This semester I am taking the course Political Science with professor Thomas Stewart. I enjoy the class, but very much dislike the material we cover. I have never enjoyed government, history or political science classes of any kind, so this dislike came as no surprise to me, however I have also never had a problem with my grades and was astounded at the incredibly low grade I received on my first Political Science exam. I studied mildly for the test and thought I knew what I was talking about as well as what I planned on saying for each essay question administered, but my test score disagreed.
After getting my test results back I was horrified and immediately made an appointment with my success coach Rachael from the North Campus Success Center. Rachael advised that I talk to my professor about what I did wrong on the exam and how I can prevent those things from happening on the next test. I thought this to be a great idea, however deep in my heart I knew that this wasn’t just a few silly mistakes made during the test taking process, this was me not bothering to reach my full potential. I knew I could do better and in fact have done better in the past, so I devised a plan to, excuse my language, make the next test my bitch!
I began to take notes differently, more concisely, and more concentrated on what Stewart wrote on the board instead of the words that were leaving his mouth. I started studying earlier and more frequently as the next test date approached. I also pre-wrote out all the answers to the essay questions and went over them in my head numerous times prior to entering class on exam day. I felt as though I had thoroughly gone through the chapters and was prepared for this exam, when I got my results back that feeling was confirmed! I received an 88% on my second exam compared to the 60% I had earned on my first test. I felt so accomplished and much better about myself after that second exam, but mostly I felt proud that I had worked hard to reach my full potential and it had paid off.
Claire's Conclusions 