how I went from D's to STRAIGHT A’s | ULTIMATE GUIDE to becoming an academic weapon + free template
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the speaker shares their journey from academic struggles to success, revealing their secrets to improve grades. They offer practical tips on creating effective notes, leveraging AI for study efficiency, and understanding exam patterns. A free Notion template is provided to help students stay organized and focused on their goals. The video encourages linking concepts in note-taking, using AI responsibly, and starting with practice questions to prioritize important topics, ultimately transforming study habits for better academic performance.
Takeaways
- 📚 Start with a 'Lifeline Notebook' for each subject to compile notes and track progress throughout the semester.
- 📈 Use loose-leaf paper and binder rings for flexibility in organizing and rearranging notes as needed.
- 📝 Keep a record of all topics, subtopics, and formulas in your syllabus to facilitate easy revision and memorization.
- 🔗 Incorporate 'linking text' in digital notes to connect concepts and improve the flow of information for better understanding and recall.
- 🤖 Utilize AI to your advantage for tasks like summarizing texts, translating, and simplifying complex concepts, but avoid using it for cheating.
- 📅 Maintain an organized schedule by noting down not only due dates but also the dates you plan to start working on assignments or projects.
- 📝 Record corrections and mistakes to learn from them and avoid repeating the same errors in exams.
- 📉 Analyze practice questions and quizzes first to identify important concepts and to understand the structure of exam questions.
- 🎓 Use the marking scheme to understand how to answer questions correctly and to spot patterns in exam questions.
- 🔑 Create a personalized Notion template to plan your academic life, including a calendar for tracking due dates and goals.
- 🎁 Engage with the content creator on Instagram to unlock additional resources that can further enhance your academic performance.
Q & A
Why did the speaker almost not go to university?
-The speaker almost didn't go to university because their initial marks were so poor that they couldn't believe it and even messaged their lecturer for confirmation.
What academic achievement did the speaker eventually reach despite a poor start?
-The speaker eventually turned their grades around and achieved distinctions repeatedly, even in university.
What is the 'Lifeline Notebook' and why is it important for academic success?
-The 'Lifeline Notebook' is a dedicated notebook for each subject where the student records all important information, formulas, and corrections. It is crucial for academic success as it helps to organize and consolidate knowledge, making it easier to revise and improve understanding.
Why does the speaker recommend using loose sleeve sheets of paper and binder rings instead of regular notebooks?
-The speaker prefers loose sleeve sheets and binder rings for their flexibility, allowing for easy reorganization of content during the semester without being confined to a fixed order as in regular notebooks.
What is the significance of writing down all the formulas and definitions encountered in a syllabus?
-Writing down all formulas and definitions helps with memorization, especially for those who struggle with remembering them. It also provides a single reference point for practice questions, eliminating the need to flip through chapters.
How does the speaker suggest organizing notes for science subjects with a large amount of content?
-The speaker suggests changing the way notes are taken by organizing all relevant information in one place, regardless of the order presented in lectures. This method reduces the need to remember hundreds of slides and simplifies the revision process.
What is the purpose of the 'linking text' in digital notes according to the speaker?
-The 'linking text' serves to connect concepts between pages of notes, helping to create a chain of information that is easier to remember and understand. It prevents information from existing separately in one's head, which can make memorization and comprehension difficult.
How can AI be used to assist with academic tasks without resorting to cheating?
-AI can be used to brainstorm ideas, write outlines, translate text, and explain difficult concepts. It should be utilized to enhance understanding and efficiency rather than to complete assignments on behalf of the student.
What is the 'notes first' strategy and why is it recommended before starting to study?
-The 'notes first' strategy involves going through practice questions or quizzes before starting to study. This helps identify important parts of the topic and allows students to focus their study time on more critical concepts, avoiding the memorization of irrelevant content.
What is the speaker's secret to guaranteeing extra marks in exams?
-The speaker's secret is to write down every correction made, regardless of how trivial it may seem. This includes recording the question, the wrong answer, the correct answer, and any explanations provided. It also involves noting the marking scheme answers to identify patterns and repetitive questions.
How does the speaker suggest using the Notion template to stay organized and achieve academic goals?
-The speaker suggests using the Notion template to plan academic life by entering all due dates into the calendar, setting goals, and customizing the template to fit individual needs. The template includes features like AI summaries and point form notes to streamline the study process.
Outlines
📚 Overcoming Academic Struggles and Achieving Distinction
The speaker begins by sharing their personal academic struggles, admitting they almost didn't attend university due to poor marks. They recount their initial failure in economics and the subsequent transformation to achieve distinction repeatedly in university. The video promises to reveal academic secrets, including a free Notion template to help viewers stay organized and improve their grades. The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating personalized notes that are better than textbooks and offers strategies to predict exam content, utilize AI for studying, and enhance memory retention.
