Plan your time accordingly.
I am assuming that the reference book you are reviewing is Lindeburg’s Mechanical Engineering Review Manual (1400+/- pages) work as many problems as you can.
Gather your reference books (the books you will take with you to the exam) you will take to exam. I recommend Mark’s Mechanical Engineering Handbook, Lindeburg Mechanical Engineering Review manual, ASHRAE’s HVAC Fundamentals Handbook, Shigley’s Mechanical Design and your choice of Thermodynamics, Fluid and Heat-Transfer books.
PhotoRead each of them and MindMap each chapter of the reference books. Make a overall MindMap of each book On each MindMap put the page number of the key point, equation etc.
Along with your reference books Photoread the following pdf files:
DOE Handbooks http://www.eh.doe.gov/techstds/standard/standard.html
o DOE-HDBK-1012 DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow
o DOE-HDBK-1017/1-93 DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Material Science
o DOE-HDBK-1018/1-93 DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Mechanical Science
Engineer on a Disk http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/eod/
o Manufacturing Processes
o Mechanical Engineering
If you have access to www.knovels.com Photoread as many as possible of the mechanical engineering texts. (If you are a member of ASME you have access to knovels. This is one of the best benefits of ASME membership.)
Practice relaxation techniques, you will want to do while studying and during the exam.
Generate ABC list of each topics (do this in both written and audio formats) review you ABC lists as often as possible.
Generate a glossary of key terms do this prior to photoreading and continuously revise and add to you glossary list.
Read and pose questions on www.eng-tips.com . A copious amount of knowledge is freely transferred here.
I passed the Mechanical Engineering exam when it was still essay style and in 2004 I passed the PE exam in Welding Engineering (only given in Ohio, many come from outside the state to take it) (I used Photoreading, memory maps & ABC lists in studying for the exam. I scored the highest in the nation on this exam.).
Vita sine litteris mors est.
Here are some links from past discussions that will give you a clue.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000080.html
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000098.html
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000204.html
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum8/HTML/005197.html
[This message has been edited by WeldingEngineer (edited March 15, 2006).]
[This message has been edited by WeldingEngineer (edited March 15, 2006).]
quote:
Originally posted by hypertext:
( ie, "To absorb key points of this chapter" etc).
That's the weakest purpose statement one could make.
A paradox to begin with. When you say "absorbed" you're already done when you've PhotoRead the book. What more do you want to absorb?
What is the key points of the chapter? If you cannot identify that how will you know when you have "absorbed' it all.
What is the point of knowing the key points of the chapter...answer that and you have your purpose.
Alex
" I want to understand the key points of this chapter so I can achieve a high grade in my engineering exam"
Or should I be more specific in naming the information I need to know out the chapter -- kind of obivious but theres alot of information and most of it is nesscessary for a rounded understanding of the subject.
Second , should I be more specific in the naming of the grade and what else should be added to this?
[This message has been edited by hypertext (edited March 19, 2006).]
What's the point of getting a high grade in an exam? What's the purpose behind that? 
Alex
quote:
What's the point of getting a high grade in an exam?
quote:Self gratification, vanity and above all glory.
What's the purpose behind that?
The Professional Engineering Exam
The lack of preparation for the Professional Engineer’s Examination is the downfall of many brilliant engineers. Through they may have the skills and knowledge but they lack the ability to rapidly access the information without getting flustered and losing confidence.
One must remember that one can sit for the Professional Engineering exams only after an ABET accredited Bachelor degree in Engineering, Passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam and having four (4) years of qualifying experience. Ideally the PE exam does not cover anything that a working engineer should not have already experienced either as an undergraduate or at work. In reality, there are usually some lacunae of knowledge. You need to identify theses gaps and compensate for them during your studies. The amount of knowledge that one will call upon during the exam consists of 4 or 5 years of Engineering classes, 4+ years of professional experiences and a whole multitude of coders and standards. (Some engineering disciplines require that one knows the idiosyncrasies of the relevant codes during the PE exam for example Fire Protection and Structural Engineering).
