By following these ten steps, you will become a more efficient note taker and this will help improve your overall study skills. With good note taking skills, better grades are just around the corner.

1. If possible, sit near the front and center of the class. You will be less likely to become distracted and will probably find staying focused easier.

2. Use a binder instead of a traditional notebook. This way you can add, rearrange, or rewrite pages of your notes, insert handouts and assessments in the appropriate chronological order and review the material covered in the chapter/unit much easier.

3. Put headings and the date on all papers. Organize them chronologically in your binder.

4. Take notes on loose-leaf paper and keep them organized in a three-ring binder. Make sure that you hole punch and add all of the handouts, assignments, quizzes, tests, etc. to your binder. It usually is best if everything for the entire chapter/unit is kept in chronological order in your binder.

5. Think about what is being said before you write anything down. Do not write down everything the teacher says. Pick out important phrases, terms, and concepts to focus on.

6. Record any examples the teacher may give while lecturing. Examples are extremely important in creating connections in your brain and in helping to jog your memory while studying.

7. Look for cues that teachers give to indicate that something is important. For instance, they may repeat something a few times, change the volume or tone of their voice, write it on the board or overhead, and/or creates lists for you. Be sure to ask them to repeat what they have just said if you miss the initial cue but later realize that you should be writing the material down.

8. Leave some space between portions of your notes so you can make additional comments as you study or read the text.

9. Re-write or even re-TYPE your notes. Not only will your notes be much more organized and make studying easier, but the practice of re-writing notes gives you another opportunity to think about the material as you write or type it again. Make sure that you re-write them in a timely manner. The more time that passes between taking the original notes and re-writing them, the less effective this strategy is.

10. Review these notes often. The more times you see them, the easier it is to commit them to memory and the less time you will spend studying them prior to the test.

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Some students spend too much time studying because they did not take the time to learn what was being taught in class the first time. If you follow these four tips, you will learn how to understand each lesson being taught in class so you will not have to put in extra time studying. This does not mean you will not have to study, but this will become a guide so you can use your time wisely. While you are in class, sit back and learn as much as you can and you will almost certainly get better grades and have more free time.

1. If possible, try to sit near the front to eliminate distractions. Teachers will probably not have a problem accommodating you if you ask them to sit you in a specific location in order to help you focus.

2. Avoid distractions such as chatting with friends, looking around the room, doodling, dozing, and daydreaming. Keep busy by participating in the discussion, asking or answering questions, and taking notes.

3. Contribute to classroom discussions. Raising your hand and offering your thoughts or ideas will help the discussion progress, make the teacher notice that you are actively taking a role in your education, and finally, help you sort out what you do and don’t know or fully understand. Try not to feel intimidated about raising your hand and answering questions. Start offering answers to questions or topics that you feel comfortable with and eventually this will become a habit. Eventually you will build enough confidence to contribute on a regular basis.

4. Listen not only to what the teacher is saying but to what your classmates are contributing to the discussing. You can learn a lot by listening to your peers.

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These twelve tips will help you get through any test and as long as you prepared adequately for it, you will certainly get an A.

Come to the test prepared and feeling confident that you know the material. Make sure that you are not very hungry or very full and that you are well-rested. Avoid eating sugary or processed foods before the test. Avoid items such as candy, carbonated soft drinks, junk foods, and fried foods. Snack on fresh fruit or veggies immediately before to get your mind off the test and give you some sustenance.

Breathe. Relax. Imagine yourself acing the test. It is amazing what a little positive imagery can do for you.

Read ALL of the directions carefully. Reread them again once you have finished. Look through the test to see what types of questions are asked, how many questions, if there are any major essays, if you have choices about questions that you can answer, etc. Make sure you know how much each section is worth so you can budget your time.

If the test involves specific equations, conversions, dates or anything else that you must memorize, write it on the top or margin of the test paper as soon as the test is handed out. Remembering complicated equations and dates before you have answered any questions is a lot easier than trying to remember them after you have answered half of the test questions and you brain is starting to get tired.

Answer all easy questions first. This will help you get into the test taking mood and build confidence. Circle the numbers of the questions that you really have no idea about. You can come back to these later. Often times questions you answer later in the test might trigger something and help you answer a question that you were previously stuck on.

