Use a calendar to mark out all your assignment due dates and exam dates. [2] X Research source
This is a good opportunity to learn how to do a S. W. O. T. (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis. The SWOT analysis method was designed for businesses, but can easily be adapted to your personal academic situation. [3] X Research source
Ask your teacher if there are any assignments you can do for extra credit. Ask your teacher if you can hand-in any outstanding assignments, even those past the deadline. Or if you can re-do any assignments you did badly on. Ask for help as soon as you know you’re having trouble. Do not wait until the last minute to ask for help, or to ask for things such as extra credit. In most cases it will be too late for you.
Keep in mind that showing this initiative to your parents may help them provide additional support to you in the future. For example, if they see you’re having a lot of trouble with math, they may be able to hire a math tutor to work with you the next semester or during the summer.
Remember that smaller chunks of daily study time are more effective than a huge cram session or two. If you’re in college, you should plan to study 2-3 hours per week for each credit hour you’re enrolled. So, if you’re in a 3-hour history class, you should plan on studying an additional 6-9 hours per week for that class. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is – and it’s what it usually takes to get good grades. [7] X Research source Don’t forget to reward yourself for meeting your goals. These rewards just need to be small things to keep you motivated to move forward day-by-day - such as allowing yourself an hour to watch your favourite TV show, or an hour to play a video game. Save the big rewards for when the semester is done!
Avoid getting distracted during cram sessions. Turn off your phone and the TV. Don’t listen to music with lyrics. You have very limited time, so use it wisely.
Buy yourself an academic calendar or organizer. Review your course syllabi before classes begin. Make sure you have all the materials you need for each course before the start of the semester, if possible. Organize your study space. Research the various ways of getting academic support on your campus (i. e. success centres, writing centres, tutors, etc. ).
At the post-secondary level there are additional benefits to taking one or more classes in the summer term: you can reduce your workload in the fall and winter terms, or reduce the total amount of time you spend in college; some summer programs are offered in other countries or at other colleges, giving you a chance to travel; if you’re aiming to take a specific course with a prerequisite, you can get the pre-req out of the way early.
What did you end up doing differently after deciding to raise your grades? Did any of it work? How much did your grades improved, if at all? What did you find worked really well for you, and what did you find worked really badly for you? Is there anything you’d like to do differently next time? Think about the study methods you took on that really helped and make sure you build them into your permanent repertoire. Think about what didn’t work and why it didn’t work. Maybe you tried to study at home and found it was more distracting than you’d like, etc. Make sure to avoid these items in the future.
Have a separate notebook or binder for each class you’re taking and label them appropriately. Have pens and highlighters of different colours to signify different things in your notes and textbooks. For example, blue might mean examples, whereas yellow means definitions. Turn your cell phone or tablet off while studying. And if you’re not using it, turn the wi-fi off on your computer while studying. Don’t give into the temptation to check your email or text messages!
Keep track of your teachers’ contact information and office hours in a centralized location. Each week review where you are in each course and determine if you need to take advantage of your teacher’s office hours, and if you do, schedule it in. When asking for advice, try to avoid saying things like “What’s important in your class?” or “What do I need to do to get an A?” These suggest that you aren’t actually invested in the class. Instead, ask questions such as “What types of questions do your exams usually focus on? I’d like to know how to improve my note-taking” or “What advice would you give a student who really wants to do well?”
It is advantageous, but not necessary, to have some structure to your study group, such as: a pre-determined meeting time and place, specific study session goals, and an informal leader or moderator. Study group members do not need to be your friends. In fact, it might be better if they weren’t. Getting together with your friends to study might turn into socialization time, which isn’t helpful.
Taking care of yourself also means taking breaks when studying, like getting up and walking around every hour, and rewarding yourself for meeting your study goals.
If you’re interested in hiring a tutor, ask your teacher for recommendations. They’ll know which former students did well in their class and who might be able to help you.
