C.G.P.A

CALCULATED . GAMBLING . PAYS . ALWAYS

A Marking scheme for the serious, the unserious and the semi-serious student?

 

On a very good day, you would expect C.G.P.A to mean cumulative grade point average, but today is not that day.

 

The Cumulative Grade Point Average system has been responsible for so many woes and throes on this campus, so many failures and let downs, and in response to this challenge, I have formulated my own system, a method I call Calculated Gambling Pays Always.

 

Now, after two paragraphs crested in riddles, it?s finally time to expose my main intent for writing this piece: THRASHING YOUR EXAMS AND MAKING GREAT GRADES. And I intend to show you how by sharing with you THE FOUNDATION OF MY schools of thought in the next seven points, let?s go:

 

ONE: QUESTIONS ARE NOT SET BY ALIENS

Lecturers are not from another planet. They are not aliens and as such, questions cannot be from elsewhere other than here. Lecturers set questions of human origin regardless of their complexity. Period.

 

TWO: EVERY LECTURER HAS A STYLE:

You may need some programming skills here! You basically need to crack the code of your lecturer to understand how he operates. His belief system, his style, his methods, his emphasis, likely questions and more. Listen, be inquisitive, ask your seniors who offered the course before you. If you do not know his style, your grade may not exude fashion.

 

THREE: EVERY DEPT. WANTS FIRST CLASS STUDENTS

Regardless of the animosity of some departments and lecturers, every single department wants to produce first class students (geology inclusive!). This may be hard to believe but it is very true. There are rumored cases of departments being lenient/offering special considerations for students who are on a shaky first class so as to ensure that they finish with nothing less than a first class. In short, your department/lecturer will help you succeed if you show enough commitment.   I?m in my final year. Trust me.

 

FOUR: ATTENDANCE IN CLASS IS IMPORTANT BUT NOT A PRE-REQUISITE TO YOUR ?A?

Don?t get it twisted, attending classes is very important. Consider the amount of information that comes by (and even flies by) in classes plus important points made by lecturers in class and you would not even think about missing them. But then, consider the boredom and stress incurred during some lectures (especially boring lecturers and large faculty courses) and you would rather sleep. Truth is, you need to know what classes to miss, not to miss and what went down in your absence.

If for any reason you have to miss an important class, get a close friend to help you record the lecture on his phone and listen to the recording later (as a good addition to the Xerox of the note).

As long as you do that, you wouldn?t have to attend every class.

Remember that lecturers use attendance whenever there is a need to upgrade scores. You can still attend every class and fail, but be smart.

 

FIVE: YOUR TEST IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR EXAM- TAKE IT MUSCULAR

One of the commonest errors we make as students is taking our tests for granted. This is a very risky path. For a moment, I want you to consider the timing of tests. Tests usually commence between One month and a half, and one week before exams, meaning that most departments write tests into exams (though all tests end before lecture free week). This is a bonus for you. All you need do is to prepare extensively for your tests and then add some garnishing during your preparation for exams to get your A!

 

Worthy of note is the fact that tests help you know exactly how much preparation (marks) you need to hit an A. If you did poorly in a test, you know you have to read extra in your exam and vice-versa. You should also track the weight of the test because ALL TESTS ARE NOT EQUAL. If you have a 40 mark test and you have a 10 mark test on the same day, you cannot (and must not) spend equal time on both courses.

 If you do not have a chart where you record your scores for assignments and tests before exam, construct one now (cause that?s the only way you can track any discrepancy in your grades should a mistake arise from your lecturers)

 

SIX: A GOOD WAY TO WASTE YOUR TIME IS TO READ YOUR NOTES/TEXTBOOKS FOR EXAMS

Shocking but true: Notes, textbooks and other materials are not meant to be read for exams/tests, they are reference materials. Now, that may seem weird but its not, I assure you.       Take a minute to consider this: most MCQ?s (objective questions) contain 60/80/100 questions. Theoretical papers are more interesting they are usually between 5 and 10 questions (and often not answer all): Now compare that to a 60 leaves page note and what you have is 100% probability that each page could produce a question when preparing for an objective test (good) and 10% probability when preparing for a theoretical paper (bad). I know you are tired of reading your 100 page handout and I believe that what you need is not a note, not a textbook, not even a past question: you need a marking scheme.

 

SEVEN:

A MARKING SCHEME IS THE CLOSEST THING TO EXAMINATION MAL-PRACTICE- CREATE IT

This point pretty much sums up every single thing I have mentioned so far: conventional methods produce conventional results, unconventional methods create MAGIC (if in doubt, ask Merlin!). Just as mal-practice exposes what you need, this system comes so close to that.

