Exams

One of the greatest perks of this job is that I get paid to talk to truly interesting people. During the Big Exam's oral-exam component, in which I first participated last Wednesday, I got to listen to students discourse variously about the birth of binary stars, quantum physics, Markov chains, the history of cryptography, C++, and upcoming vacations in Italy. (Am I the only one who's not going on holiday in Italy, this summer? Gee whiz.)

So I find the oral-exam part of the Big English Exam to be vastly entertaining, like one great Mat-Fyz epic, with a dozen different characters talking about their studies and lives in erudite and detailed ways. For a writer, it's an excellent way to spend an afternoon.

(I'm sure some of you have slightly different feelings about it.)

Some official and previously-mentioned tips for the Big Exam:

1. For the oral exam, you need to bring a specialized text in English, 30 pages long, to discuss and explain. The text should be written at a scholarly level; that is to say, at a non-introductory level. Don't choose a text older than ten years, as it will no doubt contain outdated information. If you have a copy of the text which you've marked with tranlations and/or notes, make sure to bring a clean copy, as well.

2. Bring something to eat. Some examiners begin the orals an hour after the exam ends, around 1:00-1:30 pm. Given that each examiner has 12 students, for fifteen minutes each, your oral exam might not take place until 4:00 pm (for example).

3. Do not be alarmed if your examiner begins oral exams half an hour behind schedule. Take a stroll around the building. Admire our remarkable collection of potted plants, many of which appear to predate the revolution.

4. Study! The exam covers material from your two years' worth of English studies, including the Small Book With the Unpronounceable Title (R.M.). So you no doubt have lots and lots of in-class notes to study from... Right?!

5. Bring your index. No index? No entry to the exam at 9:00 am.

6. Relax. Put your brain to work, and you'll do fine.