• Work a little bit each day on your assignments; avoid suffering from day-before syndrome.• Read only the favored sources on the syllabus in detail. To decide how much time to spend on supplemental sources, remember the importance hierarchy:✓ readings that make an argument are more important than✓ readings that describe an event or person, which are more important ✓ readings that only provided context • Take reading notes in the question/evidence/conclusion format.• Work in groups on problem sets, solve problems on the go, and write up your answers formally the first time.

Step #2. Demote Your Assignments

• Eliminate the question marks for topics covered in class or from the reading that you don’t understand.

Step #5. Invest in “Academic Disaster Insurance”

• A thesis is not a thesis until a professor has approved it.

Step #3. Seek a Second Opinion

• Follow your outline and articulate your points clearly.• Write no more than three to five pages per weekday and five to eight pages per weekend day.

Step #7. Write Without the Agony

• Find sources.• Make personal copies of all sources.• Annotate the material.• Decide if you’re done. (If the answer is “no,” loop back to #1.)

Step #4. Research like a Machine

• Figure out exactly what the test will cover.• Cluster your notes for nontechnical courses.• Build mega-problem sets for technical courses.

Step #3. Marshal Your Resources

• Start with general sources and then follow references to find the more targeted sources where good thesis ideas often hide.

Step #2. Conduct a Thesis-Hunting Expedition

• Always go to class and try to take the best notes possible.• For nontechnical courses, capture the big ideas by taking notes in the question/evidence/conclusion format.• For technical courses, record as many sample problems and answers as possible.

Step #1. Take Smart Notes

<ul><li>Keep a work progress journal, and every day record what you wanted to accomplish and whether or not you succeeded.</li><li>When working, eat healthy snacks to maximize your energy.</li><li>Transform horrible tasks into a big event to help you gather the energy to start.</li><li>Build work routines to make steady progress on your obligations without expending too much of your limited motivational resources.</li><li>Choose your hard days in advance to minimize their impact.</li></ul>

Step #2. Declare War on Procrastination

• Solid editing requires only three careful passes:– The Argument Adjustment Pass: Read the paper carefully on your computer to make sure your argument is clear, fix obvious errors, and rewrite where the flow needs improvement.– The Out Loud Pass: Carefully read out loud a printed copy of your paper, marking any awkward passages or unclear explanations.– The Sanity Pass: A final pass over a printed version of the paper to check the overall flow and to root out any remaining errors.

Step #8. Fix, Don’t Fixate

Step 1 :Manage Your Time in Five Minutes a DayStep 2 :Declare War on ProcrastinationStep 3 :Choose When, Where, and How Long

Part 1. Study Basics

Step 1: Target a Titillating TopicStep 2: Conduct a Thesis-Hunting ExpeditionStep 3: Seek a Second OpinionStep 4: Research like a MachineStep 5: Craft a Powerful StoryStep 6: Consult Your Expert PanelStep 7: Write Without the AgonyStep 8: Fix, Don’t Fixate

Part 3. Essays and Papers

• Look over the whole test first.• Figure out how much time you have to spend on each question (leaving a ten-minute cushion at the end).• Answer the questions in order of increasing difficulty.• Write out a mini-outline before tackling an essay question.• Use any and all leftover time to check and recheck your work.

Step #6. Provide “A+” Answers

• Start looking for an interesting topic early.

Step #1. Target a Titillating Topic

Step 1: Take Smart NotesStep 2: Demote Your AssignmentsStep 3: Marshal Your ResourcesStep 4: Conquer the MaterialStep 5: Invest in “Academic Disaster Insurance”Step 6: Provide “A+” Answers

Part 2. Quizzes and Exams

• Embrace the quiz-and-recall method. It’s the single most efficient way to study.• Spread out memorization over several days. Your mind can do only so much at a time.

Step #4. Conquer the Material

• There is no shortcut to developing a well-balanced and easy-to-follow argument.• Dedicate a good deal of thought over time to getting it right.• Describe your argument in a topic-level outline.• Type supporting quotes from sources directly into your outline.

Step #5. Craft a Powerful Story

<ul><li>Try to fit as much work as possible into the morning and afternoon, between classes and obligations. </li><li>Study in isolated locations.</li><li>Take a break every hour.</li></ul>

Step #3. Choose When, Where, and How Long

• Before starting to write, get some opinions on the organization of your argument and your support from classmates and friends who are familiar with the general area of study.• The more important the paper, the more people who should review it.

Step #6. Consult Your Expert Panel

<ul><li> Jot down to-dos and deadlines on a list whenever they arise. </li><li>Transfer these to-dos and deadlines t your calendar every morning.</li><li>Plan your day each morning by labeling your to-dos with realistic time frames and moving what you don’t have time for to different dates.</li></ul>

Step #1. Manage Your Time in Five Minutes a Day

"Teachers can open the door, but you must enter it yourself."

Looking to jumpstart your GPA? Most college students believe that straight A’s can be achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to:  • Streamline and maximize your study time  • Conquer procrastination  • Absorb the material quickly and effectively  • Know which reading assignments are critical—and which are not  • Target the paper topics that wow professors  • Provide A+ answers on exams  • Write stellar prose without the agony A strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, How to Become a Straight-A Student is the only study guide written by students for students—with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.

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Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."