Get Support
At crunch time, it helps to have someone to coach, cheerlead, and yes, nag you. Who’s your nag of choice?
• Your mom or dad
• Your brother, sister, uncle, etc.
• A nice kid in your class who knows the stuff but isn’t such a genius that she’d have a hard time explaining things in plain English.
• A tutor. Ask the teacher if he can work with you after school. If not, ask if he can recommend someone. Tutors can make a big difference.
If You’re Too Upset to Do Schoolwork
Your parents are fighting, your best friend is telling lies about you, you’re going through another bout of thinking you’re ugly. Whatever the reason, you’re feeling too upset to think about schoolwork.
• First, try to fight through it. You may think you’re too depressed or anxious to concentrate on quadratic equations but if you just get started, you may find that the schoolwork distracts you. Get it done and you’ll probably feel better - you’ll have taken control over your life. Getting good grades is a step toward a better life. Don’t do it and you’ll have one more reason to feel miserable.
• Nip your worrying in the bud. The moment you catch yourself beginning to worry, decide whether you can do anything about your problem now. If not, turn your attention back to your schoolwork. If you don’t nip your worry in the bud, it tends to snowball into such a big worry that there’s no way you’ll be able to concentrate on schoolwork.
• If those techniques don’t work, it may be time to talk to a counselor or someone else you trust.
• Get started early. You'll be less stressed, you'll learn more, and crazy as it may sound, you may actually enjoy studying. Cramming is never fun. It’s just an adrenaline-powered frenzy session likely to result in a so-so grade, and, seven seconds after the exam, your forgetting 90% of what you crammed.
• Maintain perspective. Yes, you want good grades, and yes they matter, but there are plenty of C students with better lives than many A students. In the end, your life will probably be no worse if you get a B rather than an A in World History.
• One more secret: Your parents or teachers probably won’t tell you this, but the truth is that many FINE colleges will admit you with so-so grades.
Showing posts with label final exam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label final exam. Show all posts
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
How to Get Better Grades – Part 4 of 5
The Final is THIS Period - 3 Tips for Successful Test Taking:
• Have you ever written four essays and discovered later that the instructions said, “Choose three of four”? The easiest way to boost your test score is to read the directions and questions carefully. If you’re not sure of what’s being asked, don’t be afraid to ask the teacher.
• On essay tests, first read all the questions, then begin with the easiest one and work your way up. Why? Because if you don’t have time to finish, the hardest essay will be left undone. Also, doing easier essays builds confidence and may even trigger thoughts on the hard ones.
• When I was in school, our biology teacher told us that on a multiple-choice test, when you’re absolutely stuck between two choices, choose a middle response (for example, choice “C”) because test makers tend to hide the correct answer in the middle. I’m not sure he’s right, but I always followed his advice whenever two choices looked equally good. It just felt better to have some way of choosing. It’s certainly better than leaving it blank.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
How to Get Better Grades – Part 3 of 5
The Final’s Coming Up! Top 9 Ways to Study the Right Thing and Remember it:
9. Ask the teacher what to focus on in studying for the test. I like this wording: “Any suggestions as to the wisest approach to studying for the exam?”
8. Ever read something for ten minutes and then realize you don’t remember a single thing you read? Here's a sure-fire preventative. Read only one paragraph, then turn away and recite what you remember. If you've left out something important, say it aloud and, in the margin, bracket that part so you can reread it just before the test.
7. Even easier, when you feel yourself spacing out, read the important stuff aloud. It’s hard to space out while reading aloud. Also you’ll remember it better because reading aloud makes you go slowly and because it enables you to hear your voice at the same time as you’re seeing the words.
6. If you don’t understand a section, reread it only once. If you still don’t understand it, just mark it with a question mark and go on. Staying stuck is frustrating. When you’ve finished reading, call a friend (poll the audience, or 50/50) or ask the teacher about your question marks.
