11-13-2007, 09:09 AM
Oh yeah, you just reminded me of a very very important one.
#1.5: ALLWAYS sit at the FRONT of the class, if possible. This is worth an increased letter grade. The teacher will know your face and connect it with your work and recall how dutifully you sat up front paying attention and think "well, he may not be entirely on the mark with this paper, but he tries so hard...I guess its worth an A- instead of a B."
Sitting up close also forces you to pay attention and stay alert and undistracted.
I know this is true. I upped my GPA 1.5 points just by doing this alone. I did better than friends in the same classes, who were better students than I.
#4.5: How to pass a test you are choking on. Don't panic! First rush through and scribble out any useful notes on any question that you remotely understand. Then go back and do it again, but refine your notes a bit. Then answer all the questions you actually know the answer to. Then use your notes along with the questions and answers that you already completed to piece together a defensible answer to the questions you have no clue about. Except for multiple choice, you will at least get partial credit here and there and this will increase your chance of passing.
On a side note, once I had a history final exam that consisted of just two essay questions. Thats right, two questions determine my final grade in the whole course. I only know the answer to one of them.
How did I pass?
I was honest. "Dear Professor Muller, I do not know the answer to this question. I glossed over this part of the course, thinking that you would place more emphasis on the other topics. But this is what I DO know....." and then I proceed to white an essay about a question of my own that I thought was important and related to the course. He accepted my ad libbed question and answer.
Once I was so fried from finals, that during my English Lit final, I forgot the names of the main characters in the novel. I knew the plot, the motives, the analogies and subtle criticisms of the novel to society and eveything EXCEPT the actual names of all the main characters! So I fudget it by using terms like "the protagonist, and antagonist, and our ill fated lead, and his love interest, etc, etc. And I got an A!!! LOL!!!!
#1.5: ALLWAYS sit at the FRONT of the class, if possible. This is worth an increased letter grade. The teacher will know your face and connect it with your work and recall how dutifully you sat up front paying attention and think "well, he may not be entirely on the mark with this paper, but he tries so hard...I guess its worth an A- instead of a B."
Sitting up close also forces you to pay attention and stay alert and undistracted.
I know this is true. I upped my GPA 1.5 points just by doing this alone. I did better than friends in the same classes, who were better students than I.
#4.5: How to pass a test you are choking on. Don't panic! First rush through and scribble out any useful notes on any question that you remotely understand. Then go back and do it again, but refine your notes a bit. Then answer all the questions you actually know the answer to. Then use your notes along with the questions and answers that you already completed to piece together a defensible answer to the questions you have no clue about. Except for multiple choice, you will at least get partial credit here and there and this will increase your chance of passing.
On a side note, once I had a history final exam that consisted of just two essay questions. Thats right, two questions determine my final grade in the whole course. I only know the answer to one of them.
How did I pass?
I was honest. "Dear Professor Muller, I do not know the answer to this question. I glossed over this part of the course, thinking that you would place more emphasis on the other topics. But this is what I DO know....." and then I proceed to white an essay about a question of my own that I thought was important and related to the course. He accepted my ad libbed question and answer.
Once I was so fried from finals, that during my English Lit final, I forgot the names of the main characters in the novel. I knew the plot, the motives, the analogies and subtle criticisms of the novel to society and eveything EXCEPT the actual names of all the main characters! So I fudget it by using terms like "the protagonist, and antagonist, and our ill fated lead, and his love interest, etc, etc. And I got an A!!! LOL!!!!
You're never to old to be immature