Narrow multiple choice answers down to the two you believe might be correct by crossing off the ones you positively know are not correct. This will improve your chances of guessing the right one.

True-False questions are often a favorite of some teachers and can be quite complicated at times. Keep in mind that every part of a true-false statement must be true in order to answer it as true. If any part is false, mark the entire statement false. You may want to underline the portion of the statement that you believe is false. If there are negatives in the statement such as “no or not”, and you are still not sure whether to mark it true or false, try re-reading the question without the “no or not”. Decide if this statement is true or false then answer the opposite on your test. Words indicating absoluteness (never, always, entirely, every, only, none) often tend to be used in false statements.

Try to construct concise answers that target the question and prove to the teacher that you know the material. Get right to the point in the first sentence or two of your answer. The rest of the answer should contain proof that you know what you are talking about. Give enough evidence to support your thoughts but don’t over-answer the question. Writing a lot of fluff will usually leave the teacher thinking that you are writing for the sake of filling the space and that you really don’t have a good handle on the correct answer.

Before you begin writing an essay, make sure you know exactly what the question is asking. Try to restate the question in your own words. If you can’t do this with confidence, make a quick visit to the teacher and have him or her clarify it for you. Once confident in what the question is asking, take a few moments to get your thoughts together and write some notes in the margin or even create an outline on scrap paper if you have time.

If you find that you are running short on time and still have some open-ended questions left to answer, write something rather than leaving the space blank. Create a brief outline to show the teacher that you do know the answer, but you didn’t have enough time to write an entire essay. You maybe able to get say more in an outline form than you can if you were only able to write a few opening sentences of your essay. Partial credit is better than no credit at all.

Once you believe you are finished with the test, reread everything again to be sure that you answered every question fully and completely. If you have time, cover up your answers with your hand or another sheet of paper and ask yourself what answer you would give if you had to answer the question again. Compare this answer with what you have already written down. Only change the original answer if you find that you made a silly mistake or originally misinterpreted the question. It is usually best to go with your original instinct when you are truly unsure of an answer.

Be neat. The last thing a teacher wants to do while correcting mounds of tests is to spend time deciphering what a student has illegibly written.

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Below are eight tips to help you read and understand your text book so you can guarantee yourself better grades.

1. Skim through all titles and headings before reading the first paragraph. This will give you an idea regarding the material covered in the chapter or section and help you create a mental picture of the material as you read.

2. Quickly read through the material in the section the first time to pick out the basic concepts. Do not try to remember or write down specific details yet. Just get an idea of what is discussed in the reading.

3. Re-read the section carefully and take notes as you read. Read a paragraph or even a few sentences if the paragraphs are complicated, stop, and think about what you read. This is the RST method. Read, Stop and take a few minutes to digest the material and Think about what you read. Paraphrase the material. Put it in your own language; what does it mean to you? You may even want to recite what you read out loud. A lot of students find the Thinking part easier when they actually get their thoughts down on paper. Do not try to write everything, just little phrases to remind yourself of what you just thought about.

4. Be sure to look at figures, diagrams, and inserts. One picture or graph may contain the same amount of information found in a lengthy paragraph and be much easier to decipher. Be sure to read all captions.

5. Record all boldfaced words and their meanings in your own words in your notes. They must be important if the textbook authors and publishers went out of their way to boldface them!

6. Once you are finished reading, summarize what you just read out loud. Your ability to discuss this will serve as a true test to determine whether or not you understood what you just read.

7. Skim through the text a few more times, especially prior to and after lectures that compliment the material in the text.

8. Try to organize all of your notes to create the big picture. Add information from your class notes to your text notes and/or add information from your text notes to your class notes. This combination is easily accomplished if you type over your notes, leaving yourself with a neat, organized and thorough copy of everything you need to know for that chapter/unit.

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Learning math can be tough, and when you pay for help from tutoring, you expect results. You can maximize your chance of getting positive results by understanding how the tutoring works. Familiarize yourself with the software try to test it out ahead of time. Understand how to log on (remember to keep your logon and password in a safe place), learn how to maneuver around the software, and be sure your computer meets or exceeds the hardware requirements in order to ensure yours sessions run as smoothly as possible.

