This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "How to Become a Straight-A Student" by Cal Newport. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Are you a STEM student? How should you study for STEM courses?
Studying for STEM courses is much different than humanities courses. In How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport explains how you should go about preparing for your STEM tests.
Here’s how to ace your STEM tests so you can pass the class.
Studying for STEM
If you’re studying STEM, Newport argues that you must understand how to solve problems. Most STEM courses don’t require you to understand overarching themes; rather, you need to master the problem-solving techniques and formulas presented so you can apply them to your own work. (Shortform note: Other experts argue that STEM classes do have overarching themes. Moreover, they argue that understanding what those themes are and how a particular point relates to them will help you stay focused in class.)
So how can you master these techniques? Newport argues that the first step is to skip the reading because your professor will describe those exact techniques to you during class. Instead, bring the reading to class to help you follow the lecture, and only review the text in-depth if you’re still lost after the lecture. (Shortform note: You may need to adjust this strategy, as some professors operate on the opposite structure: They assign readings that give you a baseline understanding of the material, then focus on answering questions and clarifying issues during class.)
Then, once you get to class, take good notes: Write down every problem and answer you hear, and do your best to write down each step of the solution—prioritizing the steps of the solution to the first problem, which is when your professor will present the most detailed explanation. If you don’t understand a specific step, Newport recommends asking questions. Clarifying your understanding during class will save you hours of studying STEM outside of it.
(Shortform note: Newport’s note-taking strategy assumes that your STEM lectures will primarily be explanations of problems—but what if you’re taking a class like biology, which often doesn’t involve sample problems but also doesn’t lend itself to the Q/E/C method? Try the Cornell Note-taking system: Draw an upside-down T on a piece of paper. Take detailed notes on the right side of the page, and use the left side to concisely describe the major concepts. After class, summarize what you’ve learned in the bottom section.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full How to Become a Straight-A Student summary:
- How to ace your college courses with just a few hours of studying each day
- How to combat procrastination and write better papers
- Study methods to prepare for different types of exams
