Gary North, Ph.D.

YESTERDAY'S ASSIGNMENT

Did you read one Wiki article?

If you have printed out these lessons and put them into a 3-hole binder, you have the equivalent of a medium- sized book.

That wasn't so difficult, was it?

You can eat an elephant, one bite at a time.

If you have done what I recommended, you are on track to survive your first semester in college.

I have two questions for you: (1) Have you done what I recommended? (2) Will you stay with the program?

In other words, have you internalized these study methods? Have they become habits? If so, you will probably stick with the program. If not, then you had better review the entire course. See what you just could not bring yourself to do. Then start doing it.

Time-management is the most important general skill that I have tried to impart to you. This is the skill that will pay off the highest through the rest of your life.

For purposes of improving your grades, one technique stands out above the rest. Which one do you think it is? If you guessed, "lecture to the wall," go to the head of the class.

Lecturing to the wall is the little-known, spectacularly effective study technique that almost no one will use, even those few who know about it. But you know about it. And you're in a position to put this knowledge to work.

If you get this one study technique internalized, you almost cannot fail to graduate from high school and college with good grades.

But there were other techniques that you learned:

End each day by scheduling tomorrow' tasks
Use this: A, B, and C
Locate a study partner.
Convert bus time to review time.
Don't read in a soft, deep chair.
Use 3x5 cards to ask questions after class.
Use vocabulary cards for foreign language.
Use earplugs when doing homework.
Budget time at the beginning of an exam.
Follow instructions.
Write down instructions.
Schedule fun times.
Cut back on TV.
Buy used (battered) textbooks.
Mark up these textbooks at home.
Drop a killer class for study hall.
Take that class in summer.
Read a chapter fast the first time.
Review chapter-end questions.
Then read it slowly, with a highlighter.
Lecture to the wall.
Review class notes on the day you take them.
Don't use detailed outlines.
Write from the heart; then revise.
Read and clip the daily newspaper.

TEST-TAKING

This skill is crucial until you leave school. After that, you will rarely use it again. The same is true of note-taking.

If you can get the knack of taking machine-graded exams, you can save thousands of dollars on college. That's because of the CLEP and AP exams. Some of you will save tens of thousands of dollars by passing these exams -- or your families will. I hope your parents will share some of that saved money with you on the day you receive your bachelor's degree.

If you learn how to take CLEP exams, you can walk into college as a junior, having saved up to $70,000 in tuition, room, board, and books. Saving $20,000 is duck soup -- nothing to it.

If you take my advice and skip walking into college, you can earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited university for an additional $7,500 or so.

This brings us to the next stage of your self- education. You have now finished my study skills course. Maybe you have not internalized all of my recommended techniques, but you have probably become a better student than you were a month ago.

Yes? No? Or aren't you sure yet?

No matter. Your grades will tell the truth.

WHAT NEXT?

Decide how you want to earn your degree. Which of my seven alternative tracks appeal to you?

I recommend that you join this site if you have additional questions.