All lecturers create a marking scheme for the course they coordinate. They set it as a standard for marking and they do it because 70% of the time, they do not mark your script. That?s why you expect your lecturer to understand a point you were trying to drive at but could not conclude (maybe due to time constraint) then he gives you zero instead. He probably did not mark it.

 

Even if he did mark, he still needs a standard.

Every single lecturer takes his time to set questions and he/she consults a variety of materials before drawing up that final piece we call a test or an examination. But first, lets consider those materials lecturers consult:

 

    Past and present class notes (very complete)

    Exam Past questions

    Past and present Test questions (especially for exams)

    Class assignments

    The Internet (especially google)

    Course outline(obviously)

 

And maybe some other materials I did not consider too crucial.

 

Now, you need to simulate your lecturer to be able to create a jaw-dropping marking scheme that is on point but you need to add your own style too. You cannot do this alone: you need a company of strong folks like yourself and here are the specs you should look at:

 

    One/Two of the top 10 students in your class. I believe they don?t know because they are on top, they are on top because they know. Their insight is critical -invite them

    An excellent listener: not everybody can remember everything, let alone write everything the lecturer said in class. But some people can- find them.

    A coordinator: He/she should be an MS-Word expert (capable of typing well and fast). A natural leader who can connect and as well coordinate. This may or may not be yourself but the important thing is that he/she oversees the process I call C.G.P.A

 

C.G.P.A: the process

1

 Get all the necessary materials on ground (now you know them

2

Tick  all the topics that were covered in class and focus on them only

3

 Focus on past questions

4

Compare past questions with class notes (maybe two or three different notes to get a more comprehensive feel of the course or one extremely cool note)

5

Solve all past questions of the years that the current lecturer taking the course has ever asked. Use your arsenal: notes, past notes, internet, assignments e.t.c

6

Your answers must be extremely short and to the point. I advise between two to five lines, giving you a maximum of five sheets.

7

Compile all class assignments and tests

8   

Summarize your class note into four (or at most ten) sheets using the past questions as a guide. You are not expected to reproduce your note.

  9

Calculate and postulate (gamble) on the questions that could come out from 6 and 7 into two (or at most) five sheets

    Every solution you get from 5 is a potential question

 

10.

Type the outcome of 5 and 8 (though you are expected to type as you solve, especially relevant past questions) and try to compress everything into five (or at most) eight pages

11.

Separate the outcome of 5 and 8 on MS Word. Label 5 marking scheme, label 8 C.G.P.A

12.

 Print out 11. Read it for your test/exam and get your 70something A.

Read it well because you may need to explain better in the examination.

Read it several times. Underline, mark, use mnemonic devices e.g MR NIGER D.

 

Just don?t forget anything, remember it all (that?s why it?s so small in the first place) but don?t forget to focus 70% of your effort on 5 and 30% of your effort on 8.

However, if your exam/test is objective, spend 40% of your time on 8. This is because you need to have an idea about almost everything in your note.

In the process of writing codes on your marking scheme, don?t get it rough. The more disorganized your marking scheme, the less you remember.

 

13. Do not be selfish with your marking scheme. Feel free to help others (even though I know this can be tough given the effort that is usually put into it, but trust me on this one, it pays to share)

 

14. Be spiritual: I once wrote an exam in part one: This paper was so bad that I shaded 90 out of 120 questions and I shaded rubbish. But I passed. How? The only prayer point that I had between the period when I wrote the exam and the time I saw my score was ?Lord, pls have mercy on me and allow me pass Ps?..)?

 

How else could I have gotten a 53C?

 

 

 

 

FINAL WORDS:

I wrote this article to help you achieve three things:

    Freedom to do at least one other activity besides reading for 12hrs in the library

    Freedom to get excellent grades without sweat or stress

    And 3 is like 1: Freedom to live your life.

 

 

 

The entire C.G.P.A process should not take more than 9 hrs.

I hope that my C.G.P.A/Marking scheme system helps you achieve success.

Feel free to remix this system to suit your personal taste/departmental/faculty/course needs.

 

This system has been tested and proven to be great by my friends and I. Try it and forget failure. Embrace your new status of stardom. You are too loaded to get a C. Even B?s are only manageable.

 

Today, is a GREAT DAY. Share this article with your friends.

 

 

 

Pls Feel free to invite me to give a talk at your next seminar/meeting.

 

I CARE.

OGUNBOWALE OLUGBENGA

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