Therefore, photoreading the manuals, handbooks, monographs, et cetera is to build neural connections to knowledge that generally should already exist, though may not be easily reached. The paramount goal of the use of ABC lists, along with generating a glossary of key terms is to build stronger connections to existing memories. The secondary goal is to build a strong foundations so that new ideas, topics, aka new knowledge can be quickly assimilated and utilized. Having the knowledge but not being able to quickly accesses it or without utilization it is wasteful.
During the PE exam one has, on the average, only six (6) minutes to solve a problem. Accessing the knowledge is key solving the problem quickly. Having good mindmaps with reference page location will assist in this effort. The PE exam is open book open “bound” notes, though one does not have significant amount of time to search
When crafting you purpose for PR, one must ask oneself why you want to be a Professional Engineer? What benefits does it have both short and long term? Are there any immediate financial rewards, bonus, pay raise etc? On a more general level what are your professional and personnel goals? How would passing the PE exam help you to obtain these? What is your burning desire? Reduce it to something you can but on a 3x5 index card, carry it around with you review it often. The preparation and exam is an arduous task and discouragement abounds, you need to keep reminding yourself as to why you want to pass the exam.
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself." - Galileo Galilei. Each day you must make the commitment to reaching your goal, completing your quest, sans true desire the quest is nothing more than a fleeting daydream
The time and effort required to thoroughly prepare for the Professional Engineering exam is enormous. It will put a stain on your personnel and family life, you need to share your goals with your family and get their encouragement and blessing.
Remember the knowledge you gain will be with you for the balance of your years.
Activating a Myriad of Related Reference Texts
Method to activating a myriad of related reference texts: (10 minute review of each text, and 5 minute initial mindmap)
Take your reference books and turn each page over and briefly look at it before moving on to the next. As your eyes sweep across the pages every time something jumps out at you put in one of your bookmarks so that you can explore that section later. The key to this exercise is that you are not reading the book, you are marking items of relevance and you are identifying sections/chapters/graphs/diagrams of interest. Keep to the 10-minute time limit. Make a mindmap of the main points you have identified. Spend only a few minutes on the initial mindmaps.
After mindmapping each reference book individually combine them is into larger or comprehensive mindmaps.
Continuously review and improve the mind map, adding key points, page numbers etc. As you work example problems use your mindmap adding notes, diagraphs, sketches and equations as needed.
Bind all of your Mind Map together for quick reference. Replace the bookmarks, with Post-it-Note flags (if allowed to by the local Engineering Boards) for use during the test, this will reduce in place your search time for the key diagram or graph. (Contact your local licensing board to get their individual rules and regulations. If they do not allow post-it-flag you may have to take them out before the exam or you may be banned from using the text during the exam. You can find a list of licensing boards at www.ncees.org)
Rewards
As mentioned before preparation for this test is an arduous task. As you prepare for the exam, reward yourself by take mini vacations. Do something that is unrelated to the exam material. For example, “As soon as I finish the 4 problems on heat transfer I am going to have a romantic dinner with my wife.” The rewards need not be grand, but you do need to reward yourself.
Constructing your own Problem Solving Methodologies
In general, a Professional Engineer is a professional problem solver, utilizing scientific knowledge and applying it to real world problems. Any task that builds your problem solving skills should be employed throughout your career. Henceforth, as you actively study for the PE exam work on logic problems, solve sudoko puzzles pick up a math book and solve algebra problems in you mind. Your undergraduate degree in engineering has already given you a good problem solving ability, however further developed is always helpful.
Though this free-prose style response is primary about studying for the Principles & Practice Examination in Mechanical Engineering the knowledge and techniques presented can be utilized in many similar situations. Situation where knowledge is required for long-term use and retention rather then short-term regurgitation, as is generally required for school exams.
Preparing for the PE exam means laying the foundations of the Long-term Use and Retention of Engineering Knowledge. The lack of a strong knowledge base will result in a catastrophic failure to reach your quest.
