CAUTION:  Some teachers or professors will disagree with this section.  Make sure that you do not violate any rules or guidelines set by your instructor.

 The reasoning behind acquiring old tests is that you can study all you want, but you can still fail to score enough points to pass the particular exam for which you studied.  How can that happen?  Sometimes, we do not wisely prepare for the exam.  If you knew what kind of exams your professor gave, you would be accomplishing the first step in knowing how to study and how to perform well on an exam.  By examining old tests, you will be able to decipher just what kinds of things you need to know.  You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you do not answer correctly and precisely on your exam paper, the final grade will falsely accuse you of not knowing anything.  This is why you want to consider trying "THE ACQUISITION".

 Here are some ideas about where to receive old tests:

(1) The Obvious - Other students do keep their work. You will almost always find someone who has taken the same class you are taking now.  Most of the time they are very helpful when you ask them politely to either borrow or copy their notes to assist your study time. Ask around, look around, ask anybody and everybody.  Another thing, do not stop at just one set of notes and tests!  Acquire all that you can.  Many times the teacher changes the tests each year to outmaneuver the students' schemes to base their knowledge on old tests.  However, many teachers and professors get tired of continual change.  So, what some of them do is rotate their tests every year where, after a year or two, the same test rolls around again.  That could be helpful, but that does not always happen - DO NOT BANK ON IT!

(2) The Not-So-Obvious - You may be able to get an old copy of a test from your teacher or professor.  It does not hurt to ask.  Let your instructor know that the reason you are asking is to get a feel for exactly what he or she expects from you during the exam.  Different teachers test different ways.  That is why you need to know everything there is to know about taking any particular exam.

The instructor may let you look at an old test to see the format and difficulty that will be presented.  That does not mean that those exact questions will be on the exam, but you will have an idea of what will be expected of you.

(3) The Obvious Overlooked - Is this your second time going through a particular course?  If it is, you can also use your very own dated test papers!  "So what?" if you made a low grade on it!  You can use those old exams to help you study for the next one.  You can use them especially if you are taking the course under the same instructor.

Another reminder - ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WORK!  Do not throw anything away!  Have you ever been in a situation where you wished that you had kept this or saved that?  But at the time, you felt that you would never have to use that information again.  Many are so glad to get out of the classroom that they trash their notes, and some even burn their notes to "get rid of the misery!"  Others throw their notes away because they feel that those old papers will not give them a good grade in the future.  "What good is an ‘F' to me?  Hey, I'll never have a use for that old test score again!" Maybe you will be able to use it; maybe you won.  Sure, much of what you keep will never be used again, BUT at least you will know that you will never be caught off- guard!  Do not let yourself get in a situation where you wished you had done something!

NOTE THIS ALSO:  The more discreet you are about it, the better.  No, it is not illegal to look at old tests taken by former students unless specifically addressed by your instructor or by the institution itself. But there are things that could happen if you announce that you have copies of old tests:

1) People will swarm around you and get great grades for all the work you did;
2) People will blame you for their failure if you give them an old test and the teacher changes the exam without notice;
3) Sometimes, if the instructor is in a bad mood, he or she may think of some way to counteract the distribution of the tests.  Of course, the instructor cannot place a ban on the circulation of collected, old material.  But, the professor could change the whole format of the exam without any warning.  The teacher is not obligated to only one kind of test. He or she could decide on a whim to change everything (even without knowledge of old test circulation).  Always keep that in mind.

"If you were the teacher, what would you do?"  Continue to ask yourself that question in every aspect of your study.  Remember, do not rely solely on the old tests.  Only use them as supplemental tools of preparation.  Using old tests should NOT be a substitute of studying and learning your material!  Use old material as guides, not as replacements!!!! Take the test to do your best!