5. Pace the floor while studying hard stuff. Walking increases circulation to the brain.
4. Use different highlighters for different stuff. Try bright orange for the material most likely to be on the exam and yellow for other stuff worth highlighting. Not only does this keep you awake, the color is a memory jogger. Rule of Thumb: Never highlight more than 1/3 of the material. A totally yellow book isn’t going to help you.
3. For memorization tests, make flash cards. So, for example, if you’ll need to memorize the symbols in the Periodic Table of the Elements, write, for example, gold, on one side of the card and AU (the symbol), on the back. Just in making the flashcards, you’ll be learning the stuff.
2. Meet with one, two or three study partners. Take turns asking your partner(s) questions you think could be on the test. But choose your study partners carefully. I remember a study group in which we spent most of the time fooling around or helping the girl who didn’t prepare for the study group.
1. Create a pretend crib sheet. Imagine that the teacher allowed you to bring one sheet of paper of notes into the exam. What would you write? (small handwriting permitted.) Right before the exam, study just that sheet.
TIP: Sometimes, location matters. Can't study in that madhouse you call your home? How about the library? A cafe? Your friend's house - yeah, right.
TIP: Music on or off? Shania Twain can, for some kids, be an excellent study buddy. For other kids, Shania will get you groovin' but not on Algebra 2. How about you?
TIP: Need a loving taskmaster? Sometimes, knowing you have to check in daily with your tough-love Aunt Edna can help you toe the line.
TIP: don’t get stuck on playing online games or checking your social network sites. That will all be there tomorrow. It can be a huge distraction that can cause you to sit down at the computer and not realize that 3 or 4 hours just went by.
9. Ask the teacher what to focus on in studying for the test. I like this wording: “Any suggestions as to the wisest approach to studying for the exam?”
8. Ever read something for ten minutes and then realize you don’t remember a single thing you read? Here's a sure-fire preventative. Read only one paragraph, then turn away and recite what you remember. If you've left out something important, say it aloud and, in the margin, bracket that part so you can reread it just before the test.
7. Even easier, when you feel yourself spacing out, read the important stuff aloud. It’s hard to space out while reading aloud. Also you’ll remember it better because reading aloud makes you go slowly and because it enables you to hear your voice at the same time as you’re seeing the words.
6. If you don’t understand a section, reread it only once. If you still don’t understand it, just mark it with a question mark and go on. Staying stuck is frustrating. When you’ve finished reading, call a friend (poll the audience, or 50/50) or ask the teacher about your question marks.
5. Pace the floor while studying hard stuff. Walking increases circulation to the brain.
4. Use different highlighters for different stuff. Try bright orange for the material most likely to be on the exam and yellow for other stuff worth highlighting. Not only does this keep you awake, the color is a memory jogger. Rule of Thumb: Never highlight more than 1/3 of the material. A totally yellow book isn’t going to help you.
3. For memorization tests, make flash cards. So, for example, if you’ll need to memorize the symbols in the Periodic Table of the Elements, write, for example, gold, on one side of the card and AU (the symbol), on the back. Just in making the flashcards, you’ll be learning the stuff.
2. Meet with one, two or three study partners. Take turns asking your partner(s) questions you think could be on the test. But choose your study partners carefully. I remember a study group in which we spent most of the time fooling around or helping the girl who didn’t prepare for the study group.
1. Create a pretend crib sheet. Imagine that the teacher allowed you to bring one sheet of paper of notes into the exam. What would you write? (small handwriting permitted.) Right before the exam, study just that sheet.
TIP: Sometimes, location matters. Can't study in that madhouse you call your home? How about the library? A cafe? Your friend's house - yeah, right.
TIP: Music on or off? Shania Twain can, for some kids, be an excellent study buddy. For other kids, Shania will get you groovin' but not on Algebra 2. How about you?
TIP: Need a loving taskmaster? Sometimes, knowing you have to check in daily with your tough-love Aunt Edna can help you toe the line.
TIP: don’t get stuck on playing online games or checking your social network sites. That will all be there tomorrow. It can be a huge distraction that can cause you to sit down at the computer and not realize that 3 or 4 hours just went by.
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