introduction
This is a book about getting good grades in college. You won't find anything here about getting along with your roommate, making friends and hooking up, balancing study time and party time, or how to do your own laundry. No, it's all about grades. A's -- and how to get them...
You'd be amazed how many times students come to their professors at the end of the semester saying, "I'd do anything for an A." By then, of course, it's too late. The course is over. The die has been cast. But for you, A's are available for the asking. Or at least the reading.
This book is written wholly by professors. The folks who give the grades, and who know what it takes to get good grades. Throughout the book we'll be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of the grading process. We'll show you how the college grading system is set up, what items count (and don't count) toward your grade. We'll reveal what the professor is thinking as he or she constructs the course, gives the lectures, and assigns and grades your tests and papers. And we'll expose how professors size up students in discussion sections, office hours, and even from e-mail communications. Once you understand how the professor is thinking about all the activities that affect your grade, you'll be able to do them better. Which will put you on the fast track for getting excellent grades in your courses.
You might have thought this information was available elsewhere -- for example, from the professor or TA teaching your course. Think again. Professors today are much shorter on time than they were even five years ago, as a result of booming enrollments (often without additional instructional staff). At UCLA, for example, the super-obscure Medieval Philosophy course used to have 30 students; now there are 200 (plus a wait-list of 50). Also, professors are often very reluctant to talk about how grades are given and what you can do to get good grades. Some think that it's "unbecoming" for professors to talk about grades, or that students are already too obsessed with grades (so why rev them up more?). Others just find it too unpleasant to talk about grades and want instead to stick to discussion of the Javanese gamelan, Pavlovian conditioning, protease inhibitors, or whatever the course is about.
That's why this book will be an enormous help to you in your quest for that most important of college prizes -- the golden A. The Professors' Guide is brimming over with high-value, authoritative tips, techniques, strategies, and methods. Instead of just telling you to sit in the front of the lecture hall and pay attention, we'll show you how to use the verbal and behavioral cues of the professor to construct an excellent set of lecture notes. Instead of just telling you to study hard for tests, we'll show you how to anticipate questions, triage your time, and make full use of the course resources. Instead of just telling you to go see the professor (or TA) when you're having trouble, we'll tell you what to say (and what not to say) when you're there, so that you can get all the help you need to reel in that truly excellent grade.
All the tips in this book are practical and easy to use. In each case we'll tell you exactly what to do, and how to do it. And the tips are time-savers, too. Nowhere do we direct you to work harder, or to try harder, or to do all the course activities for their own sake. You might find yourself working harder, or trying harder, or even (gasp!) going to all the classes. But it'll be because, once you understand how the various activities fit into your getting good grades, you'll be more motivated to do them. And you'll enjoy them more, to boot.
Trust us, the tips in the Professors' Guide really do work. Between the two of us, we have taught over 10,000 students (that's right, ten thousand) at a total of eight different universities -- Lynn at the University of Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Cal State Northridge, University of Redlands, and NYU; Jeremy at Arkansas, MIT, UCLA, and Princeton. We've seen thousands of students move from B's to A's -- and hundreds from C's to A's. We know how they did it, and we'll show you how you can do it, too!
But there's another reason the tips, techniques, strategies and methods of this book will work. It's because once you understand the mechanisms of grading -- what counts (and what doesn't) for the grade, how professors make up and grade tests and papers, and how professors are willing to help you get good grades -- you'll be able to do the things that produce good grades. You'll do the right things, you'll do them right, and you'll get good grades. It's that simple.
This book is arranged around the five "grade-bearing moments" of the academic semester. Much like the load- or weight-bearing walls of a house, these are the times and activities of the semester that bear the full weight of your grade in the course. And which, if done correctly, will result in an A for you at the end of the course.
If you choose to read the book from cover to cover, you'll find the grade-bearing moments arranged in the order of the typical academic semester (or quarter, if your school has those). You'll begin with (1) the Start (in which you'll dispel common myths, learn how professors grade, and pick courses with an eye to grades); you'll move on to (2) the Class (in which you'll learn how to drop and add courses, how to take excellent lecture notes, and how to structure a typical week); you'll proceed through (3) the Test (in which you'll learn how to best prepare for, take, and go over your test); you'll tackle (4) the Paper (in which you'll learn how to understand the assignment, how to think out and write both analytical and research papers, and most important, how to enlist the help of the professor); and finally you'll arrive at (5) the Last Month of the semester (where you'll learn to surmount the hazards of this major grade-bearing moment, and how to prepare for, and take, that all-important final exam).
But maybe you're more pressed for time, or you're picking up this book well into the semester. No problem. Each of the 15 chapters stands on its own and will work without any of the others. So if you find yourself with lecture notes that could fit on a postcard (and still leave room for the address), have a look at our tips in Chapter 5 for taking excellent notes. If you're quaking in your boots about the upcoming Organic Chemistry exam, take a peek at Chapter 8 on how to ace exams by adjusting your attitudes. Never done a research paper and think the Internet is just for "social networking"? Page through Chapter 11 and get fully up-to-date tips about electronic databases and e-journals. It's the last month of the semester and you're getting a grade that's less than you hoped for? Check out Chapter 14 and take advantage of our techniques for moving from a B to an A (or a C to a B).
You'll be happy to hear that the book is fast-paced and enjoyable throughout. No 600-page textbook here. No professors holed up behind the podium, droning on endlessly about who-knows-what.
Each of our chapters begins with a punchy introduction and ends with a summary review session. Some chapters include engaging "top ten" lists or snarky "do's and don't's" tables. But if that weren't enough, we've included a series of "boxes" designed to instruct, motivate, and (yes) entertain. Some of these -- Professors' Perspective, Lynn Remembers When, In Our Humble Opinion, and Visiting Professor -- are designed to show how the professor is thinking about some aspect of grading. Other boxes -- Extra Pointers, 4-Star Tip, and Wann'an A? -- provide additional, high-value tips tailored to specific or unusual circumstances. You Can Do It! boxes offer motivational advice, College Speak boxes explain special college jargon, and It Happened Once boxes relate interesting anecdotes that illuminate one or other dimension of the grading process. (Future editions of Professors' Guide will add Student Input boxes, featuring the best tips and stories submitted to our www.professorsguide.com website. Send one in!)
The Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College is designed to demystify the process of grading, and help college students get truly excellent grades. You, for example. If this book helps you to get one A (where otherwise you would have gotten a B or, worse yet, a C), it will have been a success. If you succeed in getting a couple of A's, the book will have been a barn-burning success. But if on December 22nd or May 22nd (or whenever it is at your school), you open up your e-mail, only to find a note from the Registrar saying you got all A's -- well, wouldn't that be sweet!
You Can Do It!
We will show you how.
