Find and fix your trouble spot to get the grades you deserve!

As with most things, students tend to sit on a spectrum. At one end are the straight A students and at the other end are the students who would win the prize for the most absences.

This spectrum is generally directly linked to the number of study hours and effort put into homework and exams. However, there are outliers – the teens who actually study hard, do all their homework and try really hard, but don’t manage to get the grades that reflect the effort they put in.

If this sounds like you or your teenager, this article should help!

Studying hard and not getting the grades you deserve is not a great feeling and it seems a bit unfair, so something must be done…

The trouble spot

If you (or your teen is) are actually putting in the study hours, but the hard work just isn’t showing off, then you’re definitely doing something wrong.

Somewhere along the line in your study process, something isn’t right – this is your trouble spot!

Before you go any further, you need to figure out what and where it is.

Reading but not understanding

For some students, their trouble spot arises early. They sit down, pull out their books, but they don’t actually understand what they are studying.

Whether you are reading, writing notes or making diagrams, it is essential that what you’re studying is going in and staying in.

If you’re just going through the motions when you study, then it is highly unlikely that you’re going to be able to retain any of the information.

Can you answer the question?

For other students, their trouble spot lies further down the line. Maybe they do make sure they understand everything they revise, but when it comes down to applying their knowledge to practice questions, they can’t do it.

Practicing questions that mimic those that may be in an exam or test will be the key here for you. Don’t feel bad, this is a common mistake with teens, but the more practice problems you look at the better you will become at being able to recognise questions and problems.

We can’t have all of these hard working students not getting the grades they truly deserve, so before you go any further, take 10 minutes to think about where your study process is breaking down. Once you’ve found it you can patch it up and move full steam ahead!

The Assisted Learning Centre in the coastal town of Fish Hoek, is a college that supervises and tutors grades 8 - 12. Fill in the enrollment request form today to join our college, where we only offer the highest standard of education.