Comments on: Exam hand cramp = bouncer on the forearm

By: Adrien

Adrien — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:26:52 +0000

There are good reasons for exams too. technical stuff for example. I did two majors. One was in modern media production so most of it was production work. But the exams were good. Stuff like: How do you shoot and condense a three hour tennis game into a 2.5 minute broadcast.

Gets you work.

One of the best things I ever wrote was an exam on the French revolution. I was the sort who trashed essays ASAP, but that was good I shoulda help on to it.

By: Nanu

Nanu — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:51:54 +0000

Does the painful realisation that you’ve spent too much time at the local pub all year, so much so that there is no chance of hand cramp count as a exam war story?

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:41:30 +0000

I’ve always preferred exams to assignments, in that the pain is over rather more quickly… that said, I wasn’t too pleased on Tuesday when my hand was trying to detach itself from my arm.

It actually blew up the next day - I didn’t realise how bad it was until another postgrad student asked me what I’d done to my hand. I’ve now bought one of those groovy pens that forces you to hold it properly - and several packets of nurofen.

By: Adrien

Adrien — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:23:20 +0000

I dunno about 100% final years exams. I never did one of course. But assignments if the standard is high enough are more like real life. Juggling three or more things at once. Of course you do have to write papers as well don’t you.

I kinda think oral exams are good. But I remember people who had to do that in school and flustered because so nervous. Maybe it’s not fair to them.

By: pete m

pete m — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:24:40 +0000

No hand cramp, but did suffer mind cramp. I got halfway through an answer when
I realised I was writing gibberish. Put a crossed line through it and started again, and did quite well.

Note to self - engage brain, then write. Or speak.

By: Sinclair Davidson

Sinclair Davidson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:04:17 +0000

I used to walk to uni, barefoot through the snow …

Actually we did used to have exams in the university basket ball courts (called Hall 29). In winter it was freezing in there, so in addition to writers cramp (accounting exams were 4 hours long) we had the cold too. (One year I thought my calculator was going to freeze).

By: saint

saint — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:42:14 +0000

Never sat a 3 hour exam? I can’t think of any exam I’ve done under 3 hours. Mind you the thought of three hour essay exams only scares me these days because I hardly write anything by hand these days except for my signature. I may have forgotten how to write.

By: Jacques Chester

Jacques Chester — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:51:20 +0000

When I was a law student at CDU I stumped up the OT reports to prove I have stupid fingers and as a result, I’ve sat law exams with a laptop.

I haven’t done it yet with UWA. Too disorganised and the system for special arrangements is a bit byzantine.

By: John Greenfield

John Greenfield — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:23:51 +0000

What do (and Oxford undergrads) make of that system? There are stacks of Aussie uni courses that have no final exam at all!

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:08:02 +0000

Yep, identical JG. I don’t know of any Oxford course that isn’t assessed on 100% finals.