Wanna boost your scores sky-high this year? Yeah, we thought
so. Wow Mom and Dad (and impress Teach, too), with the new-and-improved Y-O-U.
Top of the class? Naturally. Here’s how to do it.
Get the 411
First off, you gotta know what the teacher is lookin’ for in
an A+ student. So pay attention when they’re goin’ over the syllabus. Do they
like a lot of class participation? Or is chewing gum one of their pet peeves?
We’re not sayin’ you gotta be a teacher’s pet, but if you know what you should
be shootin’ for, it’s whole lot easier to snag that A.
Extra credit: Chat up an upperclassmen who’s had this teacher
before. Find out what makes her tick and what kind of behavior she rewards with
bonus points.
Homework—it’s, um,
not optional
Worst phrase ever, we know. But the truth is that homework
really does help you learn the
material, so if you’re doing it faithfully from day one, there’ll be a lot
fewer cramming sessions before tests. You’ll save yourself stress, and learning
things slowly over time will be a lot more effective than trying to shove
everything into your brain the night of a test.
Extra credit: Gonna be out for a day? If you know in advance, get your HW in before you hit the road.
Bare necessities?
Bah!
These may have worked for the animals in The Jungle Book, but they don’t really
cut it in school. Handing in stuff that barely makes the grade will leave your
report card hangin’ by a thread, and that is not how ya wanna start out the year. So whether you’ve got a
project, a paper or a physical fitness test in gym, you need to try your very best.
Even if you aren’t the best, teachers will notice if you’re really putting in
effort, and they’ll reward you for it.
Extra credit: Ask for help before you start to struggle. Can't figure out a word problem in geometry? Approach your teacher after class, when she isn't rushing around, and ask her if you could maybe meet up after school for ten minutes to go over your trouble spots.
Plan perfect
Even if you’re not a planner, ya need to get one because if
you forget to do an assignment, you’re gonna lose precious points. From get-go,
start writing down your homework, your projects and oh yeah, your social life.
That way, you know when you’ll have time to get the work done, and hopefully,
you won’t end up leaving it ‘til the last minute.
Extra credit: Sometimes, extenuating circumstances get the best of even the brightest students. If you know you're going to have trouble completing a certain assignment on time, explain the issue to Teach ahead of time, just to give her a head's up. And even if you get that coveted extension, do your best to turn in your work on time.
Get your study on
You may think you don’t need to study because you already
know all the info and your teacher is totally not strict. Well, think again,
sistah. You should always study at least a little bit for every test because ya
never know when your teach is gonna throw a curveball and leave your grade in
the dust. Sometimes, the “easiest” teachers are actually the hardest because
they don’t demand much in class but then expect you to know all the facts for
the tests. So be safe, and study bit by bit – you’ll thank yourself later.
Extra credit: Do yourself a favor and find out what's on the test--and what format you can expect--before you hit the books. This will help ya zero in on what you really need to brush up on rather than wasting time.
What are your
foolproof straight-A strategies?
BY CARRIE RUPPERT ON 7/25/2012 12:00:00 AM
POSTED IN studying secrets, boost your grades, smart girl secrets, get all A's this year, have the best school year ever, get your act together guide