Set goals.
Daily review your goals.
Plan and analysis your road map to reaching your goals.
Following your road map towards reaching your goals.
Have fun and enjoy life.
[This message has been edited by WeldingEngineer (edited March 20, 2006).]
Also, thank you Welding Engineer. Your last post was most educational and geared really well for those of us applying PR to understanding and solving mathematical equations.
I appreciate your thorough explanation and instruction on Purpose statements and Activating for mathematical problem solving. I am currently
photoreading Polya's "How to Solve It", which is geared more towards calculus and physics, but it is a challenging and an interesting read nonetheless.
What I love about this forum, is that it allows one to continue developing greater mastery of PR, after the formal coursework is completed. I am beginning to think there will always be ways to improve further and further. I now am beginning to internally experience what Paul Scheele means when he says "get out beyond the stop signs and respond to life".
quote:
Originally posted by hypertext:
[QUOTE]What's the point of getting a high grade in an exam?
quote:Self gratification, vanity and above all glory.[/QUOTE]
What's the purpose behind that?
If that were a true purpose for you then finding out what you need to know to do exactly that wouldn't be a problem.
However if there is a part of you that says, No matter what I do they still think I can't do it so why bother?" Then you've just shot your purpose in the proverbial foot.
So allow me to echo what the mind is perhaps whispering. And then what? What's really in it for you to make it worth the effort. *THEY* in your opinion don't believe that you can. Is that true? Is it possible it is you who wants to prove that you can? 
dumb question huh? You already said that is the case. The fact is that you can.
What would be a more realistic purpose? One that motivates you where you can see that you are moving toward the goal. There is no way you can see your efforts of passing an exams is moving you closer to proving it to them that you can do it is there? Therefore it makes for zero motivation. Rather look at, why do you want to know what you need to know to pass the exam?
Alex
quote:
If that were a true purpose for you then finding out what you need to know to do exactly that wouldn't be a problem.
quote:OK , I can understand where your coming from but my main problem lies in how to word the sentence . If you could offer me a simple example that would be a help.
Rather look at, why do you want to know what you need to know to pass the exam?
[btw, on the I vs "them" issue: although I was trying to avoid that cliche, to clarify I am not doing this for anybody but myself- I would not give an "other" that much power--so you may ignore that part, but the rest stands to reason ( I do thrive on competition)]
An example of a purpose.
I am reading / learning about. [fill in blank] so I can use this knowledge / skill in my life to [fill in blank]
quote:
So I can beat others and prove to myself and others that i'm not as dumb as I look.
you can achieve your above purpose by.
Running in a race
Entering a beauty pageant
go on a quiz show.
Enter an Idol (or idle if you want) contest.
Play snooker.
Yeah, even read a book.
Question is how would you know when you have won, When you have proven yourself to yourself, (you're always going to be the most difficult taskmaster to yourself so that is an impossible goal.) When you have proven yourself to others. What evidence do you even have you need to prove yourself to others? When are you going to know you're not as "dumb as you look"? (Who wrote the ratings that score you dumb according to your looks anyway )
Your goal is unrealistic therefore you are unable to recognise your purpose.
Why have you chosen to learn what you are studying ... really? What are you going to do with that information in a practical sense in your life?
Alex
quote:
I am reading / learning about. [fill in blank] so I can use this knowledge / skill in my life to [fill in blank]
quote:
Question is how would you know when you have won, When you have proven yourself to yourself, (you're always going to be the most difficult taskmaster to yourself so that is an impossible goal.) When you have proven yourself to others. What evidence do you even have you need to prove yourself to others? When are you going to know you're not as "dumb as you look"? (Who wrote the ratings that score you dumb according to your looks anyway )
I think this step may finally be becoming together-somthings been a gadfly pays off in these cases- its now clear why they have seminars for this stuff.
I've lost count on how often I've given that template with and without examples
Yep persistence pays off. Like finally finding the light switch exactly where you were told you would find it
Good on ya.
Alex