Read the following case studies that accompany Essential Study Skills, 5e, Chapter 12. These case studies appear only online; they are not available in your textbook. Type your response to each case study. After you have completed this exercise, you can either PRINT your responses or EMAIL them to your instructor.

Sandy has finally mastered the techniques to do well on objective tests. However, every time an instructor has recall questions she does poorly. Her answers are always too short and lack details. She goes blank when she needs to recall specific words to use to complete the fill-in-the blank sentences. A friend explained to her that objective tests seem easier because they are written on the recognition level which doesn't require that she retrieve as much information from her memory. She needs to add more to her test preparation strategies to be better prepared for recall questions. What specific strategies would help Sandy be better prepared?



Latisha works hard to do well in her classes. She has regular attendance, completes reading assignments on time, and takes excellent notes in class. Every time she has a test returned to her, she kicks herself for the mistakes she makes. Many times recall questions are left half-answered because she can't recall the rest of the information. Sometimes she remembers the rest of the answers as soon as she walks out of the classroom. Other times she reviews her tests and sees pertinent information in the test that were clues for some of the missing answers. Discuss the techniques Latisha could use to reduce or eliminate the kinds of errors she is making.



Randall has a sharp mind and tends to use it mainly for rote memory. Since rote memory has worked effectively in the past, he doesn't feel the need to use elaborative rehearsal. Rote memorization for him is short, sweet, and get the job done. This term, however, he has a teacher that does not test on fixed lists or definitions of terms. Instead, the teacher uses numerous open ended questions that require students to pull information together from a variety of chapters and sources. Randall's test results in the this class are lowering his overall GPA. He actually fears that he may not pass the class. What are some strategies Randall can use to move away from rote memory and studying information in its exact form from the book?



In Matt's business class, many of the tests require students to define terminology specific to the topics in the textbook. He knows what the words or concepts means. He write a "textbook perfect" definition for each term. However, the definition questions are usually worth five points. Apparently, he one sentence textbook definition answer is not sufficient to receive all five points. Matt wants a model or a "formula" he can use to earn all five points for definition questions. What are some ways Matt can write more comprehensive definitions?