For as long as I can remember, I have placed a lot of importance on school. I do my school work because it brings me personal satisfaction and purpose. Personally, when I spend more time studying, I will receive a better grade.
However, particularly in college, I do acknowledge that there are a lot of assignments and tests and sometimes spending hours on just one assignment is not the wisest thing to do. In this guide, I include some fairly obvious tips to getting good grades, but I also include more unique ones. I have not tested these tips on anyone, but they have worked for me, and I hope they help you as well. Without anymore blabber, this is the guide to good grades:
Step 1: get to know your teachers
If you want to get good grades, you need to build close relationships with your teachers. You need them to know who you are and you also need to compliment them. Not only this, but having academic conversations regarding course content with them outside of class is key. By building a healthy bond with your teacher, whenever an emergency arises and you can't turn something in on time, they will have more sympathy for you and will probably not deduct as many points.
Step 2: always show up to class and be on time
If you want good grades, then you obviously have to be in class and you have to be there on time. If for some reason you miss class, make sure you have a friend send you the lecture notes or tell your teacher about it and maybe they can email you the slides. Whatever it is, just plan accordingly.
Step 3: make friends in class
Making a friend in every class can be beneficial because they can be a study partner or someone you can ask questions to if you don't necessarily understand something. You can also motivate each other. Make sure the friends you make in class aren't distracting and that they as well care about their grades.
Step 4: before reading a text, do prior research
Oftentimes, you will be assigned to read a novel or play. Before just diving in, you can watch a youtube video that explains the basic plotline of the novel/play and this can help avoid confusion when reading a text.
Step 5: make bizarre connections
The easiest way I memorize terms/dates is by making bizarre connections; for example, if you need to remember that in the American civil war began in 1861, then you can remember that by thinking of the number 18, how it is your civil right to vote at 18, how the civil war debate had to do with older people, therefore, the 60, and how in "American civil war," the letter "i" is present which resembles 1 and thus 1861. Now that was a strange way of connecting things, but the weirder, the better and it will be more likely to stick. If you make weird connections for every term or date you need to memorize, I assure you, you will ace that test! It does take time to think of such connections, but once you do, it usually sticks.
Step 6: use a whiteboard
Sometimes just making flashcards or re-reading through your notes can be very boring. To lighten things up, you can draw concepts on a whiteboard. In addition, drawing with different colors can make things more fun as well. If you have a math or science exam, just doing a whole bunch of mathematical computations on your whiteboard over and over again can help too.
Step 7: make someone quiz you
You can ask a friend or study partner to quiz you and you can also quiz them. This can be very useful, especially when you have lost motivation in studying.
Step 8: read before you write
You can't write an essay if you haven't read the assigned reading (well, you can, but it will not be very good). Always make sure you read before you write. However, when I say "read before you write," I don't just mean to read assigned course material: I also mean to just read in general.
Most published text, with exception of poorly edited works, are carefully crafted and have been edited which means it's "proper" or grammatically-correct writing. When you read, you are observing how "proper" writing is done and therefore when you write, you might start emulating that writing and write "properly" yourself. This is, of course, just one of my theories, and it isn't necessarily correct.
Step 9: give yourself positive reinforcers
If you are having too much difficulty concentrating or have little motivation, then giving yourself positive reinforcers or incentives can help. What exactly do I mean by this? Well, you can buy candy, or your favorite snack, and cut it up into little pieces. Then, for every two pages or so you read, you can eat a piece of your snack or candy. This does take self-control because you will be tempted to just eat it all without reading, but if you stick to it, it can work.
Step 10: before a test or big project, hang out with people you like
While you should always hang around people you like, you should do so more often when you are really stressed or have a big test. When you hang out with people you really like, more dopamine is released and having more naturally-occurring dopamine can lead to better memory and feelings of happiness which is always a good thing.
In the end, always do your best and give it your all, and if you don't get the grade you were expecting, it is OK; what matters is that you tried. Best of luck!