How to Do Well in Open Book Exams Australia

Open book exams sound like a gift. You can bring your notes, your textbook, maybe a colour-coded summary sheet you stayed up until midnight making. But if you've ever walked out of one feeling like you completely bombed it, you're not alone. Open book assessments consistently catch students off guard — not because the content is harder, but because the entire skill being tested is different. This guide breaks down exactly how to prepare for open book exams at Australian universities, with strategies that actually work.

What Makes Open Book Exams Different (And Harder Than You Think)

An open book exam is any assessment where students are permitted to consult materials — notes, textbooks, or digital resources — during the exam itself. The catch is that most open book exams are specifically designed so that looking things up wastes your time. Lecturers know you have the book. They're not asking you to find information. They're asking you to use it.

Research shows that open book exams at Australian universities typically test higher-order thinking skills — analysis, synthesis, and evaluation — rather than recall. According to Bloom's Taxonomy, these represent the top three levels of cognitive demand. If you're spending your exam flipping through pages, you're already behind.

A 2022 survey conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) found that 72% of university students reported feeling underprepared for open book assessments, despite believing they required less study than closed book exams. That gap between perception and performance is exactly where most students lose marks.

Build a Reference System Before Exam Day

The single biggest mistake students make is treating their notes as a search engine during the exam. By then, it's too late to organise anything. Your materials need to work for you, not make you work harder.

Here's what a strong reference system looks like:

• Create a master index. A single page listing key concepts, page numbers, and which argument or case study supports each major theme.
• Use tabs or bookmarks strategically. For physical books, flag only the pages you're genuinely likely to reference. More tabs means more confusion under pressure.
• Summarise, don't transcribe. Your summary sheets should contain condensed arguments and your own analysis — not copied paragraphs that still need interpreting.
• Organise by question type, not topic. If your exam typically asks you to evaluate policy, compare theories, or apply a framework, structure your notes around those tasks.

Cognitive science research demonstrates that the act of organising material into your own system — rather than passively re-reading — significantly strengthens retrieval pathways in long-term memory. In other words, making good notes still requires deep learning.

Study as If It's Closed Book

This sounds counterintuitive, but it's the most consistent advice given by high-achieving students and academic skills advisers across Australian universities.

You should still memorise core content. Not every detail, but the structural knowledge — key definitions, leading theorists, central arguments, and the logic that connects them. If you walk into an economics exam not knowing what aggregate demand means, no amount of flipping through your notes will help you apply it in time.

Studies consistently find that students who prepare for open book exams using active recall — self-testing, practice questions, and retrieval practice — outperform those who rely on re-reading and highlighting. A 2023 study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology found that students using retrieval-based study methods scored an average of 14 percentage points higher on applied assessment tasks than those using passive review strategies.

Treat your materials as a safety net, not a crutch.

Practise Under Realistic Conditions

Time pressure is the variable most students underestimate. In a standard 90-minute open book exam, the time spent looking something up can easily cost you the time needed to develop a well-reasoned argument.

Practical ways to build exam-ready speed:

• Complete past papers with your notes in front of you, but set a timer. Notice where you slow down.
• Identify your weak spots — the concepts you keep having to look up are the ones to memorise before exam day.
• Simulate the exam environment. If it's in-person, practise at a desk with physical materials. If it's online, replicate your browser/tab setup.

Many Australian universities publish past exams through their library portals — ANU, UniMelb, UNSW, and UQ all have searchable past paper databases. Use them.

Answer the Question Being Asked (Not the One You Prepared For)

Open book exams often have a reputation for tricky, unexpected questions. This is deliberate. Because you have access to information, lecturers can ask more nuanced, context-specific questions that require genuine thinking.

The most common high-stakes mistake: spending 40 minutes writing a brilliant answer to a question that wasn't asked. With your notes beside you, it's tempting to brain-dump everything you know about a topic. Resist it.

Before you write a single word:

1. Read the question twice and identify the command verb (analyse, evaluate, compare, discuss).
2. Note exactly which concepts or cases the question is asking you to address.
3. Draft a one-sentence thesis or central argument before touching your notes.

This approach keeps your answer focused and ensures your reference materials support your argument, rather than driving it.

Know Your Uni's Rules Cold

Open book conditions vary significantly between institutions, faculties, and even individual courses. At some Australian universities, "open book" means printed notes only. At others, it permits laptops. Some online exams allow full internet access; others are proctored with tab-monitoring software.

Getting this wrong can constitute academic misconduct, which carries serious consequences — including potential impacts on your academic record and, for students on HECS-HELP, the courses those fees apply to.

Check your course outline, the exam regulations page on your student portal, and email your unit coordinator if anything is unclear. Don't assume one course's rules apply to another.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do open book exams require less study?

No. Open book exams typically require a different kind of study, not less of it. Because these assessments focus on application and analysis rather than recall, students who under-prepare often perform worse than they would on a standard closed book exam. The expectation is that you already understand the material — your notes are there to support precision, not replace understanding.

What materials should I bring to an open book exam?

Bring only what you'll genuinely use. A concise, well-organised summary document indexed to your key topics is almost always more useful than a full textbook. Avoid bringing everything "just in case" — cognitive overload from too many resources is a real performance risk under timed conditions.

Can I use AI tools to prepare for open book exams?

Yes, and many students find AI-powered study tools particularly useful for generating practice questions, testing comprehension, and identifying gaps in their understanding before an exam. The key is using these tools actively — generating questions and attempting answers — rather than passively reading AI-generated summaries.

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Axiom is built specifically for Australian university students who want to study smarter — use it to generate practice exam questions from your own notes, test your recall before open book assessments, and identify exactly where your understanding needs work. Try Axiom free →