How to get an A every time

Most students don't think of studying as particularly exciting or interesting.

There are so many other things that one could be doing instead of sitting at a desk and reading, taking notes or writing an essay.

What most students don't realise, however, is that if study time is utilised well, it can be done in half the time.

This means plenty of extra hours in the day to meet with friends, catch a movie or go to the beach.

So how does one make the most of study time? It's not that hard, actually! All you have to do is prepare.

Plan and organise

It is no use trying to cram everything the night before the final exam. Students who get As start studying weeks in advance. This means planning and organising your study time long before anyone even mentions exams.

Set aside a couple of hours every evening to go through the material covered in class. Read your notes, review key points and make summaries.

Once you get into the habit of doing this, studying for an exam will be a simple matter of revising from your notes - rather than attempting to read the whole textbook in one night.

Yes, it is hard and the last thing you want to do after coming home from college is more work, but just think of how much easier it will be at exam time.

Two hours every night is an investment that will pay off tenfold in the long run.

Read ahead

How many times have you been asked to read the chapter before you come to the lecture? And how many times have you done it?

Most students have the best intentions, but somehow this important study activity always manages to lose out to procrastination.

If you can find the time to read about a movie before you go and watch it, you should also make an effort to find out about what your lecturer will be talking about.

Even skim reading the chapter ahead of a lecture will improve your ability to understand and retain what is being said in the lecture itself. It also means less work down the track.

Ensure you attend class

It's so tempting to stay in the cafeteria just a little bit longer with your friends, rather than sitting through another boring lecture. Sure it's more fun, but it won't help your results.

Most lecturers will tell you that there is a direct relationship between class attendance and grades. The more you attend, the higher your final grades.

This isn't only because students who attend get the benefit of having things explained to them, but it's also because students who attend get tips from the lecturer on what to study.

You won't know what the important topics are unless you go to class and find out. You will also waste time studying topics that may not be relevant, instead of focusing on key things that were mentioned in class.

Prepare notes

While attending class will help, it is not enough to get an A. If you are aiming high, you need to take notes as well. In other words, attend class, stay awake, pay attention and take note!

Write down what the lecturer is saying. Highlight key points. Star (*) issues that the lecturer says are "important" (that's lecturer-speak for "expect this in the exam".).

Taking notes in class means more effective use of study time later because you can use the notes to revise.

You will also be surprised how quickly a lecture goes by if you do something productive like take notes. Not to mention how much you will actually learn from this!

Ask questions

Most students are too shy to ask questions in class - especially if it is a large class. But asking questions during a lecture means you don't leave the room confused. Asking a question in the lecture is the most perfect time to do so.

Your lecturer will probably have an example to refer to and use it to demonstrate a key point. Also, you are already in that "frame of mind".

It is a lot easier to clarify a doubt in the class itself, rather than going to see your lecturer later, when you may have forgotten some of the material.

If you feel uncomfortable asking in front of everyone, sit in front of the classroom so that you can't see who is behind you.

This will make you feel a bit more at ease because you are closer to the lecturer and it may seem more like having a private conversation, rather than a public question.

Re-read and review

After your lecture, you need to think about the "bottom line". This means re-reading the chapter and reviewing your notes in order to find out what your lecturer was trying to say.

In other words, figure out what was the point of the lecture. To use the movie analogy again: when you go to watch a movie, you will usually leave with some message that the director was trying to get across. Sometimes it is a funny message, at other times it's more serious.

Just like films, lectures have a message. Even this article has a message! The "bottom line" of this article is "Preparing in advance saves study time later".

Sure there is a lot of other information and tips to help you do this, but our basic message is very simple. It's the same with your lectures. Once you work out the basic message, everything else will fall into place.

Evaluate your knowledge

How much do you really know? Do you really want to wait until the final exam to find out? Why not test yourself instead, or get a friend to do it?

Most textbooks will have questions at the end of each chapter to help you study and revise the key points in the chapter. Often, these questions go unnoticed by students (unless they are set by the lecturer).

Yet, sometimes these are the types of questions that students will get in the exam.

So don't ignore them - as part of your daily study routine, answer the questions at the end of the chapter or any other exercises your lecturer might hand out.

If you prefer studying with friends, testing each other is an ideal way of studying in groups.

You can even design your own game where you and your friends compete and score points for correct answers.

Whatever you do, don't leave it until the final exam to find out how much you know… or don't know!

Dr Lejla Vrazalic and Lois Smith are award-winning educators and teaching/learning researchers at the University of Wollongong in Dubai