How to Become a Straight-A Student
by Cal Newport
Newport's early book, based on interviews with top students who did not study constantly: short focused sessions, the quiz-and-recall method, smart note-taking, starting papers early. It is written for undergraduates and the methods are sound for any learner; it anticipates his later deep-work ideas.
Read it if…
you or your student grinds long hours with mediocre results.
Skip it if…
you are far past school and want adult learning methods; see Ultralearning.
Three things you will actually use
- Short, intense sessions beat marathons.
- Active recall beats rereading every time.
- Start early; the work is the same, the stress is not.
Do this first
Replace rereading with self-quizzing for the next thing you need to learn.
Our verdict
Practical and still sound.
Compare with other Focus books
Learning How to Learn
Barbara Oakley, Terrence Sejnowski and Alistair McConville · Focus
Simple, accurate, useful.
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