How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport - Essay Example

What works for a particular student may not work for another. However, there are certain study methods that can work for most students. Students can determine for themselves the study methods that work best for them. Often, most students choose study methods such as making short notes to remember key information, repeating or verbalizing the information studied and using memory tools to help retain the information. Jim was always an average student. Although he was always poring over his books, trying to memorize facts, he was never a good student, only managing to scrape through exams and never getting the grades he wanted.

Jim’s parents were disappointed. Jim himself thought that he was a loser with a learning disability. Jim always wondered why some of his friends who spent much of their time partying seemed to breeze through their exams while he was burning his midnight oil and yet flunking some of his exams. For Jim, sitting for an exam was a stressful time that always took a toll on his health and emotional strength. He longed to ask some of his friends the secret of doing well in their exams, but they were all such jerks.

They would probably laugh at him. Jim was getting tired of the embarrassment of failing and letting his folks down. He was sick of working hard and obtaining poor grades. Sebastian 2 One day, Jim had to study for some important exams in his high school. He tried to cram everything. He tried to practice rote memorization by reading his notes over and over again. Unfortunately, there was too much to memorize and he realized that his brain was not a computer to store everything he had studied. Moreover, there were too many distractions and he just could not concentrate.

Jim was desperate. He had to find a quick solution. He sat at his computer and started surfing the internet. It was then he came across a web site that got him interested. It was actually a book “The Overnight Student” by Dr. Michael L Jones. It did not take long for Jim to read the book but it all made perfect sense. By the time he came to the end of the book, Jim realized that he had been doing wrong all these years. He had employed all the wrong study methods to prepare for his exams. He learnt a few things that dramatically changed the way he studied for exams.

The book advocated that the student become a teacher of an imaginary class. Jim tried this. He read small segments of a particular topic. Then, he taught what he learnt to an imaginary class. Slowly, he began to understand better what he had studied. Jim began to feel more confident. The wall he was teaching did not laugh or ridicule him. By closeting himself where no one can hear him and vice versa, Jim was able to concentrate on his studies. By teaching the imaginary class, Jim was actually going over his notes in segments.

Soon, Jim was getting better grades. Jim’s story teaches us several valuable lessons. Effective learning can only take place when a student studies in an environment free of distractions. We all face distractions all the time. We take breaks to browse the internet, we answer phone calls and sometimes the lure of television programmes is just too great a temptation to resist. Distractions not only increase our stress Sebastian 3 levels, they interfere with our studies. Moreover, regaining concentration after a distraction can be time consuming.

Therefore, it is best to set aside a study area at home and remove all sources of distractions.