Another thing to do prior to entering a tutoring session is to study up on the material. The more you know going in, the more you can get out of tutoring. Ask the tutoring service if there are any math online tutoring video tutorials. These short videos can help you understand the concepts. Besides your paid tutoring service, you can search on the web for math online tutoring video tutorials that do the same thing. Usually, they’re not free, though, so the best thing is to hit the books before getting help from your tutor. You should also ask the tutoring service if they can record the session for you, then you’ll have your own recorded tutoring session that you can go back to if you need to refresh your memory of what you did.

There are also many example problems online that you can look to if you want to get ahead. These examples are good, not only to learn the material, but to study for your math tests later on. Use these example problems to quiz yourself, and if you can’t figure out the answer, you can ask your tutor during your sessions. That is a great way to utilize free resources and commercial resources.

So, remember to study up, find free example problems online, and watch free math online tutoring video tutorials before sitting down for a 1-on-1 tutoring session. I know you want to see your math grades go up, and this will help you do just that!

These five tips will help you get A’s. Read each tip carefully an start applying them today.

1. Create a timeline. Once you determine the day of the test work backwards. Budget a specific amount of time every day. Consider other homework, projects and time needed to study for other classes as you create your schedule.

2. Review a little each night. Do not wait until a test is announced to begin preparing for your test. Consider what would be easier &ndash reviewing for 5-10 minutes a night or cramming for three hours the night before a test and only remembering a fraction of what you studied?

3. Don’t just re-read notes or the text. Ask questions. Create flash-cards. Redo assignments. Create time-lines. Play games. Re-write your notes. Get someone to quiz you. Find websites online that review the same material. Make up questions that you think will be on the test. Create new outlines of the material by writing some specific topics and filling in the details from memory. Studying should be an active process, not just time spent re-reading something.

4. Ask the teacher what the format for the test will be. Will it contain multiple choice, true-false, short answer, essay, diagrams, graphs, equations, etc.? Will any information such as a periodic table or equations be provided for you on the day of the test? Do you need to bring a calculator?

5. Visit your teacher or tutor for extra help. Bring questions that you may have or ask for ideas regarding the best way to study for a particular assessment.

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By following these twelve tips, you will be guaranteed to get straight AAAAA’s. Read each tip carefully.

1. Find a quiet area in your house in which you are comfortable and can isolate yourself from distractions. Be sure that this space includes a chair, table or desk, and sufficient lighting. Ask others not to disturb you while you are in this special location and turn off all phones, beepers, televisions, videos, music, or anything else that your mind will wander to instead of focusing on the schoolwork.

2. Find the best time to study. Some students tend to do their best work as soon as they get home from school while they are still in the school mode. Others need a break and don’t settle down to study until after practice, playtime, a nap, dinner and/or family time. Just be sure to allow yourself enough time to get everything done and still get enough sleep each night.

3. Organize your day, week, month, etc. Set aside a specific time each day to do your homework and study. Decide on a reasonable minimum amount of time that you will spend in this quiet place each day. For instance, lets say you decide on 45 minutes as a reasonable amount of time to dedicate to schoolwork each day. This means that even if homework is completed in the first 35 minutes that you will still stay in this area and study or review notes for the next 10 minutes until the 45 is up.

4. Reward yourself for sticking to your schedule and being productive. Decide on an activity to do once your study time is completed. Plan on watching a television show later in the evening. Tell yourself that you will play five minutes of a video game for every fifteen minutes that you study. Create goals and their rewards before you start studying and work hard to reach them each and every day.

5. Variety is important. Vary the topics that you are spending time studying. Get the mandatory homework out of the way first and then go back and spend the additional time reviewing material from different courses each day. If you spent extra time reviewing history yesterday, spend the additional time on science tonight. Some subject areas may require more time than others. You should get a feel for this a month or so into the school year.

6. Study the difficult subjects first and get them out of the way. You will be able to absorb material quicker and make more connections when you are mentally fresh.

