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How to get A's at SFU
1. Attend all lectures. Take notes in the lectures. You may find it useful to transcribe them into a course summary, which can help in preparing for the final exam and identifying points in the material that are not clear to you. If you miss any lectures, ask your colleagues or the course instructor what was done during your absence.
2. Read the textbook. Find out the required textbook and buy it as soon as possible. Try to read the material which will be covered before you go to class. This will help you to understand lectures better and concentrate on the extra comments your instructor is providing. Before you start to work on your homework, read the appropriate part of the book and your lecture notes. You are expected to understand the course material, not just solve problems nearly identical to the book and instructor’s examples.
3. Do extra problems. In most cases, doing just the assigned homework problems is not sufficient exam preparation. Work out enough problems to reach the point where you feel you understand the concept involved and how to implement it.
4. Start working on homework well before it is due. Make sure you allow enough time to finish your assignment and possibly do extra problems.
5. Come for help if you have difficulties. Don’t wait for your problems to disappear. Ask a friend, a teaching assistant, your instructor or a workshop coordinator for help if you have difficulties.
6. Keep up to date—it’s hard to cram for math tests. If you don’t work systematically, it’s not very likely that a night’s work before a test will help much. Usually it makes things even worse as an overtired brain is not able to think logically. In fact, a good night’s sleep after regular thorough work is the best preparation for a math test.
7. Work in groups. Organize a study group to work together. Our experience shows that students who work in small groups often do better than those working alone. Discussing homework and the course material with your group can help you understand difficult concepts and obtain new insights. But take warning! The group cannot understand the concept for you. Tempting as it is to let others do your homework, you will not learn it this way. You must take the time to learn.
2. Read the textbook. Find out the required textbook and buy it as soon as possible. Try to read the material which will be covered before you go to class. This will help you to understand lectures better and concentrate on the extra comments your instructor is providing. Before you start to work on your homework, read the appropriate part of the book and your lecture notes. You are expected to understand the course material, not just solve problems nearly identical to the book and instructor’s examples.
3. Do extra problems. In most cases, doing just the assigned homework problems is not sufficient exam preparation. Work out enough problems to reach the point where you feel you understand the concept involved and how to implement it.
4. Start working on homework well before it is due. Make sure you allow enough time to finish your assignment and possibly do extra problems.
5. Come for help if you have difficulties. Don’t wait for your problems to disappear. Ask a friend, a teaching assistant, your instructor or a workshop coordinator for help if you have difficulties.
6. Keep up to date—it’s hard to cram for math tests. If you don’t work systematically, it’s not very likely that a night’s work before a test will help much. Usually it makes things even worse as an overtired brain is not able to think logically. In fact, a good night’s sleep after regular thorough work is the best preparation for a math test.
7. Work in groups. Organize a study group to work together. Our experience shows that students who work in small groups often do better than those working alone. Discussing homework and the course material with your group can help you understand difficult concepts and obtain new insights. But take warning! The group cannot understand the concept for you. Tempting as it is to let others do your homework, you will not learn it this way. You must take the time to learn.
Comments
I'm happy to see it outlined here so neatly. I think I do most of this stuff, but I hear people "bragging" all the time about not opening their textbook yet, or the lecture hall is only full when it's an exam, and then these people wonder why they are failing...
any breaks, im wide awake, lecture starts and i get hypnotized to zzzZzzZZ haha
but if its all yap yap yap.. my attention span just goes :(
morning lecs i always got an apple with me. and we all know an apple a day..
by not dirtying them?
What should I do to get a good grade??
Also make sure that you are studying for the specific kind of test you are taking. If it's multiple choice, often textbooks have practice tests online (check the first few pages and see if a website is mentioned), or you might be able to get old tests to warm you up. If not, try having a friend quiz you on the material. If you are writing essays, I would suggest doing lots of practice essays on your own. Like writing outlines.
You might also want to talk to the Learning Commons at school and go to some of their seminars, or make an appointment with their tutors (it's all free and super useful).
Most of all: don't get discouraged! And good for you for asking for help where you need it. :)
1. Register
This is the hardest part about getting an A in an arts course, is getting into the class.
2. Essays
Make sure you write them the night before, any earlier is just stupid as it wont give you a better grade.
3. Exams
Review your material an hour before the exam.
There you go, how to get an A in an arts course.
2. I do that too...sometimes...
3. nop don't do that.
4. I do it like 1-2 days before it's due...
5. we're supposed to have difficulties??? :omg:
6. i guess i do that too...
7. it doesn't exactly help to work in groups when nobody else gets the concepts...
:P