Landscape Architecture Resource

Last week I wrote Section E, the graphic exam for grading, drainage, and storm water management. That's two down and three more exams to go before I become a fully-accredited landscape architect.

Here's what I learned about how to pass the exam. These hints and advice came from a workshop I attended that was hosted by my local association (OALA) and I highly recommend attending a workshop or study session such as this if you can. This advice is now tried, tested, and proven. Anything that helped you pass is likely to benefit future landscape architecture candidates, so why not pass it on?

• prepare yourself
  • know the material. You should know this stuff from your time in school anyway, so it should all be review. Personally, I wish I had written the grading part after first year of studio when it was all fresh in my mind and not muddied my real world applications.
  • If you're still in school, soak it up. Do the extra readings. Ask lots of questions.
• practice
  • do as many practice problems as you can find. These not only refresh your skills, but help train you to think in the way that the LARE graphic problems are structured.
• it's only a vignette
  • the questions you will encounter on the exam are NOT real world applications. They are carefully crafted vignettes. CLARB creates these vignettes to test certain skill sets. There are one or two skills tested in each question. The problems are designed in a way that forces you to make decisions which demonstrate knowledge. There is only one or two right answers, and the tests are marked using overlays. So don't get creative, you're not being marked for design intent or ingenuity here.
• read every word
  • every word in the exam question statement and every line in the question drawing are there for a reason.
  • they are forcing you to make certain decisions, take the hint.
  • when you think you are done a question, go through the problem statement and make sure you've met each requirement.
• take it step by step
  • look at the drawing and reason step-by-step from the information that is given to answer as many parts of the question as possible.
  • work from known information, then the easy calculations, then fill in what's left.
  • when CLARB gives you a minimum & maximum slope or distance, pick one and use it. You'll almost never get a right answer by picking a number in the middle.
• work quickly but thoroughly
  • don't be too sloppy or random, but work quickly. If you follow analytically through the steps of the problem, you'll arrive at the right answer without missing a major piece of information that will require you to erase half the page or start over. And there's really not a lot of extra time for messing about.

Much of the above is explained in greater depth in Everything You Need to Know About the LARE. I found it helpful to read, but the price was a bit steep. I'd recommend pooling together with your study group or co-workers for a shared copy. You can also check your local association or public library.

Good luck!