Want Better Grades? Try This!

In Robert Bateman’s article “How to Achieve the Best Grades Possible with Minimal Stress,” we are taught how to not only work hard, but to work smart. He tells of his experience as a young father, working 40+ hours a week, writing freelance as a side job, and lifting weights, all while going to law school. His goal in writing this essay is to help others understand the principles that helped him graduate from law school while in the midst of a busy life, all without stressing himself out.

In the opening paragraphs of the essay, Bateman puts the main goal in any college class in mind: acing your exams. The reason we take college classes is to pass-or to ace-our exams, and to give us opportunity for further progression in the future. Following are the ways that Bateman gives us to ace our exams, all without becoming overly stressed out. He does a fair job at portraying a lifestyle that is stress-free, while also maintaining high marks in classes.

First of all, you need to participate in all your classes. Bateman states that: “In a 2010 study by David O. Allen and Don J. Webber, students with high attendance achieved an extra 7.7 percent in their assessment marks for each additional seminar they attended.” The giving of statistics gives a good neutral standpoint for the audience. It states that in other words, attendance is directly related to test grades. And we all know how important test grades are. Nevertheless, we also learn from Bateman that you are not going to remember all the stuff said during class, but class is in fact an opportunity to learn about our teachers and exams. We can ask direct questions about what topics will be covered on the exams and ask for sample questions and even for past tests to study with. He makes this particular principle appear very reliable by giving an exact statistic that correlates with class attendance. I agree with Bateman’s perspective on class attendance.

Another bit of advice given by Bateman is to take notes by hand. He states that taking notes by hand rather than on a laptop is slower and forces you to re-frame and remember the information you receive. In giving direct instruction in what to do in class, Bateman is very clear in what can help us improve our grades. Through my first 4 weeks of college, I have been taking notes on a laptop. While laptops are useful, I add my opinion that things are much better remembered when written by hand.

We also learn the importance of study outside of class. A big tip given is to start studying early, and space out your study. While so many college students wait till the last minute to cram for their exams, we need to be different. Bateman relates from personal experience that while his fellow classmates were up at 3am drinking coffee with notes spread all over the floor, he’d carry on with his one to two hours per day that he’d been doing for the past three months. This is effective because not only do you better retain material studied over a longer period of time with breaks in between, but it also gives you an opportunity to get sufficient sleep the night before an exam, which can affect your test scores significantly. Sharing his personal experience is important in helping those reading directly relate to him. Bateman does a great job at helping this relate to those of us who have been in those positions­­–whether it be up until 3am or not. Anyone who has experienced what his classmates do would know of the serious downfalls of this lifestyle.

We also learn to set a routine. You must decide when you’re going to study, and then do it before you can talk yourself out of it. Wherever that may be, the important thing is that you have a routine. If you have a routine, you don’t have to wait to feel motivated-you already know what you need to do-you just start. He speaks very boldly in order to help relay the underlying fact that it is up to us to do things even when we don’t feel like it. It is important for us to feel ownership over our schooling, and he makes it clear in this topic that we are in charge.

Bateman teaches us not only when to study, but he teaches us much on how to study as well. He states that “taking tests is a skill. You need to practice that skill.” Instead of trying to read and remember, use flash cards to memorize, or otherwise memorize in a superficial way, you must practice taking exams. You need to practice and learn in the way that you will be tested. This goes back to the beginning goal of acing our exams. Everything is about doing well on exams. This quote may be the single biggest tool for success. Tests are everything, and he does a good job in the article of emphasizing the need to study in the way in which we will be tested.

In short, the main point in Batemans essay about achieving good grades in school without stressing out is working smart instead of working hard. You should: focus on exams, participate in classes, take notes by hand as to what we are learning in class, get in a routine of study every day, space out studies instead of cramming, and study in the manner that you will be tested. Bateman does a fantastic job at giving us clear steps that–if followed–will lead to success in the classroom. He states clearly these steps to success and makes it easy to see the process that he used to improve his grades and minimize his stress.

Following these steps is a sure-fire way to improve your grades and improve your quality of life. So much in life hangs on our college grades that it can be a stressful time in our lives. While this proves to be true, through following the study tips given by Bateman, we can do well in school, prepare for the future, and improve ourselves without ruining our personal life and emotional health. I have personally experienced success in my studies by following these principles, and I know it will work for those who give effort to it. As Bateman said: “Even if you aren’t as obsessed with getting the highest possible grades as I was, you will thank yourself for approaching your studies in a smart and orderly way. Throughout the article, Batemans strategies are explained clearly and simply in an easily accessible and understandable way.