12 Things Top Students Do

优等生为啥成绩好?

Here are 12 habits of top students that you can use as tips to do better in school:

下面是优等生的12个习惯。如果你想提高成绩，可以酌情采纳相应的建议。

1. They don't always do all of their homework.

1. 他们不会做所有的家庭作业

In college, homework assignments generally make up 5-20% of your grade, but can be the biggest time-suck for most students. Yes, working problems is one of the best ways to turn new concepts into working knowledge, but a large majority of those problems that take you hours and hours to work through, you'll never see on an exam.

在大学里，课后作业只占总成绩的5%至20%，但是对大部分学生来说是最浪费时间的。是的，做作业是将所学的新概念转化为实用技能的最好方法，但是大部分作业需要很多时间来完成，而考试却永远不会考这些问题。

2. They never "read through" the textbook.

2. 他们不会把课本通篇全读

Per time spent, reading the textbook is one of the least effective methods for learning new material. Top students use the examples and practice problems, but otherwise use Google, lecture notes, and old exams for study materials.

按照花费的时间来计算，读教材是学习新知识效率最低的方法之一。优等生善于利用例题和练习题，另外还用谷歌，讲义和以前的考试题作学习材料。

3. They Google EVERYTHING.

3. 他们什么都用谷歌搜索

It's like an automatic reaction. New concept : go to Google for a quick explanation. Don't think just because your professor gives you a textbook and some examples on the blackboard that you're limited to that information. You have a massive free search engine at your fingertips, so make use of it.

这就像是第一反应。他们遇到新的概念就会谷歌快速搜索解释。不要认为你的教授发给你一本教材，在黑板上给了一个范例，你就只能拘泥于这些信息。你的指尖上拥有一个强大的免费搜索引擎，要充分利用。

4. They test themselves frequently.

4. 他们经常自我测试

Testing yourself strengthens your brain's connections to new material, and gives you immediate¹ and clear feedback on whether you know something or not. Repeated self-testing significantly improves long-term retention² of new material.

自我测试可以增强大脑与新知识的联系，你是否掌握了新知识？通过自我测试可以立即得到明确的反馈。反复自我测试能够显著促进新知识的长期记忆。

5. They study in short bursts, not long marathons.

5. 他们短时间内学习，而不是马拉松式学习

Studying in short bursts tends to help you focus intensely because you know there is at least a short break coming.

短时间内学习可以帮助你更集中精力，因为你知道很快就会有短暂的休息。

6. They reverse-engineer solved problems.

6. 他们逆向推理已解决的问题

The problem with simply following the steps the professor provided, or the textbook outlines, is that you're only achieving a surface-level knowledge of the problem. Top students, instead, take solved problems and work backwards³, from solution to question, asking "why."

简单地按照教授提供的步骤或教材提要来解答存在一个问题，那就是你只掌握了这个问题的表面。而优等生会从已经解答的问题逆向推理，从答案到问题推论，问"为什么"。

By following this process, you begin to understand the interconnections of the concept, and how to directly apply that to a problem.

通过这个过程，你就会开始理解这个概念的内在联系，怎样将这个概念直接应用到问题。

7. They don't own a highlighter.

7. 他们不用荧光笔

Highlighting anything = unengaged reading. If you want to note something that stands out, underline and write a corresponding note to go along with it. Or better yet, write yourself a note summarizing the item in your own words.

把所有内容都强调突出纯粹归根结底还是无所事事的阅读。如果你想要着重突出某个知识点，可以下划线并配上相应的注解。更好的是，用自己的话概述整个问题，并记笔记。

8. They sleep-a lot.

8. 他们睡眠充足

The daily routines of top performers, in any field, are characterized by periods of intense work (4-6 hours per day) followed by significant quantities of high-quality sleep (9 hours per night). The idea is to alternate periods of intense work with rest, so that you allow adequate time to assimilate those gains.

