Before you begin
- Add the course and wait for most of its materials to be ready. Practice questions are written from your materials, so the more Polya has read, the better they match your class.
- Optional: upload the exam’s formula sheet and past exams if they aren’t in Canvas or on the course website.
- Optional: have your instructor’s description of what the exam covers, and a few past quiz or homework questions, ready to paste.
Add an exam
1
Open the Study tab
Open the course, then select Study. You see Prepare for an exam.
2
Name the exam and set the date
Under What are you studying for?, enter a name in Exam, like “Final” or “Midterm 2”. Optionally, pick a Date.
3
Paste what it covers
In What it covers, paste your instructor’s announcement or list the chapters. This is optional, but it keeps practice on what matters.
4
Paste example questions
In Example questions, paste a few past quiz or homework questions. This is optional. Practice questions then match how your instructor asks.
5
Add the exam
Select Add exam.The exam’s page opens. Polya has already marked files in the course that look like a formula sheet or a past exam, based on their names.
Mark the formula sheet and past exams
Practice follows your formula sheet’s notation and your past exams’ style. Check that Polya marked the right files.- On the exam’s page, find Formula sheet & past exams.
- To add a file, select + Mark a file. Choose the file in Choose a file…, choose Formula sheet or Past exam, and then select Mark.
- To remove a file from the list, select Unmark next to it.
Build the topic map
1
Suggest topics
On the exam’s page, under Map out this exam, select Suggest topics.Polya shows Reading your course… while it reads your scope note, formula sheet, past exams, and course files. It then lists the topics to study, in order, each with a short summary and its key formulas.
2
Edit the map
The map is yours to change. Select Edit next to Topics, then:
- Rename a topic by editing its name.
- Reorder topics with the up and down arrows.
- Remove a topic with Remove.
3
Add your own topics
In Add a topic, type a topic name, like “Poisson approximation”, and select Add. You can add topics without asking Polya to suggest any.
Practice
You can practice your weakest topics across the whole exam, or one topic at a time.- To practice your weak spots, select Practice my weak spots. Polya starts with the topics you’re shakiest on, then moves to topics you haven’t started.
- To practice one topic, select Practice next to that topic.
1
Read the question
Polya shows one question at a time. A question can have several parts, labeled (a), (b), and so on.If Polya has no unanswered questions left for the topic, it writes new ones. You see Writing new questions from your course materials and checking every answer. This takes about a minute.
2
Answer every part
Each part is one of three types:
- Number: type a number or an expression, like
C(10,3)*0.5^10. Polya shows what an expression works out to as you type, like = 0.1172. - Multiple choice: pick one option.
- Select all that apply: pick every option that’s true. The right answer can be none of them.
3
Read the result and the worked solution
Each part shows Right or Not quite. For a number, Polya shows the answer. For choices, it marks the Correct option and Your pick.Below that, the Worked solution explains the answer with citations to your course materials. Select a citation to open the source.
4
Move on
Select Next question. To skip a question without answering, select Skip for now. To return to the exam page, select ← Topics.
How answers are checked
Polya checks your answer with fixed rules, not with AI, so the same answer always gets the same result.- A number is right if it’s within 1% of the answer.
- A multiple-choice part is right if you picked the correct option.
- A select-all part is right only if you picked exactly the correct options.
How questions are written
Polya writes each question from your course materials and the exam details you gave it. Before showing you a question, Polya checks its answer with fixed rules and solves the question a second, separate time. It keeps the question only when both answers agree. Questions can still have mistakes, so report any that look wrong.Writing expressions
In a number answer, you can use the following:
Use
* between numbers and names, like 2*pi. If Polya can’t work out your expression, it says why under the box, for example Check the parentheses.
Get help with a question
After you answer, you have two options below the worked solution:- Talk it through with Polya → opens the course’s Chat tab with the question and your answer already in the box. Edit it if you like, then send it. Polya chats under the course’s study mode.
- Report a problem with this question lets you say what’s wrong, for example that the answer looks off or that it isn’t on the exam. Add an optional note and select Send report. Polya shows Thanks — this question won’t come up again.
Track your progress
Each topic on the exam page shows a status:
“Recent” means your last six answers on that topic. Below each topic, Polya shows how many questions you’ve answered and your recent accuracy. The top of the exam page shows how many topics are solid and how many questions you’ve answered in total.
Missed questions come back
When you miss a question, it comes back for another try after at least a day, so you practice it after some time has passed. Polya serves missed questions that are due before it writes new ones.Limits
Writing questions and suggesting topics take the most work, so they have daily limits. Answering questions doesn’t.You can’t delete an exam yet. To remove a course’s exams, you’d need to remove the whole course, which also removes its materials and conversations. See Remove a course.
Related
Manage materials
Upload formula sheets and past exams.
Ask questions
Talk through a practice question in chat.