Hey guys!
Today's video is about how to improve your grades, and this video is sponsored by
Pearson SmartThinking, which is an online tutoring service that I will be telling you more about later on in the video.
So, how exactly can you improve your grades?
To figure this out, let's start off by first thinking about what grades really are exactly;
They're just a percentage of the points
You could have possibly earned from all of the assignments in the class,
Versus the points that you actually did earn and to raise this average,
There are two possible methods: one is to get some extra credit points.
This might not be an option in every single class depending on your teacher and how the class works,
so the second option, which is mostly what I'll be focusing on today, is
To just keep doing better in the assignments you have in the future. That way they will raise the average you have
Of points possible vs. Points earned. It's gonna take a lot of hard work.
There are no magic tricks in this video that will automatically fix your grade. In the end,
It comes down to the hard work that you do to earn more points on all of your assignments and tests.
But, don't lose hope, stay positive!
It's always possible to improve your grades,
Especially if you do really well in some huge
Assignments, like a final exam or a big test or project.
The first step I recommend is to take a closer look and reflect on the grades
You got before either in the same subject or class in the past or,
The assignments that you currently have in your grade for a certain class.
Usually, there are a couple of different categories such as: tests, quizzes, homework,
projects and essays. Best case scenario,
Your teacher already has all of these separate grade categories divided up in the grade book.
Or, you can go through and separate them yourselves and figure out your average for each category.
Then, once you know which section is your weakness,
Which one is bringing your grade down the most, you can focus on improving that one because that's where you'll see the most
Increase in average, while still doing your best to maintain good scores in all of the other areas.
So, let's start with tests, quizzes, final exams and all other forms of assessment.
The first step is to make sure that you actually
understand the material. A test or quiz is just a way for you to
transfer all of the knowledge that you have and show the teacher what you know,
so you got to make sure that you actually know things so that you can do well on these tests and quizzes. If
You're having trouble understanding things from the lectures or textbook readings, go and ask your teacher for help.
You could also get a tutor and one option that I recommend is Pearson SmartThinking.
This is an online tutoring service where tutors are available on demand, which is super convenient.
It allows you to be tutored individually at any time.
The tutors on this platform are highly trained and very knowledgeable.
Almost all of them have a master's degree in the subject that they're tutoring.
Also, if you buy an hour of tutoring
But you don't use it all up in one session, the minutes can transfer over so you won't be wasting your money.
I found it really helpful to get an additional explanation for some of the really difficult
Concepts in Calc BC to supplement the information that I got from the lecture and make sure that I really understand what I'm doing.
Besides just getting tutoring help,
You can also send in your essay to review and improve your essay grades,
Which I will go over later on in the video as well.
So, check it out, at smarthinking.com.
Besides Pearson SmartThinking, some other options might be a peer tutoring service
available at your school or an in-person tutor in your area.
So now that we've established that you know what you're doing, now
You need to make sure that you remember how to do all these things and to do this you have to study!
I know it seems like the most obvious tip in the world, but really, make sure you study. Of course, make sure you study
Well in advance of your test not just the night before. I like to compare it to running a race;
You wouldn't do a super hard workout only the day before and not train at all before that
So, why do that with your studying?
I do have a lot of advice videos since pretty much my entire channel is dedicated to these study skills
I have videos about planning time management organization
Different study techniques for each subject how to take notes. How does not procrastinate and stay focused
I will link a ton of resources in the description to help you out
And lastly you need to learn from the mistakes that you've made in the past so you can correct them and not make them again
I know it really hurts to go and look at all of those red pen marks and points taken off
But you need to go back and look at your past exams and papers and get that feedback
Then you'll remember which dumb mistakes you need to be careful about and you can go back and study certain and weaker areas
To improve on them for the future tests. The next category are projects or other
Assignments that are based on the quality of the work just like for a tests
You need to know the subject material this again is just another way to demonstrate what you know
So you need to know some things if it's available to you?
definitely look at the rubric that will be used to score you because if you can tailor your
Project to fit the highest scores in all of those different areas
Then when your teacher is grading it
They can just check off that you did all of these good things and give you a good score
also I definitely recommend looking at examples if they are available to you so you can look at them and see the exemplars
Look at what you like about them what you don't like and would want to improve on obviously don't copy them
But it's great to get inspiration from a variety of other sources and see what your teacher is looking for
also, you can work with your friends so that you can compare your answers and
Discuss what would probably be a correct answer or build on each other's ideas, and you can peer critique each other's work
essays are usually a different category from projects for assignments, but I'm going to consider them a type of
project first
Before you get started on the whole essay ask your teacher to look over the key elements like the thesis
Or maybe an outline by checking in with them they can help correct your course if you're going a little bit
away from what they're looking for and you won't be basing your entire essay on a thesis or outline that isn't quite great
Again, as I mentioned earlier peer critique is really helpful because they can catch grammar or spelling errors that you might not have seen also
They can help point out when something is unclear in the writing since you're the one writing it
You know exactly what you mean and what you're trying to say but to someone else it might not make as much sense
so you know where you need to fix things to make more sense and lastly not something. That's an
instantaneous kind of thing to improve a specific essay, but if you read and write often
it'll help you improve your vocabulary your
Understanding of grammar and your knowledge of writing and structure and all of this fun
Stuff about language and communication and the last category would be homework or anything
Else that's graded on mostly completion not necessarily quality or accuracy
Obviously you have to do your homework don't just blow some things off or not put in your full effort
Just because it's a small assignment because every point is still a point and you don't want to regret slacking off on those
Two five point assignments when they could push your grade over a borderline one of the main issues with completing homework, though
is that it takes a lot of time and if you feel that you're really
Rushed on time and don't have a lot of it
I will have some videos about time management linked in the description and in the cards
Thanks again to Pearson SmartThinking for sponsoring this video and now go out there and study smart work hard
Do your best improve those grades and get that knowledge?
And remember that although grades are important and it's great to be motivated to learn, grades don't define who you are
So don't stress out about them too much to the point that it's unhealthy
I hope you enjoyed this video and if you'd like more school advice check out the links in the description
Also, be sure to check out Pearson's smart thinking also linked in the description
I upload new videos every Monday and my Tumblr and Instagram are @studyquill. See you next time