How A ‘Study Formula’ Guarantees Straight A’s

Studying can be overwhelming.

There are so many pieces to the puzzle.

Different subjects, essays to write, facts to memorise, formulas to figure out, study notes to write, slides to look over, websites to check out, books to read —your teen has to juggle all of these things at once during the school year.

It is no wonder that so many teens have no idea where to start when it comes to school and studying, and no idea how they’re supposed to wade through so many different bits and pieces.

There is good news though!

There IS a way for your teen to make everything simpler.

This method streamlines your teen’s study.

It helps them focus on what’s really important.

It’s something good studiers utilise all the time.

To have the best chance of getting good grades this year, your teen needs to develop a Study Formula.

For those of you who have completed our Straight A’s email course, you will already have heard me harp on about the importance of your teen developing their Study Formula.

Because it’s something so central to the mastery of good studying, I want to reiterate the main points of Study Formulas here.

We could all use a refresher.

What is a Study Formula?

Students who get good grades follow a process when they study.

They follow certain steps. They have a pattern.

It’s this collection of results-proven practices that make up what we call a Study Formula.

Students who get good grades apply this Study Formula EVERY TIME they study for exams.

What study techniques should your teen have in their Study Formula?

A really important point to make is that every student’s Study Formula is their own. The combination of practices and study techniques that make up their Study Formula will be unique to them.

However, here’s a list of study techniques and processes that would commonly be in a straight-A-student’s Study Formula:

(By the way – they’re in a somewhat chronological order, meaning the things nearer the top of the list your teen would do earlier in their exam preparation, while the things towards the end of the list your teen would do closer to the actual exam.)

• Making a list of all the topics that you need to study
• Looking at past exams to get an idea of the exam format
• Writing study notes (or typing study notes if you prefer)
• Researching topics you don’t understand well enough
• Making diagrams and flow-charts of relevant processes
• Consolidating study notes
• Attempting practice exams
• Using flash cards to consolidate facts
• Thinking about how you’re going to allocate your time in the exam

This is not a conclusive list of course. Your teen might have some amazing study techniques that I’ve never thought of!

What your teen should do this weekend

Your teen’s task for this weekend (with your help) is to have a think about what study techniques they already find effective, and then make a conscious effort to think about where these techniques might fit into their Study Formula.

Your teen might already know what study techniques they find effective, but I want them to consciously think about where in their study process they fit. What I’m saying is that your teen might sort of have a Study Formula already but not realise it.

I want your teen to know what their Study Formula is.

If your teen has no idea what study techniques and processes they find effective, either because they’re going to be sitting exams for the first time this year, or because they’ve never given study a good effort before, that’s no problem.

It just means that from now on, every time they sit down to study, they should make a mental note (or even better a physical one) of what study techniques seem to work for them, and which ones don’t.

After your teen has sat one set of exams they should have at least some idea of what steps they might like to follow, but it’s totally fine if it takes them a few goes to be really happy with their Study Formula.

I’m at my sixth year of university and I’m still refining my Study Formula! There is always room for improvement!

Having a Study Formula that’s been refined by trial and error lies at the heart of a good student’s exam success.

If you think your teen might need assistance implementing their Study Formula, that is, actually putting different study techniques into practice, then check out our Exam Survival Package. It’s our A-Z of exam preparation. The videos and documents that comprise it hold EVERYTHING we know about straight-A exam study. You can give it to your teen today!