Small changes that made me go from D to A grades

Recently, within the last year or so, I have been starting to realise the effect my education can have on my future. This was understandably very scary and after some procrastination, I finally decided to make a change and start taking my first steps to getting the higher Grades. I decided to share this in the hopes of distracting everyone whose a bit down right now and help future and present students.

1) Do your homework. This one goes without saying, but it really does help when you do your homework because it helps the information get into your long-term memory and helps you be more productive because you're forcing yourself to do work

2) Make study/revision materials as soon as you learn them. This is crucial because again it helps the information move into the long term memory and it also means that you don't have to try to get everything sorted closer to the exam so you're better prepared

3) Do extra essays for practice. If you do an essay based subject, try to write a new essay every two weeks in addition to the work you're already doing because it helps you improve your essay writing skills and your knowledge. The difference in essay writing skills in some subjects makes a massive difference in the grades you can achieve, I went from a D in history to a B from purely just working on my essay skills.

4) Stay on top of work. It's less stressful when you're organised, and if you're stressed it's a lot harder to achieve. There are simple ways to stay organised, like writing out a to do list in the morning or scheduling your day as much as you can. I use the reminders app on my iPhone to remind me of things I need to do today and my calendar to add any homework or tasks I need to do.

5) Find out what your individual learning style is. For example, visual learners need to see the information to process it, this can be in the form of graphs, diagrams, or other forms of visual stimulation.

6) Do practice papers/questions. This helps with science and maths because it helps you get used to the format of the exam, and what kind of questions are asked. A lot of the time, examiners try to trick you into giving them the wrong answer so by doing lots of practice papers, it's easier for you to figure out what the examiners want from you.

7) Use the one word technique. Start with a word related to the topic, then turn that word into a sentence, and then turn that sentenced into a paragraph. For example, Wellington turns into Wellington was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman, he was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th century Britain. Which turns into Wellington was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman, he was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th century Britain. He won multiple battles, most notably the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where he beat the Emperor Napoleon. This helps because it means you can remember small bits of information that act as a prompt to help you remember more detail.

8) Watch things related to what you're learning or listen to podcasts. This helps because you don't have to pay too much attention to it and you can listen to them or watch them on your way to work or when you're getting ready to sleep. You could also dictate your notes so that you can listen to them.

This is everything I did and it really helped my grades go up from a D to an A. I hope you find this helpful too and that you do well in school even though we can't exactly go there anymore.