Wie man's: Improve Your Memory

Do you want to get better grades? Here are some guidelines that will help you study more efficiently and perform better on tests.

Pay attention in class. Try to understand and comprehended well, or ask someone else to explain it to you.

Take good notes of everything. For courses in high school and junior/community college, most of what is on the tests and homework will be discussed in the class. If your teacher draws a diagram on the board, copy that down, it can help you remember the information. Don’t just copy what they write on the board. Rather, take extensive notes on everything if possible. Also, to save time, try re-wording it. Just get the key points of everything. Review your notes every night, so when the big test comes, remembering what you learned is a snap.

Homework comes first over everything else. Set yourself goals and make sure you reach them before you go out and party. Look over your homework in detail at least once before you turn it in, and if you’re uncertain about something, try to do it first, and only then ask your teacher for help. Often, homework is only a completion grade and only effort is required to score points. Do your homework immediately after school. Time management is essential.

Establish good studying habits. Most people who get bad grades don’t place enough emphasis on studying. Cramming (leaving all the studying until the last minute) is the worst thing you can do. Studying is boring and repetitive sometimes, but you cannot pass any test without having a little bit of information to complete your tests with. If you have problems studying by yourself, ask someone to help you. Ideally, you should study every day for about a week or two before a test.
- Avoid distractions. If your friends ask you to go out with tell them you are studying and that is all. If you involve partying and fun things with your studying program, you will ditch your studies as soon as you feel you are having fun.
- Do not use the Internet and turn off the phone for a certain period of time. This may help you get down for more studying.
- Get organized. Put on a piece of paper or settle up your mind on a program to follow while studying. Here’s an example: “At 10:00 am, start studying. After you complete one chapter of math, get a 15 minute break.”

Make study guides for tests. Use the notes to do so. Look in the textbook and add anything that isn’t in your notes. Do not omit anything. Then, have someone test you on the study guide, sing the question and answer, or whatever helps you productively study. Use memory tricks. If you know it all, then make yourself do an essay on tricky stuff, like really understanding the thing.

Ask your teacher if you can do an essay or extra sheet of problems for extra credit. If she or he says yes, hand it in the next day. If she hands it back before the test, you’ll see your mistakes and be able to fix them.

Having small goals also helps. Your goals should climb to improvement: a C+ to a B-, a B- to a B+, a B+ to an A-, and finally an A. Aiming for an A right away leaves you feeling unrewarded and makes your goal seem unreachable.

Set goals. One week you want to get more organized then you want to get a b- on your history test.

Talk to your teachers. They know what’s on the test so they can help you understand any unanswered questions. You can also look to your friends for help. Friends might know the answers to some of your questions as well. However don’t depend on them, if you take good notes in class, and pay attention then you won’t need to ask the question in the first place.