How to Become a Straight-A Student

by Cal Newport

if you try to avoid spending too much time on questions, then you are likely to provide incomplete answers.

Neatness doesn’t count on exams; it’s the content that matters.

Double checking your work up to the last minute can make the difference between an above-average student and an academic star.

A study system is only as useful as your ability to adapt it to your unique situation.

It’s time to start the quiz-and-recall process. Michael tries to provide answers for each of the questions contained in his first mega-problem set. He uses a sheet of scratch paper and forces himself to jot down the important steps to each problem. For the technical explanation questions, he actually paces up and down the stacks, lecturing about the topics under his breath. After his first pass-through he takes a ten-minute break, then returns to tackle only the questions that gave him trouble. He continues until he has successfully answered every question. Because he is using the quiz-and-recall method, his focus is directed efficiently. He spends the most time this morning on the problems with which he has the most trouble and the least time on the problems he understands well.

His goal was to get the maximum number of points possible, not to get every problem right. And the result was a strong grade.

For technical courses, record as many sample problems and answers as possible.

Build mega-problem sets for technical courses.

Embrace the quiz-and-recall method. It’s the single most efficient way to study.

In short, a good paper requires a good amount of serious thinking, and that takes time.

“The key to effective paper writing is breaking down the task into manageable units.”

One simple meeting can make the difference between a standout work and an incoherent dud.

The devil, of course, is in the details.

“It’s often easier to grasp something when you have a hard copy in front of you.”

“Printouts and Xeroxes of source info are often superior to books or digital copies,” explains Christine from Harvard, “since you can annotate them to death.” Feel free to underline things, highlight, draw arrows, cross out sections, or put big stars next to important points.

“In order to write a great paper, you really need to make connections that other people haven’t made, and the only way to do that is to think.”

You need to expose yourself to the source material again and again to fully internalize it.

You need an outline to capture the argument you just spent so much time devising.

If your outline lacks enough detail, it’s not going to serve its purpose as a structure to guide your writing, and you will end up writing from scratch.

outline-based writing, which has made my essays much more tightly argued and given them better, clearer trajectories…

“One pitfall to avoid is getting stuck in the outline stage—

We start the outlining process by constructing a topic skeleton. This is a list of all the topics you will discuss in your paper, presented in the order that you plan to include them. Type this list directly into your computer because you will later need the ability to insert text in between items.

“Below each bold header [in my topic skeleton], I compile in regular typeface the evidence pertaining to that header.”

“I discuss ideas with friends,” says Suzanne, a straight-A student from Brown, “and am therefore usually pretty confident with my argument by the time I sit down to write.”

The more input you receive, the better your paper will turn out.

If it’s a major term paper worth a significant portion of your grade, than you may want to solicit feedback from as many as half-a-dozen well-chosen people.

“If you can explain why your argument works in a rational, step-by-step manner, and you have an arsenal of sources to cite to support the argument, then you’re ready to go.”

to improve your skills, try to write as much as you can.

“would map out a schedule, for example, write two pages a day for five days, and then edit one day.”

Separate your research from your writing and your writing from your editing.

“Having time away from the paper,” explains Jeremy from Dartmouth, “allows you to come at it with better concentration.”

Writing requires substantial concentration. If you work in an area with a lot of ambient noise, you will become distracted and your efficiency will decrease dramatically. Therefore, if you have a laptop, retreat to a distant, silent corner of a faraway building to work on your writing.

writing is perhaps the most demanding (in terms of focus required) intellectual activity you will do while a college student.

Take in the paper one paragraph at a time. If a section is awkwardly stated, clarify the sentences. If it makes a point you already explained earlier, ruthlessly cut it out. If the argument is lacking detail, add in more sentences as necessary to fully explain your point. If a transition is lacking between topics or paragraphs, add one.

“My papers always read differently on the page than on the screen.” And as Melanie, a straight-A Dartmouth student, adds: “having a hard copy to read and mark up was absolutely necessary.”

you should first print out a copy of your paper, and then take it where you can have some privacy. With a pencil in hand, and this is the important part, begin to read your paper out loud. Don’t cheat. Use a strong voice and articulate each word as if you’re delivering a speech. For a long paper, it may take a long time to read the entire thing, so be prepared to split this into several sessions. You might also want water or hot tea on hand to prevent you from losing your voice. Whatever you do, however, don’t avoid actually articulating every word.

“Reading it out loud helps you catch typos or strange wording better than reading it in your head.”

“Something that looks fine on paper will jump out as strange or poorly worded when you hear it,”

by reading the paper out loud, you will catch most mistakes in your paper in just one pass—requiring much less time than the multiple silent reviews necessary to achieve similar results.

She imagines explaining her thesis to an enthralled audience.

(when you have a detailed topic-level outline, writing moves much quicker than when you have to continually search through your sources).

Armed with energy-boosting snacks and a thermos of coffee, she writes continually, taking short breaks every fifty minutes, until her rough draft is complete. At forty pages long, the paper is both considerable and well thought out.

Later that afternoon, she brings a printout of her paper to her dorm room and begins her Out Loud Pass. After a break for dinner, she continues this slow but necessary process.

he separated the reading from the thinking and the thinking from the writing.

Start with general sources and then follow references to find the more targeted sources where good thesis ideas often hide.

Seek a Second Opinion • A thesis is not a thesis until a professor has approved it.

Research like a Machine • Find sources. • Make personal copies of all sources. • Annotate the material. • Decide if you’re done. (If the answer is “no,” loop back to #1.)

The Out Loud Pass: Carefully read out loud a printed copy of your paper, marking any awkward passages or unclear explanations.

With the right guidance, a willingness to eschew conventional wisdom, and a little experimentation, academics can be transformed into one of the most satisfying and fulfilling components of your college experience. You know this now. Share your knowledge.