📝 Crafting the Ultimate Study Notebook: The 'Lifeline'
The speaker introduces the concept of a 'Lifeline' notebook for each subject, which is a dedicated mini notebook to record and organize study materials. They advocate for the use of loose sheets and binder rings for flexibility during the semester. The 'Lifeline' includes a list of topics and subtopics, formulas, and definitions, especially for subjects like biochemistry where memorization can be challenging. The speaker also suggests writing down all formulas from the syllabus to facilitate memorization and includes a method for organizing and revising notes effectively.
🔍 Leveraging Corrections and AI for Academic Success
The speaker discusses the importance of recording corrections and mistakes to avoid repeating them, suggesting that understanding and documenting these can lead to higher grades. They also highlight the use of AI to assist with studying, such as summarizing texts, translating, and explaining complex concepts. The speaker shares their experience with Notion's AI features, demonstrating how it can simplify note-taking and provide summaries for quick reference. They emphasize that AI should be used as a tool to enhance learning rather than to complete assignments dishonestly.
🎯 Prioritizing and Strategizing with Practice Questions First
The speaker advises starting study sessions with practice questions or quizzes to identify important concepts and to avoid wasting time on irrelevant content. They argue that understanding the marking scheme is crucial and can provide insights into how to answer questions effectively. The speaker shares a personal strategy of intentionally getting questions wrong to learn from the correct explanations, which they compile into a document for exam preparation. They conclude by inviting viewers to engage with them on Instagram for a chance to access additional study resources.
🏆 Transforming Grades with a Commitment to Academic Excellence
In the concluding paragraph, the speaker expresses gratitude for their subscriber milestone and encourages viewers to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for future content. They invite viewers to comment their least favorite subject as a form of engagement and hint at a special prize for those who have watched the entire video. The speaker provides instructions to unlock an extra video designed to further assist in transforming academic performance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡University
💡Academic Secrets
💡Lifeline Notebook
💡Formulas
💡Revision
💡Linking Text
💡AI
💡Marking Scheme
💡Practice Questions
💡Notion Template
💡Academic Weapon
Highlights
Overcoming poor academic performance by transforming a failure into a distinction through effective study techniques.
Creating personalized 'Lifeline' notebooks for each subject to track progress and organize study materials.
Utilizing loose sleeve sheets and binder rings for customizable and flexible note organization.
Recording all topics and subtopics in a notebook for systematic study and revision.
The importance of writing down formulas and definitions to aid in memorization.
Changing note-taking methods to better remember and understand complex science subjects.
Guaranteeing extra marks by documenting corrections and understanding the marking scheme.
Scheduling project and assignment start dates to stay ahead and avoid last-minute stress.
Introducing a free Notion template to help students stay organized and achieve academic goals.
Customizing the Notion template to build a personalized academic planning system.
Linking concepts in notes through 'linking text' to improve memory and understanding.
Embracing AI to assist with studying, such as summarizing texts and simplifying complex concepts.
Using AI features within Notion to streamline note-taking and improve study efficiency.
Prioritizing practice questions to identify important concepts and skip irrelevant content.
Learning from the marking scheme to understand how to answer exam questions effectively.
A secret strategy of deliberately getting questions wrong to learn from the correction process.
Offering an exclusive video for viewers who complete the video, to further enhance their academic performance.
Transcripts
I actually almost didn't go to
university because my marks were so bad
in fact I couldn't believe my marks were
so bad I messaged my lecturer for
confirmation you can do the math I don't
think I've told this story before
basically 19-year-old me decided to take
economics in a levels tragic I know in
order to get into University I needed
AAR
AA with these marks in my first
assessment I could kiss my offer goodbye
but a few months later here are my final
marks so how did I do it how did I turn
a failure into a distinction repeatedly
even in University don't worry bestie
I'm going to give you all my academic
secrets in this video and even give you
a free notion template so that you don't
feel so overwhelmed starting so in this
video we're going to talk about how to
create notes better than your textbook
how to cheat the system and know exactly
what's coming out in your exam how to
use AI to your advantage and save
precious time as a student how to
remember what you study and so much more
this video is jam-packed with amazing
study tips so if you manage to watch the
entire video at the end I will actually
tell you how you can unlock something
that will tremendously transform your
grades first make your own textbook hear
me out okay if you want to turn your
grades around you need to learn from
your mistakes there's no way around it
basically for every every subject
whether they are in high school or
university dedicate One Mini notebook
for it this notebook will be your
Lifeline I'll try to include some clips
of different Lifeline notebooks that
I've had throughout high school and
throughout College feel free to
screenshot this but in this notebook you
will include for St subjects all these
things for essay based subjects like
economics or Bahasa malayu this is what
I included in my lifeline notebook let
me explain this in more detail because
from what I know no one else does this
you'll be starting with an empty
notebook then adding to it as your
semester progresses I don't actually
like using regular notebooks I prefer
using loose sleeve sheets of paper like
this one and binder rings because it
just allows for more customization I'll
link some examples in the description
