How to Do Well in a High School English Class

Co-authored by Alicia Oglesby

Last Updated: September 23, 2022 References

If reading and writing don't come naturally to you, high school English classes can seem difficult and intimidating. Putting forth your best effort both inside and outside of class will show your teacher that you genuinely care about your education and your grades. Incorporating helpful studying and learning strategies will assist you in acing your English class.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Being Effective Outside the Classroom

1
Set aside time to read for fun. Spend at least 20 minutes reading at home every day. You will be amazed by how much vocabulary you will learn and how much better your writing will be. You don't have to limit your reading to literature. Read anything you like: newspapers, blogs, history books, poems. The wider variety of reading you do, the better.
2
Take frequent breaks. When doing homework, take a short break about every 20 minutes. Stand up, stretch, walk around, rest your eyes, and drink a glass of water. Short, rejuvenating breaks are better than long ones that distract you or make you groggy.^{[1]
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- Set a timer so that you don't forget to take your breaks! Try to stick to your timer too. Don't take a break too early.
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3
Pace your deadlines. This means not waiting until the last minute to do assignments and giving yourself plenty of time before the due dates to review and revise your work. If an assignment is due the next day, don’t wait until after dinner to begin doing it. If it is due in two weeks, do not wait until the middle of the second week. Start assignments as soon as possible.^{[2]
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- If your teacher offers to look at your paper ahead of the deadline, take advantage of this. Try to finish a draft early and submit it to them for comments.
4
Avoid doing too much at once. Set clear limits for your homework. Don’t try to read an entire novel overnight. Doing too much at once will overwhelm you and cause burnout.^{[3]
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Don't cram the night before a test. Cramming rarely works, even for people who say they work best under pressure. Pace yourself and study in the few days leading up to the test, rather than only the night before or morning of the exam. Remember that good rest and exercise make for a clear mind.^{[4]
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- Break down your subject into parts. If you're studying a novel, break it up by chapter or segment. If you're doing grammar, separate it by part of speech or usage.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making the Most of School

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Stay for extra help after school. If you want to improve your writing, then ask the teacher or a tutor for extra help. Your teacher will appreciate that you took the initiative to ask for help. Being proactive about your grades will work in your favor.^{[5]
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Expert Source

Alicia Oglesby
Professional School Counselor
Expert Interview. 13 April 2021.}
2
Bring a notebook and pen to class. Take notes on what your teacher is saying so you can reference them later. Pay particular attention to anything the teacher writes on the board or shows on an overhead projector.
3
Pay attention in class. Don’t play games on your phone or check social media. It is rude and will irritate your teacher. Maintaining eye contact and putting down your phone shows your teacher that you are listening.
4
Write due dates down in a calendar or planner. Get a planner or agenda to keep track of your assignments and due dates across classes. Use your planner also to schedule extracurricular activities around your scheduled homework times.
5
Keep a running list of tasks and goals. Give yourself reasonable deadlines to meet them, and check them off when done. Put these tasks in the order of most important to least important, and work on them in this order. Having them prioritized like this will help you with your homework time management.
- You may find that you feel a sense of accomplishment when you check off finished tasks. This can help motivate you to continue working.
6
Don’t try to do everything on your own. Seek out friends in your English class and set up a study or reading group. If your teacher allows it, share your essays with your classmates ahead of time and ask for comments/feedback from them. Just make sure that you don't copy their comments or plagiarize their work when you edit your paper afterward.
7
Ask for help on major assignments. Almost every high school English class will require you to write essays. The requirements for these assignments will vary by teacher, so you will want to ask your teacher specifically what they are looking for. How many pages do they want your essay to be? Do they want citations at the end? Do you get to pick your topic or will a topic be assigned to you? Which of the three standard types of essays (expository/argumentative, narrative, or descriptive) are you writing?
- For an expository or argumentative essay assignment you will be asked to investigate a particular topic and create an argument or take a stance on that topic. Expository essays are generally shorter than argumentative essays and are more common in introductory classes, while argumentative essays are more common in advanced, capstone-type classes. An essay in either of these categories might, for example, ask you to research capital punishment in the United States and explain why you might take a stance either for or against it.^{[6]
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- For the narrative essay assignment your teacher will be looking for more storytelling. An example prompt for an essay in this category might be to write about your greatest accomplishment or worst fear. These tend to be very personal and anecdotal essays.^{[7]
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- For the descriptive essay assignment your teacher will expect you to describe an experience, person, object, or place in detail, usually in a five-paragraph format. This essay style often allows for more creative flexibility for the writer, depending on your topic. For example, describing a favorite childhood toy will be discussed differently by different students because each student had a different experience.^{[8]
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- Always consult your syllabus, rubric, or assignment sequence for specific instructions on your project.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Engaging Yourself in Class

