How to Become a Straight-A Student

by Cal Newport

since getting ahead on class work frees up time to focus on big projects like paper writing or test preparation.

If you find yourself with time to spare, start getting ahead on your obligations, as a hurricane of deadlines is probably lurking just over the horizon.

what reading is important and what can be skipped.

Always read the assignments from favored sources.

Readings that make an argument are more important than readings that describe an event or person, which are more important than readings that only provide context (i.e., speech transcripts, press clippings).

Assignments at the top of this hierarchy require at least enough attention to allow you to identify the argument being made. They don’t have to be read as carefully as a favored source, but you should spend enough time with them to gain a good understanding of their theses.

all big ideas can be reduced to a question, evidence, and conclusion.

look for the author’s conclusion (the thesis statement).

Don’t take notes yet. Instead, use a pencil to make checkmarks next to important paragraphs that jump out at you.

For each mark, record in your notes a concise summary of the corresponding point. Label each point in your notes with the page number where you found it.

A typical article or book chapter should fill, at most, a page of single-spaced notes and take no longer than twenty to thirty minutes to complete.

“read for arguments, not facts.”

working in groups “can drastically cut the time required to finish a really hard problem set.”

Set your meeting dates for two or three days before the deadlines; this gives you time to first try the problems on your own and identify the ones that give you the most trouble.

But often, group work is most useful when you’ve already thought of potential solutions for most of the problems.

After you’ve primed the problem, put away your notes and move on to something else.

Instead of trying to force a solution, think about the problem in between other activities.

You might even want to go on a quiet hike or long car ride dedicated entirely to mulling over the question at hand.

organize your material intelligently.

perform a targeted review of this material.

once you find out which lectures and reading assignments are fair game for the exam, print out the corresponding notes that you’ve typed up or gather the pages you’ve written

Cluster these pages into piles, separated by general topic.

in an “economics course, I would make study sheets and then add a general question such as: what happens when a government increases spending and lowers interest rates?”

the most efficient way to memorize this information is by using flash cards.

Don’t try to organize and study in the same day.

If you organize your materials the same day that you review them, your brain will be too tired to accomplish both effectively.

the most effective way to imprint a concept is to first review it and then try to explain it, unaided, in your own words.

Passively reviewing a concept is not the same as actively producing it.

try to articulate the matching conclusion and provide some highlights from the supporting evidence.

“I find that walking around and saying things out loud commits them to memory in a spectacular way.”

act as if you’re giving a lecture on the subject.

pace around while providing y...

One of the students I interviewed reviews on the treadmill.

write out your answers.

put little check marks on your quizzes next to any questions that you had trouble answering.

try to complete the exam under timed test-taking conditions.

put a question mark in your notes for any topic that flies by without you really understanding the conclusion.

“I always read through the entire exam first,”

familiarizes you with the length and relative difficulty of what lies ahead.

never answer exam questions in the order that they are presented.

the most effective way to tackle an exam is to answer the easiest questions first,

“Usually, you can isolate three or four mini-questions from a single essay question.”

Taking advantage of the situation, Julie raises her hand to ask what it will cover and in what format.

Part Two Cheat Sheet

Topic Thesis

working right after breakfast with my first cup of coffee.

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

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.

be prepared to split this into several sessions.

don’t avoid actually articulating every word.