Paper Writing

In his novel, How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport describes strategies for editing papers. He tells us, “Begin to read your paper out loud. Don’t cheat. Use a strong voice and articulate every word… the goal of this pass is to root out small mistakes that might otherwise distract a reader from your engaging thesis” (Newport 193). Using this simple strategy suggested by Newport, I was able to identify grammatical errors and adjust sentences that were unclear that I failed to notice while reading in my head. While reading in my head, my subconscious tends to patch over mistakes, and I don’t notice these mistakes until I read my paper out loud. Newport also states that you should write in quiet isolation to maximize your productivity (Newport 188). I followed through with his advice and found that while writing in my room, I was much more productive than I was writing in the living room. I found that in a silent environment, I was able to formulate ideas more quickly and efficiently. What are your strategies for writing and editing essays?

Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print. 

Work Consistently

Cal Newport gives advice on reducing stress and insurmountable workloads in his book, How to Become a Straight-A Student. He says, “Smart students avoid these issues [of being overwhelmed by work] by working constantly on assignments, in small chunks, every day.”(Newport 84). Using Newport’s strategy, I am able to keep a small workload at all times. I have found that working on assignments consistently and avoiding procrastination until the last minute has drastically reduced my stress level and allowed me to do other things I enjoy instead of focusing only on school. Also, Newport states that you if you should find yourself all caught up on your assignments, you should work ahead (Newport 84). Though this may sound very hardcore and reserved for students that have no life outside of school, it actually allows me to be less hardcore and be relaxed about my schoolwork while everyone else is having stress attacks because they didn’t work ahead and binged on movies instead. Are you a procrastinator? Can you imagine how good life could be if you were always caught up and never overwhelmed by your work? If you like the sound of a stress free life, then stop making excuses and get your homework done.

Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Note Taking

In a section focused on note taking, Cal Newport provides us with tips for formatting. He states, “Skip lines with wild abandon, use tabs freely, change the font size, write entire sentences in all caps, throw around asterisks like penny candy… do whatever helps you visualize the important concepts.” (Newport 72). In other words, Newport is stating that formatting your notes aggressively could help make them easier to understand. Using his advice, I was able to pick the important ideas out of my notes and better recall the concepts while reading over my notes. Cal Newport also provides us with advice for note taking in technical courses, which is vastly different from note taking in non-technical courses. He states that it is imperative that you record as many sample problems as possible (Newport 80). The effect that this has had on my academic success is that I am able to go back and look over the sample problems when I am struggling to complete a problem. What do you think is the best method of taking notes? Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Test Taking

Cal Newport provides us with test taking strategies in his book, How to Become a Straight A Student. He states, “Years of informal experimentation by successful students have demonstrated that the most effective way to tackle an exam is to answer the easiest questions first, and this is exactly what you should do.”(Newport 119). The effect that this has had on my academic achievement is that it has allowed me to get better grades. Tests are the most important part of getting straight As, and being able to take them efficiently and effectively are imperative to having success as a student. Using Cal Newport’s strategy, I have been able to get the highest number of points possible in a shorter amount of time. For example, starting first on the easy problems will get you the most points possible, so then you can use the remaining time to do the difficult problems that you’re not so sure about. If you do a test in the order the questions are presented, if you get to a question you don’t know how to do early on, you may end up taking too much time on it and become rushed near the end. Doing the questions from easiest to hardest eliminates this problem. Cal Newport also says that double checking your work up to the last minute can make the difference between an above-average student and an academic star. (Newport 122). Using this test taking strategy, I have been able to effectively utilize all of my given time for my test instead of wasting precious minutes. In the past, I have been lazy about double checking, but now that I have tried it, I noticed many errors that were easy to correct. If I hadn’t checked my work, I would have missed many easy points. What are your strategies for tests, and how well have they worked in the past? If you’re not satisfied with your test scores, do you think it’s time to utilize some of these strategies to maximize your test scores? Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Time Management

In the section referring to time management, Cal Newport explains his system. He says, “The whole system can be summarized in three easy steps: (1) Jot down new tasks and assignments on your list during the day; (2) next morning, transfer these new items from your list onto your calendar; and (3) then take a couple to minutes to plan your day.” (Newport 22). The impact that this has had on my studies is that I have been able to get work done more efficiently. For example, because I have a set schedule on the work that I plan to achieve, it helps me to reduce procrastination. Also, I am able to do a little bit of work every day rather than do all of it in one day, reducing my stress and allowing me to get more sleep. Newport also states in the time management section that you should leave a lot of time for breaks, so then when unexpected events come up and assignments take longer than expected, you have a little leeway (Newport 26). This helped me become better with managing my time because I was able to do most, if not all of the assignments that I had scheduled for the day. If I had not had more time for breaks, it would have been a lot more difficult to complete all the assignments I had planned out for myself. Let’s face it; things take longer than you expect them to. What strategies have you used for managing your time, and how have they worked out for you? If you need a better method, try this state of the art time management method. It has worked out incredible well for me. Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.