How to Get Better Grades - Fast and 100% Effective.

Written by Rebecca Fayad - Year 12 - Managing Director and Co-Founder of KCDSpeaks

You've probably read dozens of articles about getting better grades, though this time you are getting them from a student who has the same teachers and has gone through the same curriculum as you - so you'd better think they are accurate!

1. Know what type of learner you are

This is the only way you can attain your best grades. Take an online test… there are plenty of tests online, just type in “What type of learner are you?” on Google, and take about three tests. Be 100% honest because no one is checking your answers other than you! Then you should study accordingly. I’ll give myself as an example: I am an auditory learner. This means I learn best when listening to information. That is why I have to 100% focus in class as this is where I retain 70% of my information - while the teacher is explaining. You might think it’s cool to memorise information just by listening to the teacher, but then the challenge arises when I am revising at home. Very often, I have to spend hours looking for a YouTube video on a specific topic to listen to. Or even record myself reading the textbook out loud and then listening to it again. Or just copy the entire document on google translate and let it speak for me. There are plenty of ways to learn in your specific style, but if you don’t study according to how you learn best, you must work much harder to understand the same amount of material than if you followed your learning style.

2. Repeating technique

Mrs Barker introduced this life-changing technique in our Business class last year, and months later, I still remember everything we studied. You should use the above technique (Know what type of learner you are) to understanding the material, but you have to pair it with this one to memorise the information. You’ve heard it billions of times, that repetition is key. But not any repetition. You can repeat the same information 100 times in the same day and still forget it by the end of the week. Therefore, it is important to space out your practice. Repeat the information 5 times today, then 5 times tomorrow, then five times in 3 days, then 5 times in 5 days, until you can go for a month and still remember this information. Every time you repeat the information, you are strengthening its place in your brain until it’s unforgettable. Use this for dates and statistics as well as quotes!

3. I cannot stress this enough: Understand The Topics!!!

It is unbelievable to imagine the number of people that don’t ask questions about the topic - even though they have questions! I ask so many questions that some of my teachers come to my table after explaining a topic because they know that I will hit them with 9 different questions, half of which are not in the specifications. But that is all fine! Understand the topics as if they asked you to teach it to a group of toddlers. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” If one of our world’s most revolutionary physicists said it, don’t you believe he said it for a reason? Whenever I prepare for an end of topic test, I stand in front of my parents, my brother, or even call a friend, and teach them about the topic. Do the same! They won’t mind, and it will benefit you. When you explain the topics to someone, not only do you find the gaps in your understanding, but you also develop your linguistic and presentation skills - even if you're teaching it to stuffed toys!

I know this might sound like the annoying “Like for Part 2” on TikTok but it is important to master these before moving on to the more advanced tips. If you are already carrying out those tips, then you are a step ahead from pupils who don’t. If you want to know the next tips in advance come and talk to us, we’re always happy to pass on knowledge to others!

Love, Rebecca Fayad Y12.