Open book exams or tests are a different breed. They come with unique benefits and challenges. While you can often use your textbook on these tests, they sometimes seem harder than regular tests.

Open book tests require different strategies than normal class tests. As a result, they require a different kind of studying than regular in-class tests. While they can be challenging, they’re not impossible to beat or impossible to crack.

So how do you prepare? Below are 5 tips to help you crack open book tests!

Expect to write, not recall.

Don’t expect these types of tests to include close-ended questions (e.g. multiple choice, true/false, etc.). Teachers work to make these kinds of tests cheat-proof, which means they’re unlikely to include objective test questions.

College teachers design these tests to make you think on a deeper level. You’re more likely to have to write essays, fill in the blank, or respond to short answer questions. These questions will likely ask you to analyze, examine, contrast, compare, explain, or do some other task that requires more than simply recalling facts and terms. (For test-taking techniques on these kinds of questions, see this post.)

So how do you prepare for these more open-ended questions? Here are a few tips:

• Ramp up in the studying process. You need to give yourself time not only to absorb the course material but also to be able to comprehend the material. Memorizing key terms, dates, etc. the night before won’t help you feel prepared. You need give yourself enough time to recall facts and go a step further—explain their significance.

• Rearrange your notes. Taking notes is a skill (discussed more in this post). Studying with your notes is another skill. Simply reading the notes back to yourself several times or memorizing them line-for-line won’t help you succeed. You need to rearrange the ideas into different formats—paragraphs, charts, etc.—to help yourself comprehend and understand the concepts. Going through this process is actually part of studying.

• Teach yourself or a friend. This probably sounds odd but “teaching” yourself or a friend the test content will help you be able to grasp the material. Additionally, you’ll be able to spot things you really don’t know that well or questions you still have.

Be independent of your textbooks.

While open book tests are “open book,” you should not expect to reference your books or notes throughout the test. Most teachers place limited time on open books tests, which means that if you’re constantly needing to reference your notes or textbook, you’ll waste valuable time.

Work to be so familiar with the key information that you only rarely need to flip open to a page or find a spot in your notes. This will help you be able to spend your time on fine-tuning your answers, instead of scrambling to find a bold term. 

So how can you prepare to be independent of your textbook? Here are a few tips:

• Read your textbook reading as it’s assigned. It’s easy to consistently say “I’ll read that later” but never actually do that. Before you know it, you have a test next class period and you’re way behind on your reading for class. If you keep up with your reading as it comes, you won’t have to sit down and read for hours the night before a test and hope it sticks.

• Review your textbook reading. Re-reading your textbook pages isn’t the same as reviewing. Reviewing your textbook means skimming over the pages, scanning for important terms, concepts, and ideas. Look at headings, bold terms, italics, and concepts you specifically remember your college professor emphasizing in class.

• Mark important pages. If there are charts, terms, or other important pieces of information on specific pages, consider using sticky notes or highlighting the pages. Remember you won’t have extra time for searching the pages, so you need to be able to find key information quickly.

Be aware of specific requirements.

This may seem obvious but don’t assume “open book” means anything goes. Your teacher likely has specific guidelines set in place to guide your test-taking. Don’t make the error of assuming something is fine and then realizing your actions are considered cheating. (Cheating at most colleges is taken incredibly seriously and could result in anything from receiving a zero on an assignment to dismissal from college.)

So how can you identify the specific requirements? Be sure you know each of these details before starting your test.

• The time limit: Check and double-check the time constraints on the test. With the test being an open book test, it isn’t entirely uncommon that your test time will be limited. Additionally while you’re taking the test, be sure to pace yourself so you can get to each question.

• What resources you’re allowed to use: Your teacher should explain (in class or on a course page) what resources you’re allowed to utilize during the test. If, however, they do not, sending an email is absolutely acceptable. (Be extra sure that this information isn’t located somewhere readily available before sending that email to ensure you don’t come across as a lazy student.)

• Which location(s) you’re allowed to use: Check that you’re allowed to be in whatever location. Some teachers may not allow you to use your personal computer and may require you go to the library or computer labs on campus. Your test may have to be proctored in a specific location. Check all these details if they are not already clear.

• Any other special requirements: Your teacher may require you use a lockdown browser or some other specific requirements. You don’t want to start a test without first knowing these details (in case your computer has technical issues). Be sure you are fully aware of all specific requirements before taking your test. When you take the test, you want to be able to focus on the test and only the test.

Create a study guide.

Your teacher may provide study guides for you, but these guides usually provide minimal information like chapter numbers and big concepts included on the test. This information is helpful, but you’ll need to develop more ideas to be truly prepared for an open book test.

So how do you create study guides? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Start with the teacher’s study guide. Copy those concepts into a document or print the study guide. These are keys to guide you, but they’re just starting points. From these concepts, dig deeper and identify terms, dates, and other key components within these ideas. This helps give you a framework to guide your studying.

• Think differently. If your notes are very rigid (e.g. bullet points or Roman numerals), try to think about these concepts in a different format. Use a whiteboard to draw out ideas or create a concept map. Organize key information in a different format to help you visualize and absorb the content.

• Run a study group. Even if this isn’t possible, at least pretend you’re going to run a study group. Consider what material you would cover, what concepts you would explore, what information you would offer to attendees, etc. Prepare as if you’d have to be able to answer questions and explain concepts related to key ideas. This can help you see gaps in your knowledge.

Refuse to cram the night before.

One of the best tips is simply don’t cram. Open book tests are designed to push you to think on a deeper level. You’re unlikely to achieve this if you’re struggling to recall basic facts that you crammed in at 2 a.m. this morning.

Cramming once for a test often leads to cramming again. You can get in a vicious cycle of studying for tests the night before that is hard to dig out of, so at some point you need to make an intentional choice to study ahead. Plan for this to happen, and stick to the plan.

So what does studying ahead look like? Here are a few different ideas to help you plan for studying ahead:

• Study as you go. This practice takes discipline but is very effective. If you review each lecture’s class material at the end of the day, when the test comes your mind has already grasped and digested the test material. All you have left then is to spend a short amount of time reviewing a few days before.

• Complete other homework on the weekends and focus on tests in the week. If you complete reading quizzes or other small assignments over the weekend, during the week you can dedicate your time to bigger things like papers, projects, and tests. This gives you bigger amounts of time to dedicate to these assessments. (This doesn’t work well for some students, so be willing to change if it doesn’t help you.)

• Gradually study in small increments. If you have a test on Friday, on Monday you will spend 20 minutes studying. Tuesday you spend 30 minutes. And so and so forth, until the test day. By Thursday night, you’ve gradually increased your studying time to prepare before the test date. You’ve planned to work ahead and, in turn, have avoided cramming.

Open book exams often feel harder than “regular” exams. Studying well for these kinds of tests isn’t impossible. Using the suggestions in this post, you can confidently face your next open book test knowing you’ve found a system that helps you succeed.