component such as "define this" or "state that", than do those memory components first.  It is a mental relief to get those memory problems done.  On an exam you want to maximize your score.  A memory question should be the easy part of a written exam.  Don't dwell or get hung up on any memory component that doesn't immediately come to mind.

7. If the exam is a written exam with a relatively small number of problems, then work each problem on a separate sheet of paper.  First, read problem 1.  If you can do it, then write up a solution on a piece of paper.  Gloat for a second as you finish the solution.  Then go on to problem 2.  If you can do it, then do it on a separate piece of paper; otherwise, skip it and go on to the next problem.  Continue in this manner with a separate page for each problem.  There are many reasons why this strategy works.  It saves erasing, crossing out and editing.  If you have to start a problem over, then you don't have to erase something because the page already contains your solution to another problem. Simply toss the old page and start anew.  Psychologically it helps to give closure to a problem and start another on a new piece of paper.

8. Write correct solutions.  This is not a trivial statement.  A student who submits an incorrect solution has provided evidence that she has not learned the material.  Here's something from my own personal experience as a mathematics professor.  There is more to assigning grades than just looking at  points.  On one exam, I had two students who both got a score of 70 points.  I assigned one