7. Take regular study breaks. This can also serve as a mini-reward. For instance, tell yourself that you are going to get a drink or snack or listen to a specific song after you finish re-copying your notes for science. Make the breaks short, 3-6 minutes or so, so you won’t get side-tracked or lose focus for the day.

8. Don’t just re-read notes or the text. Ask questions. Create flash-cards. Redo assignments. Create time-lines. Play games. Re-write your notes. Get someone to quiz you. Find websites online that review the same material. Make up questions that you think will be on the test. Create new outlines of the material by writing some specific topics and filling in the details from memory. Studying should be an active process, not just time spent re-reading something.

9. When you need to remember a group of terms use the first letter of each to create a word (acronym) or a sentence (acrostic). For instance, an easy way to remember the five Great Lakes is the word “HOMES”. By just remembering the word “homes” you can easily remember the names of the five Great Lakes . H stands for Huron, O for Ontario , M for Michigan , and so on. You can also create silly sentences to help you remember long lists of terms. For instance, remembering the sentence “Martha Visits Every Monday, Just Stays Until Noon, Period”, will help you remember the planets in the order they are found. M for Mercury, V for visits, E for Earth, etc.

10. Become a teacher. Find someone who is willing to listen to you &ndash, a classmate (this would be a great review for them), Mom or Dad, a sibling, the family dog &ndash and explain your notes to them. Have them (except the dog) ask questions about the material that they themselves don’t understand. It’s amazing how much you can retain when you have to actually teach material to someone.

11. Repetition, repetition, repetition. The material should become second nature to you by the time test day arrives. If it is not, then you need to devote more time to preparing for the test.

12. Exercise often and before you sit down to study. Research shows that students retain more after being physically active. Go to soccer practice, take a jog, rough-house with your dog, break a sweat first, then settle down and focus on your school work.

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These six steps will help you prepare for class and as a result, you will become more and more confident every time you enter the classroom. In time, you will feel excited about going to class and your grades will drastically improve. Remember that attitude is everything and you must start today by changing your attitude about class. Being prepared for the classroom will certainly help.

1. Pre-read material in your text before class. Having some exposure to the material will make it much easier to follow along with what the teacher says.

2. Review past material. Understanding what you did in previous classes will make it much easier to make connections to new material.

3. Make a list of questions that you may have from the previous day’s activities or homework. Try to get all questions resolved before moving on.

4. Do your homework. At least try each and every problem and make notes when you don’t understand something. At least the teacher will know that you tried.

5. Stay organized. Punch holes in all of your papers and keep them in the binder.

6. Come to class prepared with the appropriate materials such as your text, loose-leaf paper, and something to write with. You wouldn’t want to miss part of the class because you are busy looking around for a pencil!

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When most parents hear the word online tutoring, they can’t quite envision it, but when students hear the word online tutoring, they are intrigued. Online tutoring allows a tutor and student to communicate from computer to computer. Most online tutoring sessions take place inside an online classroom.

Many online tutoring services offer a whiteboard so words can be written or drawn with the mouse and keyboard. Only the best online tutoring classrooms offer voice over ip. This means both the student and tutor can speak through the computer as long as both have a microphone and speakers.

Once the parent understands the concept of online tutoring, they are often times amazed. Their child can ask any question and the tutor is able to walk the student through the entire problem solving process and help the student to solve each problem. This one on one communication is what most students need to overcome learning obstacles.

In the classroom, most students are left behind if they don’t ask specific questions to help them understand what they are learning. Once a student starts falling behind, tutoring must be provided to prevent failing grades. Often times a personal face to face tutor intimidates students and still might not help.

Online tutoring allows any student to get the one on one attention they need without the intimidation factor. Students feel comfortable learning online and the fact that each lesson can be printed is a wonderful study tool.

If you never tried online tutoring, I suggest you give it a try and allow your child to learn online. The cost is usually less than a private tutor and you won’t have to drive and worry about scheduling issues. Your child can learn from any computer as long as there is an internet connection.

Go to .live-etutor.com to learn more about online tutoring and watch a virtual tour inside of our online classroom. All tutors are screened, qualified and ready to help your child get better grades!