每个领域优秀人士的日常习惯都是高强度的工作（每天四到六小时），然后配合长时间优质的睡眠（每晚九小时）。也就是高强度的工作和休息相间隔，让大脑有充分的时间吸收新知识。

9. They engage themselves by asking questions.

9. 他们积极问问题

What happens if I tell you, "Thomas Jefferson almost single-handedly drafted the Delcaration of Independence in 1776."?

如果我告诉你，"1776年，托马斯?杰佛逊几乎独力起草《独立宣言》。"你会怎么做？

You might say "Hmm.. that's interesting", try to remember it for later, maybe even write down a note or two.

你或许会说："唔，真有趣"，准备稍后记住这个知识点，甚至会写下一两条笔记。

But what if I ask you, "Who was Thomas Jefferson?" What changes?

但是如果我问你，"谁是托马斯?杰佛逊？"会有什么改变？

You start searching your memory, sifting⁴ through images of old guys, founding fathers, thinking about the Declaration of Independence. You come up with your own narrative⁵, and then realize that you have gaps.

你会开始在记忆中搜索，筛选大脑中的元老，开国者的图像，思考《独立宣言》。你会给出自己的答案，然后发现还有一些知识空白。

You'll probably find yourself going to Google to fill in the gaps. Through that process your learning will be much more deeply seated in your brain than anything your history teacher ever told you about him. That's the power of asking questions.

你或许会登录谷歌搜索这些空白的知识。通过该过程，这个知识点会比历史老师直接告诉你更深刻地印在脑海中。这就是问问题的力量。

10. They make the best out of lecture.

10. 他们能从授课中得到最多知识

Yes, your professor sucks. Yes, lectures are boring. Yes, it's either too fast so you can't keep up and miss all the important stuff, or it's way too slow and you start zoning out because you already understand everything.

是的。你的教授让人讨厌。是的，授课内容很枯燥。是的，讲课进度太快你根本跟不上，错过了所有重要的内容，或者太慢了，让你头昏脑胀，因为你早就理解了所有的知识。

The best students look at this this way: I'm going to be there no matter what, so what's the best use of my time while I'm in the classroom? Ask questions, bring the textbook and look stuff up, focus on the important practice problems to copy down in your notes, try to anticipate what the professor is going to say, make note of anything they put emphasis on as a potential exam topic. All of these things make the time you have to spend in lecture more productive. And that's less time you have to spend studying later on.

而最好的学生则这样想：无论如何我都要认真听课。那么，应该怎样最充分地利用课堂时间呢？问问题，打开教材，查找材料，集中精力研究练习题，抄到笔记本上，预测教授会讲什么，把他们强调的可能会考到的内容记下来。这些都会让你的课堂时间更加高效，也减少了课后学习花费的时间。

11. They immediately study their exam mistakes.

11. 他们能立即从考试错误中吸取教训

Most students get their exam grade back, flip⁶ through to see if the professor made any mistakes, and then promptly⁷ shove it into their notebook, never to be seen again until the mad scramble⁸ at the end of the semester to study for the final.

大部分学生看到分数后立即翻看教授有没有评错分，然后就把考卷夹在笔记本里再也不看了，直到期末考试来临匆忙复习的时候。

Instead, top students ignore what they got right, and use their mistakes as an indicator⁹ of what to improve on.

相反，优等生会忽略做对的题目，把出错的知识点视为需要提高的地方。

12. They use old exams.

12. 他们利用以往的考试

Professors aren't the most inventive folk. Along with coming up with lecture material and departmental responsibilities, they're also primarily concerned with research. So typically midterms and final exams more or less look alike for similar courses year-to-year and even across universities. Because of this, old exams are a gold mine of opportunity for figuring out what problems you should be able to solve and study from.

教授并不是那么善于发明创造。除了备课，制定课堂纪律之外，他们还要忙着从事研究工作。所以，年复一年，同一门课程的期中期末考题多多少少会出现雷同，甚至不同学校的考试内容也类似。因此，要了解考试会出什么题，往年的考卷是最佳参考资料。