The Ultimate Foolproof Tips and Tricks for Aspiring Academic Weapons

Back to school! Are you looking to become an academic weapon? With the school term starting soon, many people want to spend the next academic year improving: grades, test scores, and GPAs. As someone who does well in exams, here are my top tips for having a successful academic career.

What is a Successful Academic Career?

A beneficial academic career involves various factors. It isn't all about producing high grades and getting good test scores. A good academic career allows you to get top grades while still having time to hang out with friends, exercise, and spend time with family.

Patience

Before I jump into giving out tips, I want to remind you that improving your grades is a process and one that can take a long time. Just because you aren't seeing improvements and high grades straight away doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong, developing academically requires patience and determination.

You need to start enjoying the journey of learning and bettering your academic career, this doesn't mean enjoying every subject, but making your revision fun and interactive, as well as effective, is a useful way to study. Instead of focusing on the long-term goal of doing well in all exams and expecting that to drive you, it's necessary to find your motivation in the process with the knowledge that you are actively growing your academic career.

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Work Smarter, Not Harder

Believe it or not, A+ students don't spend 24 hours a day revising; they work smarter, not harder. But what does that mean? Working “smarter” means revising effectively. Spending an hour revising with a technique that works is far more efficient than studying for three hours without a method.

Learn, active recall, practice; the three steps to success.

Learn - there is no point trying to memorize content you don't understand, go over notes and watch videos until you can make sense of the content.

Active Recall - actively stimulating your memory for information. Flashcards, keywords, and revision mats drill the content into your brain to ensure you don't forget it in an exam.

Practice - it's all well and good knowing the content, but can you apply it? To apply content do practice questions, and past papers, if you can successfully answer a question then you have fully grasped the information, and your revision has paid off.

So, my first tip is to find a revision technique that works for you, just because flashcards work for a friend, doesn't mean they'll work for you. Once you've found a method, repetition is key, revising a topic once doesn't guarantee that you're brain will recall it in an exam. Remember, everyone revises differently, if your friend studies with another method, and gets good grades, it doesn't mean your revision is any less effective.

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A Flexible Schedule

A revision timetable is going to save your life, particularly during exam season, I recommend using an app such as Notion or another study organizer to help you build a timetable. A revision plan allows you to make time for all of your subjects as well as schedule in your hobbies.

An effective schedule has study breaks built in, it's impractical to revise for two hours straight, you're better off revising in 30-minute slots with 5-minute breaks in between (the Pomodoro technique). A work-life balance is vital during the academic year, there's no point in being holed up inside when there are friends and family to see.

The schedule should be flexible because revising should not feel forced, feeling motivated to work is just as important as actually working. Monday may mean revising either English or Biology, options mean your timetable isn't constricted to the same order every week.

Another reason your timetable should be flexible is that you cannot schedule your life down to the last minute, it isn't healthy to constantly feel constrained by revision, if you want to spend an extra half hour with friends, it's not the end of the world. Build a timetable that accommodates your life and try to stick to it as much as possible.

Take A Break

If you think achieving high grades grants you a break, you're correct. Not a 5-minute break every hour, I mean a proper break, especially if you have just finished an exam season, you deserve a break. Taking a day off, every so often, is good for you, your brain gets a chance to rest and you can enjoy a day without the stresses of studying. Working yourself to exhaustion is pointless, attempts to learn become more futile as tiredness increases.

Take time to enjoy the wins in an academic career, and celebrate results days with friends, you deserve to unwind from studying for long periods. I recommend taking evenings off, say from 19:00 onwards, particularly on weekends, relaxing actively prevents stress building up and prepares you for the week ahead. For this reason, slow down now and again, and don't forget to live and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Academic Validation

A desire for academic validation can act as a brilliant motivator, drive you to study hard and be rewarded with impressive grades. However, a need for academic validation can make you feel like an academic victim rather than an academic weapon. Don't fall down the rabbit hole of equating your worth to your grades, a letter on paper does not define you for the rest of your life.

Education is a journey full of highs and lows, highs deserve to be celebrated and lows deserve to be learnt from. A bad grade is not the end of the world if you tried your best; at the end of the day, your best is all you can give.

You're worth so much more than your grades.

There's nothing wrong with wanting academic validation but don't let it consume you to the point where self-esteem is equal to the grades you achieve. Academic validation can be a dangerous mindset, break the cycle, of needing excellent grades to feel happy, before it starts.

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Final Words

This article consists of tips that I have found useful in my journey to attaining high grades. However, your process and method of approaching your academic career may be different, and there's no “right” way to change your grades and academic attitude. There are a few things you should keep in mind when becoming an academic weapon: be resilient, as improvements may not be obvious at first.

Work hard but don't overwork yourself to a burnout stage, ensure you take regular breaks, and make time for hobbies and sports as well as studying. Look after yourself, your physical and mental health take priority, don't continue to work if you aren't in the mental headspace to do so.

Good luck with the next academic year!