1
Ask questions. Teachers enjoy answering your questions about the day’s lesson because it shows that you were paying attention. If you ask questions, you will better understand what’s going on in class. If you don't know the answer to a question, ask! It shows that you are engaged in the material.^{[9]
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- If you’re uncomfortable speaking up in class, talk to your teacher after class about something that you thought was confusing. This will clarify the issue in your mind and allow the teacher to explain the concept to you privately.
- The more specific the question, the better it will be. For example, you might ask "when Dickens writes 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities, is he referring specifically to London and Paris in that order? Or does he mean it was the best and worst of times in both places?"
2
Participate in class discussions about the books your class has been reading. Support your opinions with quotes from the book, or make connections to other books the class has read. Most teachers give participation grades, and these can help to bring up your final grade.
3
Attend class every day. Cutting class will lower your grade. You will miss out on valuable class material and will be behind when you decide to return to class. It’s also inconsiderate to your teacher.
4
Pay attention to directions. Ignoring directions on an assignment will usually hurt your grade. At minimum, it will annoy your teacher. For example, if he or she assigns a 3-paged paper, don’t hand in a 2-paged paper with extra large font and margins. Take pride in your work and take care to fulfill the assignment or paper requirements.
5
Turn in every assignment. Skipping assignments is a sure way to get a low grade in any class. Be sure to turn in all assignments, even if you think you didn't do your best work. Getting at least some points on a paper or other assignment is far better than earning zero points.
6
Ask your teacher if there are additional books you can read on a particular subject. For example, Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield is often assigned in high school English classes. It is one of the most studied novels of the nineteenth century. You might ask your teacher if there are particular studies or interpretations of the novel that they recommend.
- You might also ask if the teacher has any recommendations by a particular author If you enjoyed one of their texts in class. If you liked David Copperfield, for example, your teacher might suggest Oliver Twist or Great Expectations as further Dickens readings for you. Asking about further reading shows the teacher that you genuinely are interested in the subject matter and the class.
7
Don’t resort to flattery. Remember that teachers are busy, too. You don’t have to be the “teacher’s pet” to win over your teacher. All you need to do is to be attentive, hardworking, and interested. Work hard on your assignments and participate constructively in class, and your teacher will be impressed.

Expert Q&A

Question

What should I do if I'm bad at reading and writing?

Alicia Oglesby
Professional School Counselor
Alicia Oglesby is a Professional School Counselor and the Director of School and College Counseling at Bishop McNamara High School outside of Washington DC. With over ten years of experience in counseling, Alicia specializes in academic advising, social-emotional skills, and career counseling. Alicia holds a BS in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. She also studied Race and Mental Health at Virginia Tech. Alicia holds Professional School Counseling Certifications in both Washington DC and Pennsylvania. She has created a college counseling program in its entirety and developed five programs focused on application workshops, parent information workshops, essay writing collaborative, peer-reviewed application activities, and financial aid literacy events.

Alicia Oglesby

Professional School Counselor

Expert Answer

The most important advice I’d give to any student attempting to improve their grade in a course is to work directly with their English teacher. If your teacher is inaccessible, work with another English teacher or a student who is doing the best in the course. Practice certainly makes it better, so it’s good to practice by reading books you are interested in and discussing those books with loved ones.
Question

How can i improve my vocabulary at school?

Community Answer

Read lots of books. When you find a new word, write it down and look up what it means. Take out time every week to go through a word in the thesaurus and look at synonyms for it. Remember to keep in mind the new words and to google the meaning of the new words as well so you know when to use them wisely. Context is everything.
Question

Even though I'm doing the majority of these things, my English grades have gone down massively. I'm starting to get really worried, as I am trying really hard. Is there anything I can do?

Kitkattheactress

Community Answer

Ask the teacher. Extra help is not a bad thing, and you're actually smarter to ask for it. It will almost definitely help you. Just ask about how you could improve, and they're certain to help.

Warnings

Never cheat or plagiarize! If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you will receive an automatic zero for the assignment and will probably be referred for administrative disciplinary action. While it’s possible to bounce back and still get a decent grade with a zero on an assignment, it is nearly impossible to overcome the negative effects of a plagiarism accusation.

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