Anyone Can Get An A+

Introduction

I wrote this book for every student who has ever said to themselves, "I can't do this"; "I'm not good at ___"; "I am too stupid to learn". This book is for those students, who like Jason or Grace, feel that they just can't understand certain subjects, or who have given up even before they have begun, resigning themselves to poor grades, because they think that somehow they aren't 'smart' enough to do as well as their classmates.

I was always seen as a good student. In school I got prizes. At home I dutifully did my homework. I went to law school and did my Masters' at an Ivy League university. I mostly got straight-As. I was the poster child for the perfect student. In reality, I went through periods where I struggled a lot with my classes and schoolwork. In high school, I struggled with the math and science courses, frequently not understanding at least 80% of what the teacher said in class. I sometimes asked my friends for help with my homework, copying their answers because I had no idea how to even start working through it on my own. Sitting for tests was a nightmare, because they underscored how little I knew. I vividly remember the panic and shame I felt, as a formerly good student, on a particular physics unit test, where unable to solve almost every problem, I would write whatever little I knew, put down the formulae, and then leave large gaps in the answer booklet, hoping that I could come back to it and magically find inspiration. Of course I never did. I went through plenty of false starts, and even after I started to get the hang of the coursework, it took a while for the results to show in my grades. I used many of the approaches that I have outlined in this book, some by design, many others by accident.

Here's the thing – I don't think that bad grades in school are necessarily the result of being lazy and not wanting to put in the work. I believe that sitting through classes not understanding a word, day in and day out, makes us start to doubt ourselves. We think, I am not meant to do this. We avoid trying. It's scary, confronting our inadequacies and shortcomings, seeing in black and white that I am falling behind and don't really know what to do about it. Over and over in school and college, I had this feeling. Sometimes I got the hang of the course and got a good grade. Sometimes I didn't. To a large extent it felt like a gamble, although I did see that working hard changed the odds more consistently in my favor. But I didn't have a consistent set of principles that would always help me to do well no matter what course I took. And even while I was doing well, I was always stressed out, believing that maybe I would bomb the next exam and it would all fall apart.

I began to read many books and articles on a wide variety of subjects – psychology, neuroscience, improving productivity, overcoming procrastination and learning more effectively. I started to see patterns, and realized that the times I did well in school were when I put into practice the principles talked about in these books. I just didn't know I was doing so, which is why I wasn't always able to replicate my results. This book grew out of a notebook I kept to jot down the things I was learning, where I also chronicled my own past successes and failures in school, and tried to find out what had worked for me and why. After all, there were times when I had done incredibly well in school. In my final year of law school I got the highest grades in some of my classes, despite fighting a mysterious illness (later diagnosed as glandular fever). In graduate school, I got As in most of my courses, and was inducted to a national society of honor students in my field. And in high school when I was struggling with most of my subjects - I improved steadily, and obtained the highest grades in my school in the O-level equivalent exams.

I wrote this book because I wanted to share what I learnt with other students who may be going through similarly frustrating experiences in school. Knowing exactly what study strategies are effective, and which ones simply waste time, will help you to know what to focus your time on. I wrote this book because I don't really believe that there are any inherently "good" or "bad" students. Some of us stumble onto study habits that are more effective than others. In my case, the very next year after my spectacular performance in the board exams (equivalent of 10th grade in India or O-levels elsewhere), I struggled with a whole new set of subjects, and got distinctly average grades in most subjects, because I started to study sub-optimally, without even realizing it. When I read about the principles of learning and neuroscience that underlie most of the strategies in this book, I realized exactly why I went through those periods of peaks and valleys throughout my school life – whenever I worked with how my brain works best, I did really well. When I failed to apply these principles and studied haphazardly, without a plan, and without engaging my brain in the right way, I got average results. I still studied hard, but not in the most efficient manner.

Doing well in school isn't about spending all your time studying, or even about being exceptionally smart. It is really about building good study habits, being disciplined and willing to look at the areas where you are weak, and find ways to strengthen them - whether by asking for help, or putting in the time to learn it yourself. It also means making productive use of your time, doing focused work when you're supposed to be studying, and then relaxing properly when you're not. Breaks, fun activities and sports can all be scheduled around studying, and provided you have a strategic plan and follow it diligently, you can have a life and still do well in school. The next few chapters discuss these habits and thinking patterns, and then we return to the stories of Jason and Grace, and see whether they have managed to learn something that helps them with their study challenges.

If you are consistently doing poorly in class, and would like to do better, or have to get better grades to maintain your scholarship, or you need to get a good score on a standardized test, this book is for you. This book is also for parents; by knowing the best methods to study, tips that reduce study time by cutting out inefficient strategies, you can encourage your children (even if they are reluctant to hear your advice) that they can improve their grades, in any subject, without spending all their time glued to their desk. Incorporate these strategies and you will find it easier to give up your previous inefficient habits, beat chronic procrastination, reduce your overall stress levels and improve your grades, in some cases, dramatically.

Every strategy in this book is something I implemented myself, in some cases stumbling upon them by accident. Most of the advice here is also backed up by science - I have read dozens of books and articles trying to learn what are the best ways to improve one's learning habits. Some of these lessons are ones I learnt the hard way, making mistakes and trying to be the perfect student. In many ways this is the book that I wish I had when I was a student.

I firmly believe that anyone can change their grades for the better, regardless of where you are currently, with the right mental attitude, and the right tools in your belt. Anyone can use these tactics to completely transform their grades and their experience of studying. I believe that anyone can master any subject, if they are motivated enough, and are willing to put in some time and effort. No matter what you may have been told by your teachers in the past, if you are willing to apply these principles, you don't need to let arbitrary labels about talent or ability stop you from pursuing any field of study or academic discipline. Not only can anyone get an A+, they can do it with a smile!

So without further ado, let's begin!