Tips on Tests and Reports

When taking an exam, it is better to make an educated guess at a multiple choice question or a true or false question than to leave the answer blank. In a multiple choice situation, you've got a 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 chance of being right--or it might be even better odds if you eliminate the obviously wrong answers first. With true or false questions, it's always 50-50. In either event, it's a possibility of getting the answer correct against a certainty of no points at all. While there may be some kinds of exams where a blank is better than a guess, the tests you take in this class won't be among them.

When doing an assignment, either a photographic shooting assignment or a written assignment, follow the directions. I want to see a solution which reflects what I have asked for. This is practice for the real world where a client will not be happy if you turn in an assignment which has no relationship to what you were asked to do. You can always turn in an additional solution which you think might better illustrate the problem, but solve the problem as asked first.

If I ask you to write about a photographer, I expect to learn something about that photographer. If you are given an image to write about, I expect you to write about that image. As much as I enjoy reading some of the material I have gotten from students about other things, you will not get credit for a report if the report is not on topic.