Problem: Article: Prepare yourself for what your teacher is going to talk about in class. Write a list of questions you have about the material and make sure they're all answered in class. Review the material again immediately after class and make sure you understood all the concepts discussed; if not, follow-up with the teacher right away. Try reading the material out loud to help it stay in your memory. Your cat might find molecular biology quite fascinating! As crazy as it sounds, this actually works! Some classes even provide credit for attendance, so skipping a class like that is just throwing points away. Pay attention in class. Attending class shows your teachers you're actually interested in learning. If you need help in the future, they're usually more willing to help someone who has already shown initiative. If you really want to show initiative, sit in the front of the class. Not only will this make you more visible to your teacher, but the rest of the class will be out-of-sight behind you, hopefully removing any distractions they may cause. Take notes for every class using a method that works best for you. Review your notes immediately after class and rewrite them to help the concepts stay in your memory. Make sure to highlight any tips or hints your teacher gave about an assignment or test. Focus on key items in your notes, such as: dates or timelines, names of people and why they're important, theories, equations, definitions, pros and cons about a topic debated in class, images/charts/diagrams, example problems. Use a system of shorthand for your note taking if possible. This includes using symbols instead of words (e.g., "&" instead of "and"), and abbreviating words (e.g., "approx." instead of "approximately"). Make up your own abbreviations if that helps. Don't worry about your spelling and grammar when taking notes (unless it's an actual language class teaching spelling and grammar!) - you can correct that later if you need to. Gear your note-taking to the course. Some courses can benefit from highly structured methods such as the Cornell method, while others -- such as those that are very discussion-heavy --will benefit from more free-form notes. This is especially important if your teacher provides grades for participation. If there are participation grades, teachers aren't looking for quantity as much as they're looking for quality. Participation also demonstrates your understanding of the subject matter to the teacher. They may determine, through class participation, that they've explained something badly and re-explain. Class participation can often turn into a class debate - a teacher's dream come true! If you disagree with what a classmate has said, you can say so, but be respectful. Don't turn the debate into an argument. Don't wait until the night before they're due to start working on an assignment. Begin homework assignments the same day they were assigned (if not known about in advance) or build the work required for the assignment into your study schedule (if known about in advance). Plan to get your homework done in advance so you can review and revise without pressure. Finishing writing assignments early is especially important as students often lose points on simple things like spelling, grammar, layout, etc. Plus, if you finish a writing assignment early enough, you may be able to get your teacher, tutor or someone else to review it and provide feedback. Every assignment in every class is worth something. Some teachers have a system for how they grade late assignments. Depending on the teacher, you may be able to get at least some points for an assignment even if it's late. And when you're desperate for marks, every single one counts! Check with your teacher or class syllabus before doing outstanding assignments. If the teacher will not accept them, and you're short on time, it may not be useful to complete them. If the teacher won't accept late assignments, but you do have the time, use the assignments as practice tests and complete them. Most teachers will provide an answer key you can use to determine how well you did. It never hurts to ask, and the worst that can happen is your teacher says no. If you do ask for extra credit, and your teacher provides you with an extra assignment or two, make sure you actually do the work. Don't wait until two days before your term ends to ask for extra credit! This suggests that you were lazy all semester and want an easy grade fix. If you're struggling, ask sooner rather than later. There is a never-ending debate in the academic community regarding "extra credit." One side thinks it's great, the other side thinks it's bad. Each of your teachers is probably on one of these two sides, and has a good reason for being there (such as their own past experience). While there's no harm in asking for extra credit, it is not worth arguing about if your teacher says no. Actually being able to understand what you're learning is far better than simply memorizing everything in your textbook. Make sure you've perfected one topic before moving onto the next topic, especially if they're linked. Most textbooks and classes are set up in such a way that each consecutive chapter/lecture builds on the stuff learned in the previous chapter/lecture. If you haven't learned the previous material, it'll be much harder to learn the current material. Use personal or familiar situations to help you understand the material. Textbooks (and some teachers) tend to use boring examples when explaining concepts and ideas, but that doesn't mean you have to. For example, if you're learning about Newton's First Law of Motion where it states that "an object in motion continues in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force" try to think of examples where this makes sense for you. Maybe ''The Fast and the Furious'' the cars will keep travelling until something stops them. (Not the greatest example, but you get the idea!) For some strange reason, one way students lose points on tests is because they don't actually read the instructions and do what they say! For example, have you ever had that situation where a section of a test asks you to choose 4 of the following 6 topics to write an essay about, but you end up writing an essay for ALL 6 topics? This is a clear situation of not reading the instructions, and then losing valuable time doing work you didn't need to do, possibly at the expense of completing other parts of the test. There is also no reason why you have to do the test in the order it's written - unless each question builds on the previous one. Look through the entire test first, then start with the easiest questions and work your way to the hardest questions. This will help build your confidence as you write the test. Tests aren't the only place where you need to follow the instructions precisely. If you're writing an essay and the teacher asks for double-spaced lines with 12pt Times New Roman font and 1" margins - then DO that. Don't use single-spaced lines with 10pt Arial font and 1.5" margins!
Summary: Read assigned material before and after each class. Attend all your classes. Take excellent notes in every class. Participate in every class. Do your homework assignments as soon as possible. Hand in any outstanding assignments. Ask your teacher for extra credit. Learn and understand the material, don't just memorize. Read all exam instructions completely before starting the exam and then follow them.

Problem: Article: On a cutting board, cut the squash horizontally into long strips that are between 14 inch (0.6cm) to 12 inch (1.3cm) thick. Add the garlic cloves, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Season with salt and pepper, and then place the squash onto the grill. Add more olive oil if necessary to prevent the squash from sticking to the grill. Squash should be browned and tender when finished. Serve the squash warm as a side dish or allow them to cool before adding them to a salad.
Summary: Preheat a grill on medium heat. Pour the olive oil into a small pan and heat under a medium flame. Use a basting brush to coat each slice of squash with the garlic oil. Grill on each side for 5-10 minutes.

Problem: Article: Carbs and protein help give your body energy so you don't get exhausted while you're out on your hike. Opt for something like oatmeal, eggs, pasta, and lean meat since they're nutritious. Incorporate fruits and vegetables into your meal as well for additional carbs and natural sugars.Avoid overeating since you may feel uncomfortable while you're out hiking.
Summary:
Eat a meal with carbs and protein before your hike.