box below it's because during the
semester you're definitely going to
shuffle things around so you want that
flexibility next here is an easy way way
to stay organized as a student in my
opinion the most important is seven and
eight but we'll go through the first few
first in your notebook physical or
digital feel free to screenshot and
replicate this but write down all the
topics and subtopics you go through this
semester during revision week you can
take off the boxes as you study them
that's why I recommend that you use a
pen to write everything down and a
pencil to ticket so that you can erase
everything and reuse the list as you
revise now here is a really important
tip to help you remember all the
formulas about the formulas and
definitions I want you to include every
single formula that you've come across
in your syllabus for that semester
especially if you're someone that
struggles with remembering formulas
because one when you do practice
questions you can just whip out this
notebook and all the formulas are in one
place you don't have to flip between
chapters because that can get really
annoying as someone taking two
biochemistry units this semester the
second reason why you should write all
the formulas down is because when you
actively choose to write something down
and it's in your own handwriting you'll
just remember all of them naturally so
if you struggle with memorizing formulas
or definitions if you're studying
physics then this will really really
help you next if you also struggle with
remembering the sheer amount of content
that is in science subjects changing the
way you do notes will really help you
for example let's just say you're trying
to study organic chemistry and many of
you tell me in FA films Academy that you
struggle with remembering everything
let's look at my notes these structures
are from lecture 1 and all this
information surrounding it are from
lectures 15 21 and so on there's
actually no order what's more important
is that all the relevant information is
in one place so your notes go from
looking like this where each color is a
different topic to looking like this
instead of hundreds of slides I only
needed to remember five or six pages for
the entirety of the functional groups
you can do these notes separately or
include them in your Lifeline notebook
up to you I prefer everything in one
place so that's why my lifeline
notebooks can look really thick I'll
leave the link to the live stream I did
two days ago in the description box
below where I talk about how to get
scholarships how to overcome exam
anxiety Focus for long periods of time
and so on feel free to check that out
next here is a secret way to guarantee
extra marks let's move on to seven and
eight every time you get a correction
write it down it doesn't matter how
silly that mistake was because if you've
made that mistake before you can make it
again write down the question your wrong
answer then the right answer if the
question is a little bit more difficult
then write down what you don't
understand after you ask your teacher or
lecture for an explanation remember to
write down their explan
below yours I would also write down the
marking scheme answers because let's
face it a lot of exams are repetitive
you'll start to notice a pattern where
either a question keeps getting asked or
one particular question has the same
answer or same format for answering it
so if you want to know how to bump up
your grades this is it if you found this
video helpful so far bestie be sure to
like this video And subscribe if you
haven't already next don't just write
due dates if you have a project or
assignment don't just write the due date
down but the date that you're going to
start it this is a tip that I've
mentioned in a previous video I did
about a year ago which you can check out
here but I still agree with it you need
to write everything down there's nothing
worse than realizing that a deadline is
closer than you think that's why it's
also so important to write when you're
going to start studying or start a
project but of course everyone knows
that it's important to be organized it's
just really hard to start don't worry
I'll help you out besy to help you on
your journey towards becoming an
academic weapon I've created a free
notion template that you can use and
download so that you can achieve all
your goals and stay on track scroll down
and there's already a calendar there
ready for you to enter all your dates
into the first thing I want you to do
when you finish this video is to open up
that template and write down all your
due dates for University or anything
into that calendar every single subject
feel free to play music while you're at
it since there's also easy access to a
Loi playlist this template is basically
everything that you need to plan your
academic life in 2024 let me show you
how to use it for any notion template
that you want to use go to the top right
corner and click duplicate then the
template will appear in your notion
after you've made a free account but
make sure small width and full text are
turned on the first thing to do bestie
is to change this into your your name
it's yours
now after the instructions there are
pictures you can click on that lead you
to separate pages click into it and
change the cover if you don't like the
ones I've picked you can press slash on
your keyboard to add any element into
your page whether that's headings tables
or to-do list scroll down and I've added
a space for you to add your top goal in
2024 and your most important ins and
outs that you want to remind yourself to
practice and a place to put your
favorite quote this is my own
handwriting and a quote that I always
say to you besties but feel free to
change it if you want something else
basically just click on any space you
want to edit my template is just a
suggestion feel free to customize and
build a system that works for you I'll
leave a link to this free notion
template in the description box below
alongside the link to create a free
notion account but of course I've made
other free templates before as well one
example is the master to-do list which
I've already added the link for in this
free notion template I talked about
previously it's an automatic to-do list
that sorts out your tasks according to
Priority click duplicate then scroll all
the way to the bottom here dump all your
tasks that you have so these two are the
staple free notion templates that I
