“My AP World grade right now is struggling quite a bit no matter how hard I study or work with the teacher on it. My grades have suffered because of it. What should I do?”

– I need help!

Dear I Need Help,

I’m so sorry to hear that! It sounds like you have tried really hard and like you have given your best. Sometimes all you can do is try your best. That’s the best piece of advice I can give you. 

As for what specifically I think you should do (which suspiciously sounds a lot like what a teacher might say):

Try different studying techniques or different methods of teaching. What is exactly the problem? Can you not understand the material? Are you having trouble with memorizing? Are your writing skills weak? Do you not understand the reading? It’s important to consider these questions when trying to improve your grade. Find out what your weakness is, and try really hard to solve this. Try studying with your friends who also have the class, and have them review the material for you. 

If you want to change your grades, the most important thing is finding the areas where you’re going wrong, and improving them one by one. It might be boring and hard, but this might save your grade! Maybe join the tutoring session to get help from someone else in the class who’s doing well.

And well, if all else fails, just try your best. It goes a long way just doing that and working your hardest for your exams. For that, I wish you luck with the March Exams! (I know I need it.)

***      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ******      ***

“how do you stay motivated cause i seriously can’t”

– Unmotivated

Dear Unmotivated,

First of all, I’d like to point out how lovely and nice your capitalization and grammar is. Such a nice sentence to look at.

Second of all, it is true for everyone. Staying motivated is really hard, especially when there are a million things you want to do instead of this. Different things work for different people. It’s important to find effective methods. One of my personal favorites is taking breaks in between studying so I don’t get too distracted and am better focused when I start studying again. Maybe music helps you focus, and maybe working in a quiet or loud place helps you. Being motivated to work can come in short bursts sometimes, so make sure to take advantage of those times when you’re feeling productive to get work done. (Those short bursts are the reason I’m writing this right now). Getting yourself pumped up or finding a good atmosphere to study in also helps you feel motivated.

Sometimes though, we just have no motivation at all, and it’s hard to do school work. We just have to force ourselves through these times and try really hard to stay focused, even if we don’t finish things as efficiently. Learning how to power through these bouts of failure can help us to be motivated more and power through our work, so make sure to conquer that boredom!

Good luck with March Exams!