Perform the foxtrot facing your partner and holding hands at all times. If you're the lead, use your left hand to hold the follower's right hand in a gentle clasp. Then place your right hand on the follower's left shoulder blade. If you're the follower, place your left hand on the lead's right shoulder blade. Position your clasped hands at the shoulder height of the follower. When dancing the foxtrot, it's important that the leading and following roles are clear so the dance looks smooth and fluid. If you're the lead, take 1 step forward with your left foot. As a result, if you're the follower, take 1 step back with your right foot to create space. Similarly, if you're the lead, take 1 step to the left. Then if you're the follower, take 1 step to the right so that you and your partner move together. Traditionally, the man is the lead and the woman is the follower. Learning to dance the foxtrot is all about learning the right rhythm and sticking to the beat. 4/4 timing means that there are 4 beats to every 1 bar of music and the rhythm is slow, slow, fast, fast. The slow parts are equal to 2 beats of the music and the fast parts are equal to only 1 beat of the music. Listen to big band foxtrot music and count 4 beats out loud to hear the slow, slow, fast, fast rhythm. The 4/4 timing is one of the most important things to keep in mind while you're learning the foxtrot. It's relatively simple to dance the foxtrot to a whole song! Simply repeat the basic step with your partner to the beat of the music and move your way around the dance floor. If you encounter any obstacles such as objects or other dancers, perform a basic turn to change direction slightly. The foxtrot is a simple and elegant form of ballroom dancing. You can simply repeat the basic steps during your dance or you can learn more advanced steps as your confidence and skills develop.
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One-sentence summary -- Hold your partner in a closed ballroom position. Mirror the lead if you're dancing the follower part. Dance to the 4/4 timing of the foxtrot. Move around the dance floor with the basic foxtrot step and turn.

This may be the biggest "no brainer" step of all, because you need to have good information on the card if it's going to be helpful. Try to think of making flash cards as part of the study process, not just a step that allows you to study. It is oftentimes the first foray into the study process for you. Pay close attention to the material. Try to add your own insight while you are making them. It will help you remember the information later on. Some researchers even think that hand-written flash cards work more effectively than those made on MS Word, with other software programs, or online. Princeton and UCLA psychologists found that information retention increases when students are forced to write it out on paper. Your brain is forced to process the new material in a different way than if you simply type it out verbatim. Don't just make the flash cards and look them over right before a test. Reference them frequently. Set aside a chunk of study time when you won't be disturbed. Go through the notecards methodically. Keep them at hand throughout the day and reference a couple during television commercials, when you are sitting on the bus, or waiting in line at the grocery store. Your goal is to know the entire stack backwards, forwards, and mixed up. You can only do this if you test yourself frequently. It doesn't matter if the other person is in your class or not. All they have to do is be able to read to you what you've written on the card. Have them show you one side of the card. You then explain the material on the other side, making sure that you use key phrases. If you are new to the information, you might even have your study helper show you the side with the information and then you say the key word. One of the biggest mistakes that students make is discarding their flash cards after the quiz or exam. Information compounds over the course of the semester and from one class to the next. If you are taking a course that has several parts, consider creating a much larger "bank" of flash cards to reference in the coming months.
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One-sentence summary -- Take your time to make flash cards. Test yourself frequently. Have someone test you. Keep your notecards until you are absolutely sure that you don't need them.

Unlocking cups happens separately at each difficulty level. If you follow these instructions at 50cc difficulty level, you will unlock 50cc Leaf Cup. You will need to repeat them at 100cc and 150cc to unlock harder Leaf Cup modes. You can unlock Leaf Cup with any character and vehicle. The retro cups are the two cups on the lower row of the cup selection screen. You start out with two retro cups unlocked: Shell Cup and Banana Cup. Once you finish third place or better on both of these cups, Leaf Cup will unlock. Each cup has four tracks, which you race through in order. Your final standing is determined by how well you do in all four races. This means you can get fourth or fifth place on one or two tracks, and still succeed if you do very well on the others. You get 15 points for winning a track, 12 points for second place, 10 points for third, and 8 points for fourth. After that, the points go down by 1 for each position. You'll usually need roughly 40 points to get 3rd place.
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One-sentence summary --
Select a Grand Prix difficulty mode. Pick your character. Get third place or better in the two retro cups. Know the points system.