recommend you start out with oh and you
can check out my detailed notion
tutorial up here as well it takes me
days to create these free templates so
as a payment please like this video and
comment down below I will become an
academic weapon this month to manifest
being the perfect student next don't
blindly
memorize when you're taking your notes
or revising you should be focusing more
on linking the concepts together rather
than just memorizing everything it
literally doesn't matter if your notes
has everything your teacher or lecturer
says there is no way for us to remember
everything especially if all the
information just exists in in our head
as separate blobs with no connection so
what I do for digital notes is to
include a short sentence at the top of
each page this sentence should describe
the link between the previous page and
the current page this is called linking
text I just made that up here's an
example that I have in my own notes in
this page my lecturer talked about how
the compliment pathway needs to be
activated to increase the inflammatory
response then in the next page you can
see that I put a linking text here it
says remember how we said that the
compliment pathway needs to be activated
followed by all my notes on how it
actually gets activated feel free to
pause to digest it my friends started
doing this and said it's a GameChanger
because sometimes after hours of
studying you just kind of forget what
you're even studying like why am I even
studying this activation thing for 2
hours that happens when you don't have
linking text in your notes all this
information is just going to exist sep
separately in your head which makes it
so hard to remember or understand
everything but when you have linking
text it's so simple to do but it just
makes everything flow and there's a
chain so you end up only needing to
remember one thing and then everything
else just flows naturally next stop
being so afraid of AI okay let me list
just a few things AI can help you with
brainstorm ideas for your assignments or
homework write an outline for your essay
translate text and explain a difficult
concept I know what you besties are
thinking and no I'm not asking you to
use AI to do your assignments for you
that's cheating and plus there are a lot
of programs now that can detect AI
writing instead you should use AI to
your advantage I posted this video a few
months ago and I highly recommend that
you go and watch it basically I talk
about how I use AI to help me memorize
200 pages of notes in a few days but
since I'm already giving you a free
notion template I thought I would just
share a few of the AI features that
notion has so that everything is kind of
in one place and you can start from
there just press space and notion AI
will pop up if you have a lot of reading
all you have to do is copy the paragraph
in your textbook and paste it into
notion then you can ask AI to summarize
it for
you then ask notion AI to change it into
Point form there you go all my notes are
in point form like this second example
you can ask notion AI to simplify
anything complicated that you don't
quite understand because of my new
internship and my uni work I just have
so many papers to read every single day
it's insane third example and my
favorite if you have a lot of notes all
in separate pages it can get really
annoying when you have to click into
each page individually to see what's
inside to fix this problem all you have
to do is create a table with all your
notes Here add a new property called AI
summary to a column and it'll literally
take all the content from the separate
pages and summarize it into the table
now you can just quickly scroll and
click into the page that you want this
has saved me so much time I'm going to
keep using it for the rest of 2024 it's
only $10 a month which in my opinion is
super worth it I've been paying for this
AI feature way before notion even
sponsored me and I'll leave a sign up
link in the description box below next
ditch the notes first now this is my
secret on how to become an academic
Beast before you start studying anything
go through the practice questions or
quizzes first you don't even need to
answer anything why first reason is that
you'll immediately know which parts of
the topic are actually important we all
know bestie that not every part of the
topic is important so why are we
spending the same amount of time
studying each part of the topic this is
what what an effective study session
should look like more time should be
spent on more important Concepts
compared to the rest and how do you know
which parts are important by looking at
the practice questions so try to find
all the practice questions that you can
and see what the examiner actually will
test you on so that you don't waste time
studying filler or irrelevant content
the second reason why you should go for
the questions first is so that you can
skip straight to the marking scheme
knowing how to answer questions is more
important than knowing the material and
what a lot of students don't realize is
that you can learn a lot from the
marking scheme like I mentioned in the
first tip most exams are repetitive so
skip to the marking scheme and start
highlighting all the keywords that they
use so when you watch your lecture or
read the textbook just look out for
those keywords for biochemistry what I
would do is I would purposely get every
single question wrong so that I could
get the explanation for how to answer
the the question correctly I just
screenshotted everything and put it into
a Google Document I studied this whole
document before the exam and sure enough
most of the questions came out if you've
made it this far comment down below your
least favorite subject to study and of
course I didn't forget about your prize
as a thank you for watching the entire
video I've actually filmed an entire
extra video that will really help you
transform your grades to get the video
go to my Instagram and follow me there
then message me this specific sentence I
will become an academic weapon I will
then message you a question and if you
can answer it you will be given the link
to the video and I hope you enjoy it
like this video subscribe and turn on
the notification Bell and set it to all
so you don't miss out on any future
videos thank you for 1,1 140,000
subscribers and I'll see you all in my
next video bye
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