How to Become a Straight-A Student Book Summary - How to Become a Straight-A Student Book explained in key points

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How to Become a Straight-A Student summary

Name: How to Become a Straight-A Student
Rating: 4.4 (229 reviews)
Author: Cal Newport

Cal Newport

The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less

4.4 (229 ratings)

24 mins

Brief summary

How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport is a practical guide for students who want to achieve academic success. Focusing on efficient studying, time-management and test-taking strategy, it provides tips and tricks for boosting grades and reducing study time.

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Effectiveness Learning

Table of Contents

How to Become a Straight-A Student
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Learn how to make the most out of your education in just ten blinks.

For some people, college is the best time of their life – a time of exploration, rewarding academic inquiry and unadulterated partying. For others, however, college life is punctuated by periods of extreme stress and anxiety from constantly worrying about their GPA.

This, of course, makes perfect sense. Just think about the pressure they’re under! The grades you get on tests and papers can shape your entire future – for better or for worse.

Luckily, it doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom if you have a hard time studying. Whether it’s writing a research paper or cramming for your exams, these blinks will give you all the tools you need to study efficiently.

These techniques aren’t made up by just anybody. They come straight from the horse’s mouth, i.e., from actual straight-A students who majored in various academic disciplines across the United States.

It all boils down to the fact that studying longer is not necessarily studying better. Studying better means taking the right kinds of notes, fighting procrastination, developing time management skills, and various other tricks that will help you study quickly and efficiently, and free up your weekends to do the things you really want to do.

In these ten blinks, you’ll learn

why sometimes less is more when it comes to studying;
why you need to invest in some academic disaster insurance; and
why finding a quiet coffee shop can improve your grades.

In order to study more efficiently, manage your time and work in short, intensive bursts.

How do you manage basketball practice, your English essay, your social life, and the rest of your homework? Many students believe there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get it all done. But that is simply untrue!

Most people waste their time working at a low intensity, i.e., pseudo-working. This kind of “work” occurs when you study in a distracting environment, such as in front of the TV, or working through a long and continuous period of time where your concentration drops.

For example, while it might feel like pulling an all-nighter was “hard work,” the loss of concentration due to sleep deprivation means that you were really just pseudo-working.

A better way to focus your time is to work in short bursts with a high intensity. Indeed, many straight-A students spend a few intense intervals studying, while their less successful counterparts study much longer at lower intensity.

In fact, studies show that the optimal learning period is roughly 50 minutes, so you should work no longer than one hour before giving yourself a break.

Think of it this way: the work you accomplish is equal to the time spent working times the intensity of your focus. In other words, if you spend three separate hours of study at an intensity of “10,” you get the same outcome as you would if you study for ten hours in a row at an intensity of “3”!

By reducing the time and ramping up the intensity, you’d find yourself with seven hours to do whatever you wanted – meet friends, party hard, sleep, relax, you name it!

But in order to start working in short bursts, you’ll need to carefully manage your time.

Keep a detailed calendar with all your deadlines and upcoming tasks. Always carry a list with your day’s schedule on your person and write down any new deadlines or tasks that crop up during the day. Spend five minutes each morning putting those new deadlines in your calendar.

And remember: keeping a calendar will only help you manage your time if you actually use it.

The urge to procrastinate is unavoidable – learn to fight it!

Procrastination is something most college students know intimately – that sneaky troll who makes you work the whole night through to finish that final paper on time, just a few days after it told you that you had all the time in the world.

So how is it that some people are actually capable of avoiding this tendency to let things go until the very last second?

Successful studying starts with finding the right time, place and energy levels.

Your exam is creeping ever closer, so instead of going out to have a drink or two (or three) with your friends, your Friday night will be spent in the library trying to read just a few more pages.

If this sounds familiar to you, you’re doing it all wrong.

Make the most out of your classes with smart note-taking.

Here’s an obvious study tip that will save you a lot of trouble: always go to class!

It doesn’t matter how tired, hungover or busy you are – going to class is the most efficient way to conquer the material.

Only study what you actually need to study.

If you want to scale a wall, you won’t get very far running into it head first over and over again. Effective study habits are much the same way – they don’t depend on brute force but on the right technique.

To study effectively, start by defining exactly what you need to learn.

Use the three Ps to score high in your exams: planning, proceeding and proofreading.

You’re in the classroom at your desk with your dreaded statistics exam in front of you. You’re nervous, your mouth is dry and your hands are shaking. Failure feels inevitable.

Yet, there’s no need to worry! If you’ve studied well, just use the following three-part technique and you’re bound to succeed:

Finding a thesis topic that excites you is a decisive step on the path to an excellent paper.

Throughout your education, you’re sure to write many papers on a wide array of subjects. Regardless of how long it is, each paper is a huge undertaking. So where’s the best place to begin?

A common trap most people fall into is the belief that they should spend most of their time on writing the papers.

Finding material for your paper centers on exhaustive but strictly limited research.

When you research, do you find yourself trapped in a labyrinth of books? Many people end up lost because they’ve made the mistake of reading too many sources. Consequently, they have too much to remember, too much to cover and are thus wasting their time.

However, there is a better way: learn to research effectively.

Actively seek inspiration in order to tell an intriguing story.

By now you’ve laid the foundation for your paper, you have both an intriguing thesis and organized research material. Now it’s time to shape a powerful story.

In order to make your thesis worth the paper it’s printed on, you’ll have to connect your theories into arguments in a novel and interesting way. Unfortunately, there’s no single system for accomplishing this. Every paper is different and requires a unique approach.

Fill in your structure, review your essay and hand in your A+ paper.

So you’re done with researching and you have your structure; now it’s time to put pen to paper.

But, before you start fancying yourself the next Dostoevsky or Shakespeare, just remember: your essay isn’t the place for you to express your literary aspirations.

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What is How to Become a Straight-A Student about?

How to Become a Straight-A Student offers you successful strategies used by actual straight-A students to help you score better grades while studying less. From time management to concrete advice on developing a thesis, this book gives you all the tools you need to earn the perfect 4.0 without burning out.

How to Become a Straight-A Student Review

How to Become a Straight-A Student (2006) is a practical guide that helps students excel academically. Here's what makes this book worth reading:

It offers proven strategies and techniques to help students improve their study habits and achieve higher grades.
With its step-by-step approach, it provides a clear roadmap for students to manage their time effectively and stay organized.
Its practical tips on note-taking, exam preparation, and maximizing productivity make it a valuable resource for any student looking to excel academically.

Best quote from How to Become a Straight-A Student

You need to know what your professor wants you to know.

—Cal Newport

Who should read How to Become a Straight-A Student?

Students who are sick of pulling all-nighters
Anyone who wants to make the most out of their time
Anyone who would benefit from less procrastination

About the Author

Cal Newport is a graduate of Dartmouth College with a PhD from MIT. He is currently an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University and has also authored a number of books, including How to Be A High School Superstar, How to Win at College and So Good They Can’t Ignore You.

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