How To Become A Straight-A Student

Part 1: Study Basics

• Not about number of avalaiable hours, but how you use each hour
  • Pseudo-worker: spends long time in library, but not focus.
    • This is mentally draining. Try to complete work fast with minimal effort
• Compress into focused bursts (work done = time spent * focus intensity)
• Requirements: control lifestyle, overcome procrastination and choose right locations

Manage Time in 5 Mins. A Day

• Basic steps: keep calendar and to-do list and transfer back and forth.
  • If non-important or no heavy concentration needed, schedule later at non-busy time
  • Move uncompleted tasks to new dates
  • Use time blocks for daily tasks and group errands
  • Give time for breaks and be finished before bed
  • Be pessimistic as time plans change
• Use list during the day
  • Adjust time labels to account for uncertaininty
  • Need to put down reminders —> good for focus and enjoyment
    • Don’t have to schedule entire plan. Put note to schedule and schedule later
  • Can use this in periods of neglect by dumping deadlines as soon as you come back

Declare War on Procrastination

• Urge to procrastinate is always there so learn how to sidestep
• Battle plan No. 1: Work progress journal
  • Note down tasks and say either all completed or provide explanation why not everything is completed
  • Analyze these reasons later and use it to improve yourself
• Battle Plan No. 2: Feed the Machine
  • Maximize mental energy to reduce the probability of procrastinating
  • Drink water and choose healthy meals
• Battle Plan No. 3: Make an event out of the worst tasks
  • Go somewhere else like a cafe to do the most dreaded work
• Battle Plan No. 4: Make a Routine
  • Do same event on same reserved time slot
• Battle Plan No. 5: Choose your hard days
  • Schedule grind days when bunch of deadlines are comping up
  • Temper with non-academic things before and after grind
• Use peer pressure in all plans to force you and stay accountable.

Choose When, Where and How Long

• When: do things early
  • Evenings are not ideal as lots of distractions
  • Do work in middle of class/transition periods and dont distract yourself by going to public places
• Where: in isolation:
  • Rotate between hidden spots (not dorm/library)
  • Must shield yourself from distraction
• Length: less than 1 hour without break
  • Break: 5- 10 mins and do something that is not related to work (novel, newspaper, project, emails, etc.)

Part 2: Quizzes and Exams

• Rote review is essentially pseudo work
• Don’t spend too much time studying for quizzes

Take Smart Notes

• Always go to class
• Online note taking is fine unless it is a STEM course
• Have a folder for each class and save everything
• Non-tech coursers: identify the big ideas
  • Format notes in a way that makes it more understable
  • Write in Question/Evidence/Conclusion format
    • Can format notes like this later, esp. right after class
    • Ask questions to elcudiate this structure
  • Discussions: write topic and insightful points that others/you have said
    • Pay close attention to what the prof says
• Technical courses:
  • Record as many sample problems and deatil explanations
  • Reading only necessary if you dont understand after the rpof says it. Bring it to class and follow along
  • Priority queue:
    • Write question and answer
    • Note any confusing steps and ask
    • Record steps
    • Annotate why you did the steps above

Demote Assignments

• Split up assignments over time (ex: 1 problem/day for problem set)
• Get ahead if you have time, especially during calms in storm
• Don’t do all the readings
  • Read sources that often comes in course/prof talks about it/focus of lecture
  • Argument reading > description reading > context reading
  • Schedule non-important readings later
  • Reading notes: do same question/evidence/conclusion format
    • Skim reading and note places of good evidence
• Problem sets
  • Set schedule of days to look over set (2 days before deadline)
  • Use office hours, even if you have solved it
  • Use diffuse thinking if problem is very difficult
  • Do it properly first time around

Marshall Resources

• Studying for test shouldn’t be hard
• Define the challenge: understand what you will be tested on
• Study guides:
  • Non technical: print out relevent notes and cluster by topic
  • Technical: add lecture problems with problem sets
    • Add basic technical explanation questions
    • Print practice exams and use it
• Flash cards for memorization
• Don’t organize and study on the same day