Try reading the material out loud to help it stay in your memory. [12] X Research source Your cat might find molecular biology quite fascinating!
Attending class shows your teachers you’re actually interested in learning. If you need help in the future, they’re usually more willing to help someone who has already shown initiative. If you really want to show initiative, sit in the front of the class. Not only will this make you more visible to your teacher, but the rest of the class will be out-of-sight behind you, hopefully removing any distractions they may cause.
Focus on key items in your notes, such as: dates or timelines, names of people and why they’re important, theories, equations, definitions, pros and cons about a topic debated in class, images/charts/diagrams, example problems. Use a system of shorthand for your note taking if possible. This includes using symbols instead of words (e. g. , “&” instead of “and”), and abbreviating words (e. g. , “approx. ” instead of “approximately”). Make up your own abbreviations if that helps. Don’t worry about your spelling and grammar when taking notes (unless it’s an actual language class teaching spelling and grammar!) - you can correct that later if you need to. Gear your note-taking to the course. Some courses can benefit from highly structured methods such as the Cornell method, while others – such as those that are very discussion-heavy –will benefit from more free-form notes.
Class participation can often turn into a class debate - a teacher’s dream come true! If you disagree with what a classmate has said, you can say so, but be respectful. Don’t turn the debate into an argument.
Finishing writing assignments early is especially important as students often lose points on simple things like spelling, grammar, layout, etc. Plus, if you finish a writing assignment early enough, you may be able to get your teacher, tutor or someone else to review it and provide feedback. [17] X Research source
Check with your teacher or class syllabus before doing outstanding assignments. If the teacher will not accept them, and you’re short on time, it may not be useful to complete them. If the teacher won’t accept late assignments, but you do have the time, use the assignments as practice tests and complete them. Most teachers will provide an answer key you can use to determine how well you did.
Don’t wait until two days before your term ends to ask for extra credit! This suggests that you were lazy all semester and want an easy grade fix. If you’re struggling, ask sooner rather than later. There is a never-ending debate in the academic community regarding “extra credit. ” One side thinks it’s great, the other side thinks it’s bad. [19] X Research source Each of your teachers is probably on one of these two sides, and has a good reason for being there (such as their own past experience). While there’s no harm in asking for extra credit, it is not worth arguing about if your teacher says no.
Make sure you’ve perfected one topic before moving onto the next topic, especially if they’re linked. Most textbooks and classes are set up in such a way that each consecutive chapter/lecture builds on the stuff learned in the previous chapter/lecture. If you haven’t learned the previous material, it’ll be much harder to learn the current material. [21] X Trustworthy Source Edutopia Educational nonprofit organization focused on encouraging and celebrating classroom innovation Go to source Use personal or familiar situations to help you understand the material. [22] X Research source Textbooks (and some teachers) tend to use boring examples when explaining concepts and ideas, but that doesn’t mean you have to. For example, if you’re learning about Newton’s First Law of Motion where it states that “an object in motion continues in motion … unless acted upon by an unbalanced force” try to think of examples where this makes sense for you. Maybe ‘’The Fast and the Furious’’ … the cars will keep travelling until something stops them. (Not the greatest example, but you get the idea!)
For example, have you ever had that situation where a section of a test asks you to choose 4 of the following 6 topics to write an essay about, but you end up writing an essay for ALL 6 topics? This is a clear situation of not reading the instructions, and then losing valuable time doing work you didn’t need to do, possibly at the expense of completing other parts of the test. There is also no reason why you have to do the test in the order it’s written - unless each question builds on the previous one. Look through the entire test first, then start with the easiest questions and work your way to the hardest questions. This will help build your confidence as you write the test. Tests aren’t the only place where you need to follow the instructions precisely. If you’re writing an essay and the teacher asks for double-spaced lines with 12pt Times New Roman font and 1” margins - then DO that. Don’t use single-spaced lines with 10pt Arial font and 1. 5” margins!
