3 ms·

On a somewhat related note, a piece of advice for students: Don't use an eraser on tests. Write in pen, cross out mistakes with a single line through the middle

On a somewhat related note, a piece of advice for students: Don't use an eraser on tests. Write in pen, cross out mistakes with a single line through the middle. It will show the instructor your reasoning, so even if you get the final answer wrong there's a chance you'll be given partial credit. It won't hurt (as long as you have space) and it can certainly help. Even if you don't get partial credit your instructor may indicate that something you thought was a mistake was the path to the true solution. I used this tactic all through high-school and university, it works well and makes learning from mistakes easier.

thaumasiotes 9y ago
I wrote in pen, and completely blotted out stuff I didn't want. No visibility (hopefully) for what I wanted to erase, but still better than using a pencil and eraser.
todd8 9y ago
I had always used pencil in high school for math, figuring that I would occasionally need to correct or start over on some portion of my work; I graduated in 1969. At MIT, I learned as a freshman from an upperclassman to switch to using a pen. Every minute counted and simply crossing out was much faster than erasing . To this day, I rarely use a pencil. For scratch work I write on typing paper with a pen. While working on more complex problem sets in my recent graduate math and CS courses I developed a couple of additional tricks: (1) Do your home work on plain paper sheets. Write on only one side; flipping sheets of paper back and forth to find something will drive you crazy and slow you down. (2) After obtaining a solution, copy it from the work sheets (that may be full of dead ends) to the sheets to be turned in. Then fold the work papers in half, brining the top edge down to the bottom edge and set aside. This keeps your workspace clean for the next problem while still preserving any work for subsequent parts or problems. I also fold the papers that I will turn in, but I fold them with a vertical fold (left edge over to right edge), this keeps the to be turned in papers from being mixed up with the work in progress or the set aside work sheets that I'm finished with. (3) Papers to be turned in should be lightly tinted and or written in an unusual ink color. This accomplishes two things, it's easier to find your work when returned in a big box or stack by the professor, and secondly, the graders will start to recognize your work. My theory is that in these classes I'm usually at the top of the class the graders will start to grade my papers more charitably because they expect that I am getting the correct answers.

thaumasiotes 9y ago

I wrote in pen, and completely blotted out stuff I didn't want. No visibility (hopefully) for what I wanted to erase, but still better than using a pencil and eraser.

todd8 9y ago

I had always used pencil in high school for math, figuring that I would occasionally need to correct or start over on some portion of my work; I graduated in 1969. At MIT, I learned as a freshman from an upperclassman to switch to using a pen. Every minute counted and simply crossing out was much faster than erasing . To this day, I rarely use a pencil. For scratch work I write on typing paper with a pen. While working on more complex problem sets in my recent graduate math and CS courses I developed a couple of additional tricks: (1) Do your home work on plain paper sheets. Write on only one side; flipping sheets of paper back and forth to find something will drive you crazy and slow you down. (2) After obtaining a solution, copy it from the work sheets (that may be full of dead ends) to the sheets to be turned in. Then fold the work papers in half, brining the top edge down to the bottom edge and set aside. This keeps your workspace clean for the next problem while still preserving any work for subsequent parts or problems. I also fold the papers that I will turn in, but I fold them with a vertical fold (left edge over to right edge), this keeps the to be turned in papers from being mixed up with the work in progress or the set aside work sheets that I'm finished with. (3) Papers to be turned in should be lightly tinted and or written in an unusual ink color. This accomplishes two things, it's easier to find your work when returned in a big box or stack by the professor, and secondly, the graders will start to recognize your work. My theory is that in these classes I'm usually at the top of the class the graders will start to grade my papers more charitably because they expect that I am getting the correct answers.