Field courses are common in the sciences. But how do you study for a course that contains more hands-on work than lectures? Whether they be day-trips or overnighters, there are several things you can do to maximize your learning in the field.
Find out all you can. Find out about the purposes of the course. Try to find someone who has already been on a similar course and find out what may be in store for you.
Keep a log. Valuable things can be forgotten quickly -- especially when you may do all sorts of new things in a short time. Jot down notes frequently -- just enough to remind you of things you may need to remember -- and things you may wish to follow-up later. Even better, work informally as part of a small group keeping a group log.
Use the occasion to develop skills that employers value. Improve your skills at working with other people. Take any chances to develop leadership skills.
Make notes of things you don't understand. You may not have time to do anything about some of these while on the field, but if you can remember what the questions were, you can find out the answers later.
Find some kindred spirits. A field course is a useful occasion to find some fellow students that you can continue to work productively with later.

Intelligient Guessing

Chances are you are not going to know the answer to every single question on an examination; however, on a short-answer question, you can always take a guess. And if you guess intelligently, you have a decent shot at getting it right. Intelligent guessing means taking advantage of what you do know in order to try to figure out what you don't. It makes much more sense than random guessing.
Guessing on Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
These are the most difficult to make guesses on because you need to furnish the answer; you aren't given a selection of choices as you are on a multiple choice question. You either know the answer or you don't. Try to identify a general theme that the question reflects, and think about the key terms that relate to it. There's a strong chance that one of those terms will be the correct answer.
Guessing on True or False Questions
If you are uncertain about the answer, test the statement by finding specific cases that support or counter it. For example, if the statement asserts that a particular phenomenon is always true, you only need to think of a single case when that statement is not true and the answer will be false. Similarly, if the word "never" or "sometimes" is included, you only need to think of a single case when the statement is true, and it will be false. When you come up with specific cases that support your guess, you can be confident your answer is correct.
Guessing on Multiple Choice Questions
The key to guessing on these is to eliminate as many choices as you can. Examine each choice and see if there is anything incorrect within the answer itself. If the choice can't stand on its own as an accurate statement, then it is probably not a correct answer and you can eliminate it. Watch out for choices that, on their own, are correct and accurate statements; they aren't always the correct answer to the question. Just because a choice is itself an accurate statement doesn't mean it is correct in the context of the question. Once you narrow down the responses to two options, don't spend too much time pondering and evaluating which one is the right choice. Just go with your gut instinct; these first impressions are usually right.

Writing Wrong/Writing Right

The Right on the First Shot Writer:
When the "First Shot" writer sits at her computer to type her essay, she's already spent the last few days conducting research and taking notes so she has a definite idea about what she wants to write. She is confident that her ideas are quite sophisticated and will certainly impress the teacher. Typing up the essay takes about three hours. Certain the essay is excellent, she prints it out and staples it together without reading it again. When she gets it back, she finds she got a C. The teacher had questions about almost every paragraph and seemed to have completely missed her brilliant ideas.
The Over-Researched Writer
The "Over-researcher" spends about a month meticulously researching his essay topic. He takes out scores of books and articles from the library and takes pages of notes on all of them. When he writes his essay, he makes certain to mention and quote from each and every source. However, rather than being impressed by all the research he's done, the teacher observes that there is not a single, original idea in the essay. When the teacher meets with the student, she asks him, "What do you think about this topic?" and the over-research realizes he has no idea.
The Last Minute Brainstorm Writer
The night before an essay is due, the 'Brainstormer" sits at her computer. Off the top of her head, she begins writing. As she works, she thinks of more and more things to say about the topic, and she continues to write them down. After writing several paragraphs, she thinks of something new that relates to her first point. She then writes, "By the way, in reference to my earlier point, I also believe..." and expands upon that point. She then starts writing about something else that occurred to her. She spell-checks the document, prints it out, and turns it in. When she gets it back, the teacher has circled the last sentence of the essay and written: "This is the most powerful and original idea in your essay. You should have started with this point and spent the entire essay addressing this idea. I would have given you an A."
Writing Right: A Step-By-Step Approach

1. Choose a general topic
2. Read, think, percolate
3. Design a thesis statement
4. Conduct research
5. Take notes on sources
6. Jot down your own ideas
7. Organize your notes and plan an attack
8. The three-part essay structure:
   Introduction
   Body
   Conclusion
9. Write the first draft
10. Revise and redraft
11. The final edit