SUGGESTIONS

• Look at old/previous tests.
• Take old/previous exams at home under examination conditions. In other words, use a clock or watch to time your test (3 hours for all parts), try to set up a "desk situation," and remove distractions, such as telephones, the television, or radio.
• Remove distractions, such as telephones, the television, or radio
• Get a review book. (The preferred book is the one from Barron's Let's Review series.)
• Talk over the answers to questions on these tests with someone else, such as another student in your class or someone at home. It helps to teach the material.
• Finish all your homework assignments.
• Look over classroom exams that your teacher gave during the term.
• Take class notes carefully.
• Practice good study habits. Remove distractions such as telephones, the television, or radio
• Know that there are answers for every question.
• Be aware that the people who made up the Regents exam Want You To Pass.
• Remember that thousands of students over the last few years have taken and passed Regents exams. You can pass too!
• On the night prior to the exam day: lay out all the things you will need, such as clothing, pens, pencils, calculator and I.D. cards.
• Dress comfortably!  This is the time to take your tests and pass, not the time to be a fashion plate.
• Go to bed early. If you are tired, you will not do as well.
• Eat wisely. Being hungry or poor nutrition will not help.  However, being overly full is also not good.
• Try drinking plenty of water. This will keep you from being thirsty and keep you hydrated. Studies that have been done show that you think better when you're highly hydrated. (The brain works on chemical electricity, and water is a good conductor.)
• Bring at least two working pens (full of ink) and pencils (sharpened or mechanical full with graphite) to the exam room. I would bring three of each.
• Bring your favorite good luck charm/jewelry to the exam. A little luck never hurt anyone.
• Get to the testing area early.  This way you can assure that you will be there on time, get to your room, and get yourself settled and comfortable (well as comfortable as possible while taking the test).
• Once you are in the exam room, arrange things, get comfortable, be relaxed, and attend to personal needs (the bathroom).
• Keep your eyes on your own paper; do not let them wander over to anyone else's paper.
• Be polite in making any reasonable requests of the exam room proctor, such as changing your seat or having window shades raised or lowered.

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SUGGESTIONS

• Be familiar with the test directions ahead of time. (To do this, practice old/previous tests.) http://regentsprep.org/Regents/earthsci/earthsci.cfm
• Decide upon the task(s) that you have to complete.
• Know how the test will be graded. (Go to the website here!) http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/scire/regentearth.html
• Know which question or questions are worth the most points.
• Give only the information that is requested.
• Where a choice of questions exists, read all of them and answer only the number requested.
• Underline important words and phrases.
• Ask for assistance from the exam room proctor if you do not understand the directions.
• Don't forget, there are words over pictures, diagrams, and other objects on the test for a reason!  Be sure to read these, because they sometimes provide important information needed to answer the questions.

SUGGESTIONS

• Bring a watch or clock to the test.
• Know how much time is allowed.
• Arrive on time; leave your home earlier than usual.
• Prepare a time schedule and try to stick to it. Remember that Regents exams are longer than classroom tests, so you will need to pace yourself accordingly.
• Answer the easier questions first.
• If you get stuck on a hard question, skip over it for now and go back to it later.  Just be sure to keep the space blank until you answer it.
• Devote more time to the harder questions and to those worth more credit.
• Don't get "hung up" on a question that is proving to be very difficult; go on to another question and return later to the difficult one.
• Ask the exam room proctor for permission to go to the lavatory, if necessary, or if only to "take a break" from sitting in the room.
• Plan to stay in the room for the entire three hours. If you finish early, read over your work - there may be some things that you omitted or that you may wish to add. You also may wish to refine your grammar, spelling, and penmanship.
• Remember, there are no extra points added for finishing early!  Therefore, use your time to get questions right.

SUGGESTIONS

• Assume that you are the teacher grading/evaluating your test paper.
• Answer questions in an orderly sequence.
• Write legibly.
• Answer Free Response questions with complete sentences.
• Proofread your answers prior to submitting your exam paper. Have you answered all the multiple choice and  free response questions?
• Stay away from words like "it" or "they" unless it is extremely obvious what it/they refers to.
• Questions left blank are marked wrong.
• Questions that have answers that are unclear, illegible, or confusing usually get marked wrong.

SUGGESTIONS

• Answer all questions.
• Relate (connect) the question to anything that you studied, wrote in your notebook, or heard your teacher say in class.
• Relate (connect) the question to any film you saw in class, any project you did, or to anything you may have learned from newspapers, magazines, or television.
• Decide whether your answers would be approved by your teacher.
• Look over the entire test to see whether one part of it can help you answer another part.
• Be cautious when changing an answer. Try to remember why you selected the first answer to be sure that the new answer is better.

SUGGESTIONS

• In general, go with your first answer choice.
• Eliminate obvious incorrect choices.
• If you are still unsure of an answer, make an educated guess.
• There is no penalty for guessing; therefore, answer ALL questions. An omitted answer gets no credit.  In other words, if you leave it blank, it is guaranteed to be wrong, but if you guess, you have at least some chance of getting it correct.  This applies to the free response parts as well as the multiple choice questions.

Let's now review the six GENERAL HELPFUL TIPS for short-answer questions:

Almost all of these instructions came from The Baron's Regents Review Website at: http://www.barronsregents.com/regents.html.

But I added some stuff.