Making “A” Grade: You Can Do It Too

Lesson 5

I. Scheduling Time Tips

1. Schedule work demanding high concentration, such as reading and taking notes on a text, in 50-minute periods.

2. Schedule 30-minute sessions for memorizing facts, figures, and dates.

Scheduling ….

3. Always allow ample time for library research.

4. Schedule 50-minute sessions to get you through compiling notes and writing an outline for a short (three to six page) paper.

5. Take study breaks.

II. Reading Time Tips

1. Read both for ideas and for details. 2. Make sure you understand how the text is

organized.

3. Look for main ideas, main concepts. 4. Survey the entire text for special interest.

II. Reading …

5. Note how the main ideas are organized. 6. Look for transition statements. 7. Watch for transition words. 8. Underline key ideas as you read 9. Take notes as you read.

II. Reading … 10. Use the 4R method. This translates as :

Read. Recall. Reflect. Review.

Read to: Get an overview; Determine the key ideas; Understand the entire message of the author.

II. Reading … 11. Recall the facts, ideas, thoughts and actions. 12. Reflect on the rational or irrational actions or

behaviors and/or consistency of the writer. 13. Review for further understanding of the text.

III. Note taking Time Tips

1. Take down as much as possible using your own brand of shorthand if necessary.

2. Summarize the major points covered at the end of each lecture.

3. Underline and asterisk to highlight key points.

III. Note taking Time Tips

4. Try to get down at least 20 percent of what is said.

5. Get the facts down right. 6. Use tapes, but only run a tape

recorder in class as a back-up system.

III. Note taking Time Tips 7. Keep one loose-leaf notebook for all

your notes. 8. Compress your notes, using your own

words. 9. Always put the proper date on the

lecture notes. 10. Try using 3 X 5 or 4 X 6 index cards

IV. Listening Time Tips

1. We listen in spurts. We tune in for 30-40 seconds, tune out briefly, and then return.

2. We hear what we expect to hear, which means that all our experiences and beliefs determine what we hear.

IV. Listening Time Tips

3. We do not listen well when we are doing other things at the same time.

4. We listen better when we are actively involved in the process.

Pay special attention during the first 5 and last 5 minutes of class.

Sit up front to be more attentive. Concentrate on the lecturer. Tune out the speaker’s mannerisms, voice quality, appearance, etc.

4. We listen better when we are actively involved in the process.

Listen with your open mind not your emotions.

Be prepared for class. Read and take notes on your assigned chapters prior and after classes. Review all your notes before exams. Think about the subject before you go to class so that you can anticipate what is going to be said.

4. We listen better when we are actively involved in the process.

Listen for ways to relate ideas to previous lectures, text, and personal experiences.

Seek answers to information you don’t understand.

4. We listen better when we are actively involved in the process.

V. Memory Time Tips

Do not study when you are hungry, disorganized, or emotionally upset. Memorize the right information. Identify your alertness patterns. You should know when you study better.

V. Memory Time Tips

Learn to study in your university library. Memorize your lesson for your exam without reading notes, where you get loss, then consult your notes.

V. Memory Time Tips

Don’t be afraid to sleep when you are sleepy, but make sure you finish your reading assignment. Schedule shorter, periodic practice sessions. Plan your first reviews 5-10 minutes after a lecture, if possible. Memorize your notes by writing the important key points and ideas.

V. Memory Time Tips

Memorize your notes by writing the important key points and ideas. Stimulate your other senses. Be creative. Form or join a study group discussion: playing teachers-students inter-actions.

VI. Exam Time Tips

Read all the question first. Answer the easiest questions first. Underline the important facts and key words in each question.

VI. Exam Time Tips

Answer the question your are sure of first.

Don’t spend a lot of time on any one question. Share your time equally for each question unless you have different targeted points for different questions.

VI. Exam Time Tips Time killers to Watch For:

Studying for a test while eating dinner. Studying while straining to hear radio or

watch a TV program. Studying in quiet room or place for good

concentration.

Not understanding what you are studying but continuing to read, write, and/or calculate anyway.

Studying while sleepy.

Studying while laying down on your bed.

VI. Exam Time Tips

VII. Lab Skills

Spend 20-30 minutes preparing for each lab session. Before coming to the lab, note the primary point that the lab session is to illustrate or demonstrate. Outline the steps to be done in the lab.

VII. Lab Skills

List the material you will need for each session. Reserve 10 percent of the time at the beginning and end of the lab for setup and cleanup. Know at the outset if you need to save anything for the next lab.

VII. Lab Skills

Make a flowchart for each step Write down your observations at each step. Get help as soon as you feel lost. Copy your results in an organized form as soon as possible

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

1. Go to class. 2. Take subjects you enjoy. 3. Preview instructors to know how do

they work in the past by asking previous students.

4. Register on time.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

5. Buy the textbook before class begins. 6. Pour it ( read quickly) on the first

two weeks. 7. Never miss a class. 8. Never miss extra credit work.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

9. Practice taking test to improve your performance.

10. Turn in your homework on time, neatly done and edited very carefully.

11. Practice memory strategies. 12. Pay your tuition before classes start so

you won’t be bothered. You can plan your study and your work.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

13. Make sure you receive your final grade for each course. If you fail, immediately see your teacher or the administration office for remedy.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

14. Drop a course if it is not working out after the first week or so. Do not allow to have “W”, Withdraw grade. This may be interpreted by your potential employer that you are not serious about what you are doing.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

15. Buy a pen with an eraser on it and use for

exams. 16. Make what you don’t know instead of what

you do know when you study chapters in your textbooks.

17. Stay fit and eliminate bad habits. 18. Check with your professor during the

semester concerning your grade.

VIII. Twenty Tips for Getting Top Grades

19. When taking exams, write as much as you know for and essay exam because volume does pay. Finish all the questions. Do not get panic for difficult questions. Your classmates have also the same questions.

20. Don’t take that lower-than-hoped-for grade at face value. Therefore, do not skip your lessons. Study all your assignments. Some teachers like some topics more than the others, you can detect from your teachers’ lectures.