Some “How to” advice for students

How to prepare for class

1.  Read the book section(s) to be covered in class, in advance.  This is guaranteed to improve your understanding of the material as I present it by 100%.

2.  As you read, place each technical term (usually bold-faced) on one side of an index card.

3.  Write the definition on the other side, together with an example illustrating the term.

4.  Write  each concept, theorem, idea or whatever else seems important to you on an index card.

5.  Try to follow the worked examples found in the section.  If you are unable to follow an example, make a note of it, and ask me for an explanation during office hours, before class, during class, or after class, or seek the help of a tutor.

6.  If you have time, and think you understand the material, try some of the odd-numbered HW problems for the section, and check your answers with those in the back of the book.

How to do the required homework

1.  Read Directions for Homework, and be sure to follow those directions for presenting your work..

2.  Start the assignment as soon after the lecture over the material as possible.  This will give you some leeway for seeking help if you get stuck.

3.  Check your answers against the answers in the back of the book.  If your answer doesn’t agree, re-read the book,  examples and notes, and try again.

4.  Never copy any answers from the back of the book that you are unable to arrive at on your own.  You may think you are helping yourself, but in fact (1) you are cheating and thus demeaning yourself, and (2) you are learning nothing, which will show up on tests where there are no answers to copy.

5.  If you cannot get an answer to a problem, you can do any of the following:

· Make a note of it, and ask about it in class.  Write the problem number on the board when you enter class, and I will write the solution on the board.  You may then ask further questions about the solution.  Write the correct solution on your paper, so as to receive credit for it when graded.

· Seek help from the tutors.  See the tutor handout for location and times.

· E-mail me with your question, and I will respond with a hint.

· Seek help from me during my office hours.

6.  If you have, or can make, a friend in the class, work together with that person on the HW.  It has been proven that this is the best way to learn.

7.  There is no excuse for not earning almost all points available for required homework (20% of grade!).  If you can’t arrive at the back-of-the book answer on your own, ask about it and copy the correct solution onto your homework paper for full credit.

How to study for a test

1.  Re-read the notes.  Make your own abbreviated set of notes that summarize the material.

2.  Make sure you can solve and get the correct answers to all H/W problems.   Put the troublesome ones on index cards, with their solutions on the other side, and use them to study by.

3.  Review the Practice Test, if available.  Resolve any difficulties you had with it.

4.  Use the technical term cards (as collected according to How to prepare for class above) as flash cards both ways to drill yourself over terms, definitions, and examples.

5.  If you have a friend in class to study with, get together and quiz each other, using the sets of flash cards you have constructed and the personal material summaries you have created.

6.  If there is something you don’t understand, don’t just blow it off hoping it won’t be on the test.  It inevitably will be, and you will lose points out of sheer laziness and/or a “don’t care” attitude!

How to take a test

1.  Go through every question quickly, answering those that you can.  Skip those you are not sure about.  This should take about ½ an hour.

2.  Now go back and pay more attention to the harder problems.  Try to get most of them.  Spend another ½ hour on this.

3.  You are now probably at a stage where no amount of additional time will do any good, as these are all short answer questions, and basically, you know it or you don’t.  So, just guess.  You might get lucky!

4.  Before handing in your paper, carefully re-read each question to make sure you are answering the question that was asked.  Also, check that you have answered every question and have shown your work.

How to earn extra credit

1.  Notice that every section has a list of extra-credit problems.  Do as many of these as you can.

2.  You may wish to defer work on extra-credit problems until after I answer questions over the required homework in class.  This will help with the extra-credit problems.

3.  These problems can be submitted at any time, up to and including the test date for that material.

4.  Submit them as soon as possible after we have covered the material.  That way, you will receive feedback from me which will be helpful at test time.

5.  Please note:  You are not allowed to receive or give help on these problems from the tutors, other students, or anybody else.  It is to be your work, and yours alone.  Unlike the required homework, no collaboration with other students is allowed on extra-credit problems.