Conquer the Material

• First review concept then explain in own words
• Non technical: make practice quizzes for each cluster
  • Answer question out loud and write. Not in head
  • Focus on hard questions
• Technical: do same with technical explanation (‘Explain _ and why __’) but solve each problem independently
  • Dont use algebra, just pseudo-steps
  • Star problems with difficulty and review again after break
  • DO practice exam at end and review tough questions
  • If labs were tough, review again
• Memorization: use flash cards but spread out use

Invest in ‘Academic Disaster Insurance’

• Prevent bad exams by clarifying everything, especially difficult problems/steps before exam
  • Ask questions during/after class or ask classmates
  • Go to exam review sessions and get doubts cleared

Provide ‘A+’ Answers

• Strategy No. 1: Review First, Answer Later
  • Read over questions and note difficult ones
• Strategy No. 2: Time Budget
  • Lay down time limits for section ( (time - 10) / no. q)
• Strategy No. 3: Go from easy to hard questions
• Strategy No. 4: Outline essays
  • Find actual prompt and recall answers to answer prompts
• Strategy No. 5: Use all remaining time to check. Do not leave until extremely confident
• Strategy No. 6: If you have lots of time to check, check how every other answer is wrong (MC)

Part 4: Essays and Papers

• Paper writing broken into:
  • Sifting through existing arguments
  • Forming own arguments
  • Communicating arguments
• Current way: blend all together —> inefficient
• Either critical analysis (short and precise) or research paper

Target a Titillating Topic

• Key: choose topic that interests you. This can be from class discussion (pay attention to this if you know the class has a paper)
• Write down ideas that pop into head/discussed in lecture
• Trouble: ask prof for readings or read primary sources carefully

Conduct Thesis-Hunting Expedition

• Critical analysis: look at lecture notes and reading ⇒ answer ⇒ thesis
• Research paper: find general summaries —> bibiliography —> specific sources
  • More likely to find interesting thesis
• Thesis should be provocative, nuanced, direct and inclusive
  • Don’t make it too simple/reductionist
  • Continually developed as paper is written
  • Make new thesis if evidence is not interesting

Seek a Second Opinion

• Ask prof if thesis is appropriate, specific and complex
• Ask for sources/discuss own sources

Research like a Machine

• Find sources
  • Either general or specific for arguments
  • To find specific: look at bibliography of book you already read or similar book
  • Look a specific book categories and search for similar ones
  • Search directly for sources via:
    • Breaking up queries into groups and search
    • Go to journal staabases
    • Google but do not cite websites; simply find sources via Google
    • Ask the librarian: experts in finding sources
• Make personal copies of all sources
  • Advantages; portable, accesssible, easy to annotte
  • Make sure you jot down information for bibliography
    • Can even photocopy copyright info pages
  • Photocopy bibliography too
• Annotate:
  • Just jot down main points relevant to thesis. Skim
    • Staple annotations to source photocopy
• Decide if you’re done:
  • List topics that are crucial and ones that could help
    • need 2 sources for crucial, 1 for anything else

Craft a Personal Story

• Best papers are papers where you made insightful connections
• Argument should: draw on past work, good theses, good evidence and impact
  • No formula for argumentation so practice! Read and listen to good arguments
• Put into minset (read arguments) —> look at source material and follow diffuse thinking
• Make essay outline of topic flow. Find sources for unsupported topics
  • List evidence (quotes are best) for each topic

Consult Your Expert Panel

• More input and feedback lead to a better paper
• Number of people and panel should correlate to importance of paper
  • Prof: show general outline, sources and arguments
  • Smart classmates

Write Without Agony

• To improve writing: write outside of class and look at style guides. On Writing Well
• Separate research, writing and editing
• Most focus on writing: find places of silence and align with high points of day
• Go through outline points 1 by 1 and dont rush

Fix, Don’t Fixate

• First edit: argument presentation (awkward, add more, shift paragraphs). Big part
• Second edit: print copy and read out loud
  • Mark grammar mistakes and awkward construction
• Third edit: print copy and read to find stray mistakes\