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Written by NIMH

Improving School Work

Manage note-taking.

• Write on every other line to leave room for ideas you might add later.
• Leave out unimportant words, like "the" and "an."
• List some abbreviations of your own at the front of your notebook for reference.
• Ask a friend to take notes over carbon paper to provide a copy for you.
• Ask teachers to let you have a copy of their notes.
• Make an audio-cassette recording of lectures, especially before tests.

Understand what you read.

• Read while you are fresh.
• Decide what you're looking for. Then skim the material, noting pictures and graphs and reading the headings and bold print.
• List unfamiliar words, then look them up. Get help if you don't understand a meaning.
• Read assigned questions before the material. Then write answers as you read along.
• Highlight or underline important information on your study sheets.
• Read the material again.

Improve written assignments.

• Use a computer with a spell-check. Writing on a computer can also help you organize your thoughts.
• To check spelling without a computer, start at the bottom of the page and move up.

Improve math assignments.

• If you start to feel lost in a unit, tell your teacher, advisor or tutor immediately, as each new math concept builds on what you've already learned.
• Leave space between examples. Line up the numbers in columns carefully.
• Check each math solution before handing it in, especially on tests.
• Practice math in the summer with worksheets or summer school.

Study smarter.

• Study with a partner.
• Use your textbook's headings and subheadings for a study outline.
• Put important information on cards or audiotape for reviewing.
• Organize your notes and worksheets by topic. Study some each night.
• Allow two nights for review before a test.
• Get plenty of sleep the night before a test.
• If you get anxious when you can't answer a test question, stop and take deep breaths. Then jot down some facts you do know, which may trigger the answer.
• Discuss your school routine and grades with your advisor weekly or even daily.

(Adolescents and ADD, Gaining the Advantage is published by Magination Press, New York, N.Y.; telephone 1-800-825-3089.)