5 Surefire Ways to Get an A+

1.Listen to the Lectures.
2.Don’t be distracted.
3.Summarize the Lessons.
4.Eat a Filling Breakfast.
5.Read the Questions Carefully.

Class is starting. Your palms are sweating. This test is the difference between an A and a B. You need the grade, but you are not overconfident in your amount of preparation. So how did you study? Did you take a measured view of how you could achieve the grade you wanted and then execute the plan. Well if the test is still several days off, and you have time to prepare, here are some reasoned ways to assure yourself that you WILL ace that test.

In almost every teacher is some measured conceit. They believe that the information that they are going to impart is of great import and will greatly affect the success of your life. It is that teacher’s subject and so of course they want to give you the essence that they think you should understand. Therefore, the first tip. Pay attention to the lectures. Even if you are to cool to take notes (and you should take good notes) just actively listening to what the educator says will be somewhat retained. Of you are sitting there and playing footsies with your best bud, you won’t benefit from the tells that are given to you. Some teachers are obvious when they are telling you something important, but all teachers give away what they think you should know. They all get a little excited about essential information. So watch for the excitement when the lecture is given. Listen for the lift in the voice, watch for the smile. Take good notes on what the teacher shows you is important and you will never fail a test. Another good idea is to star those things that the teacher emphasized.

So, how do you study. You took good notes, but you haven’t read over them since you took them. Your favorite show is on tonight, or a great band is on your ipod. Put away all distractions. Don’t listen to the radio, or watch TV or sit in the front room with everyone else. Any distraction lessens the effect of what you are trying to study. Your retention will decrease proportionally with the amount of distraction you are experiencing.

So the distractions are minimized. How do you study. Your brain learns best through repetition. If you take the time to rewrite the notes, or write note cards from them, it helps to engage the long term memory. Something has to be repeated several times for it to be important enough for your long term memory to record it. If there are a lot of notes and not enough time then you can just reread them several times and write down the salient points, and then reread theses several times. But remember the surest way to commit something to memory is to do it over time. The time to study for a big test is not the day before, but the day you took the notes. Read them over every night.

Two final thoughts. Eat a filling breakfast. You don’t want to be too full as this can make you drowsy – a distraction while taking the test. You also don’t wan the distraction of hunger. And finally, read all of the questions carefully. Don’t rush through the test. If you know the material you will have enough time to finish and probably early. But sometimes the professor will try to trick you with ambiguities to see of you really understand the material. Just read each question through once. Then read again before you answer, and finally read it again after you have answered it. Your chances of getting that ace will be greater if you are well prepared and follow this sage advice.