About The Author (Amazon Bio)
My journey with foreign languages began in high school when I was introduced to Latin culture through a friend and purchased a Spanish grammar book from Barnes & Noble. Fast-forward 15 years and I’ve spent a great deal of my life studying foreign languages (10+ years of Arabic and Spanish; 2+ years of Japanese and Latin; and <1 year of French & German). I’ve lived in the Middle East, Tokyo, and D.C., and worked multiple bilingual jobs, including my current one as a linguist in the American Midwest. Aside from being a language nerd, I enjoy blogging, web-making, hiking, and following professional sports. You can find me at https://creatorvilla.com
Amazon Summary
Grades suck, but they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. High school grades are the most important factor of college admissions and determine how rich scholarship money is awarded. College grades, which are viewed as evidence of competence, technical ability, and work ethic, influence internship, postgraduate, and employment decisions. Indeed, while experience wins out in the long run, academic performance plays a pivotal role early in the game.
People tend to conflate grades with intelligence, which simply isn’t true. Anyone can do much better in school by working smarter, regardless of how smart they are. In addition, by taking a strategic angle, students who want to score better grades ensure that none of their hard work goes down the drain. This short book consists of 15 time-tested, fool-proof, nerd-certified tips to improve academic performance. The bulk of them apply to high school, and all of them will come in handy in college where most high school students are headed.
Why did I write this book? Well, I have a reputation for being a bit of an academic nerd. As someone who won a lot of scholarship money and got some cool opportunities to work and travel, I have seen firsthand how good grades can open doors. While the 15 tips naturally derive from my schooling in the US, they are widely applicable to educational systems around the world.
School, to be sure, consists of much more than just grades. Networking, relationships, extracurriculars, and lived experiences are super important, which you can read all about somewhere else. The focus of this book, on the other hand, is more laser-like. If you follow the advice contained herein, your grades will undoubtedly get better. The good news is you don’t have to be a nerd or a genius.
My Thoughts
You may remember this weeks author from other book reviews I have done for his books. I really enjoyed a book he recently put out called “The Art Of Learning A Foreign Language” and later one called “Be More Productive.” As you can probably tell, I do really enjoy his books and his writing.
One thing I have really enjoyed about all his books is that they are always short and to the point. I don’t have a very long attention span and to be honest I get a little bored if I feel like the author is rambling. But, Batarseh’s books never make me feel like that way.
Another thing I liked about the book was that it was quite relatable. As a former student and full-time nerd, I thought the book had some chapters that I could really relate to. More on that soon when I go into more specifics. I also had some moments where I was like “that’s such a good hack, wish I had done that!” too.
I thought I would add some more specific thoughts and opinions from here onwards. If you want to avoid spoilers, I would recommend avoiding the rest of this review and skipping to the conclusion.
More Specific Thoughts
The first chapter, “Choose Your Professors Wisely” was one I loved because I wish someone had told me that when I joined university. Although my professors have been almost predominantly wonderful, there were a couple I could live without. I made the mistake of choosing the course because it sounded wonderful. I did not look into the professor and ended up hating the course because of the professor. This happened about two or three times in my first two years.
One other chapter I enjoyed a lot was “Take Prolific Notes” because it’s another one I strongly agree with. I think taking notes instead of relying on memory is really important. Some courses need it more than others like the ones with final exams (not all courses have finals) but either way, if you’re hoping to remember what you’re learning, take notes. It’s also great for memories because you can look at your notebooks in ten years and remember everything.
One of the chapters that made me go, “I wish I had known this earlier”, was the chapter titled “Stay Physically Active.” I don’t think I was active enough in university because as a history major there was an insane amount of reading and writing I needed to do. So obviously I didn’t spend as much time staying active as I wish I had. And that made me lose weight (not in a good way), feel more tired, decrease my attention span and more.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I think it is a wonderful and extremely helpful read for students in college or high school. If you’re a student, I would so recommend picking up a copy of this book.
Free Book Alert!!
If you would be interested in reading the book, you can grab it now for FREE on Amazon Kindle by clicking here. It is only going to be free on 31st August and 1st September so hurry!
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