These are no easy tricks that will make you an A student. However, there are a number of things you can do, man of which does not take a great deal of effort that will give you an excellent chance to become such a student.

The key to successful academic performances not to study hard but to study SMART! How well a student learns and understand the subject matter of AP Biology depends on motivation.

Differences exist between individuals: in the number of difficult courses being taken, in the approach toward the study of a subject, in the attitude regarding your goals, achievements, etc. One of the most important things to make you successful is to keep organized and maintain a steady work effort.

Good study habits make the job of being a college student much easier. Many students who could succeed in college, fail or drop out because they have never developed an efficient way to manage their time. This course offers you an opportunity to hone your study skills and find what works for you.

To improve your study habits, you must have an accurate picture of your current behavior. Answer the following questions by writing yes or no.

1. Do you usually set up a schedule to budget your time for studying, recreation, co-curricular activities, etc.?
2. Do you often put off studying until time forces you to cram?
3. Do other students seem to study less than you do but get better grades?
4. Do you usually spend hours at a time studying one subject, rather than dividing up the time among several subjects?
5. Do you often have trouble remembering what you just read in a textbook?
6. Before reading a chapter in a text, do you skim through it and read section headings?
7. Do you try to predict exam questions from lecture notes and reading?
8. Do you usually try to paraphrase or summarize what you just read?
9. Do you find it difficult to maintain your concentration when you study?
10. Do you often feel that you studied the wrong material for an exam?

Successful students that have fully realized their academic potential usually respond “yes” to questions 1, 6, 7, 8 and “no” to questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10. Compare your response. The greater discrepancy, the more you could benefit by improving your study habits. The questions are designed to help identify your weakness. Once you have identified your weakness, set specific goals for improvement.

Some goals I consider important for you to develop during this year are:

1. Self Reliance
Good organization
3. Good study habits, including time management
4. Responsibility
5. Ability to understand relationships with facts and concepts
6. Pace yourself
7. Teamwork

1. Maintain good attendance and participate actively during the class period.
2. Carefully read all materials given in class. Be certain to read the text before the scheduled lecture discussion! I want you to be an active participant by asking question and offering your ideas about a particular topic.
3. Read with a purpose. Note carefully all bold-faced or italicized words. Use the glossary to make notes in your notebook of words or processes not understood. Sometimes it helps to read material once for general understanding and a second time for details and making notes. It may help some of you to read out loud to yourself. Hearing it can reinforce the information.
4. In class, take careful notes with a purpose. Do not try to write down everything said or to write the information in complete sentences. Your notes should be short and concise with only key words/phrases recorded. The most important thing you can do in class is listen and ask questions. Add more complete information to your notes after you leave class. Check your textbook for follow-up information and details.
5. Review your notes daily. Add brief comments to them from what you recall from class discussions. Reviewing them often, at any odd moment available, will help you to remember them. Long, study periods are counter productive, as research has shown that you only remember the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes, but little or nothing in between. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to study often in short bursts (10-15 minutes).
6. Add new material to your notes each day while reviewing old material. You may want to read your notes onto a tape to play back over and over again. This will help when you review for a test.
7. Reread your text after the class discussion. Then on the next class day, you can ask questions about material that was not clearly understood.
8. Learning is not a competitive exercise. You can best help yourself by helping others. Form study groups or try to tutor another student. In posing questions and attempting to explain to others, you become aware of your own depth of understanding as well as those areas in which you need further review.
Before a test, pretest yourself or have a friend ask you questions.
9. For maximum performance, it is important to stay mentally and physically healthy. If you feel ill, tired most of the time, or frustrated, this could create difficulties. SLOW DOWN and think about your work lead and schedule. If you are doing too many things, this will add to your frustrations.
10. Manage and budget your time. Do not procrastinate on your work. Set up a study schedule for each of your courses. Reevaluate you studying on a daily or weekly basis and adjust the schedule.

• a. Read the title of the chapter and the chapter outline.
• b. Read the introduction or the first few paragraphs at the beginning of the chapter.
• c. Scan the entire chapter, page by page.
  Read the headings and first sentence of each paragraph.
  Glance over the pictures, tables and diagrams.
  Read the summary at the end of the chapter.

• a. Outline the chapter as you read it or make concept maps of the information. Avoid making long lists, try to limit lists to about 5 subjects by subdividing into more categories or
• b. Take notes as you read the chapter.

• a. While reading ask yourself “is that something my teacher would ask?” If you can’t imagine what your teacher would ask, then you will resort to trying to learn everything, get frustrated and quit.
• b. Separate major ideas and differentiate them from examples.
• c. The chapter objectives should help you with the task of anticipating questions.
• d. When you think you have the information, make flash cards to review or study.

• a. This sounds silly, but you are more likely to remember what you hear than what you read.
• b. Repeat the information to yourself, a study partner or anyone. The more often, the more you will remember.

• a. The more you review something, the more likely you will store it in your long term memory.
• b. Look over what you have written in your notes and on your flash cards. Remember to look over the diagrams and pictures in the book since they can sometimes trigger your memory.
• c. Give yourself enough lead time to allow for review of the material at a comfortable pace. Study ahead of time, a little everyday. Don’t cram.