I used to put “read the instructions” tricks in my exams (such as “the answer to problem 6b is 42”), but at some point I grew up and realized that that kind of thing centers the professor, and doesn’t really advance the main goal of an exam, which is to evaluate what the student has learned in the class.
It may not be the point of an exam to test general life skills, but “read the instructions” (or the related “answer the question that was asked”) is a hugely important piece of advice in many contexts that too many people skip. I’m a lawyer and it comes up all the time in the legal context - are you being deposed? Answer the question that was asked. Are you participating in some sort of consultation process? Answer the question that was asked. But even outside of the strictly legal stuff, it’s not uncommon for me to ask someone a question in email and get back two pages of text which does not actually address the question that I asked.
So yeah, maybe it feels a bit tricksy and isn’t the point of an exam, but I do think “read the instructions” is a valuable skill that too many people lack.
As someone who spent too long in school, I do super appreciate you trying to center the students though.
