the exam. I think I figured out where I went wrong in the last test so I know how to adjust my studying so I feel confident. Also, it’s multiple choice. What’s the beauty of multiple choice? At least you have an answer no matter what. The catch is, you may choose the wrong one. But it’s way better than leaving a blank sheet.