It has happened again: every history student’s worst nightmare. It is Sunday afternoon, and you have yet to start working on the twenty-five GRQs due the next day. While there is no easy formula to get your GRQs done in a pinch, there are certain steps you can take to get them done efficiently, and to avoid that routine Sunday night panic attack. 

1)      Do not wait until the weekend before to start them.

There is no feeling quite like the terror of opening up your GRQs the night before they are due and finding a seemingly endless list of blank questions staring back at you. As tempting as procrastinating may seem in theory, in practice, it is not exactly fun. According to Mr. Gregg, it takes at least fifteen to twenty minutes to get a GRQ done right, so do the math: if you wait until the last minute, you probably won’t be getting much sleep.

2)      Break it up.

It is somewhat difficult to focus for seven hours straight. That is why you should break up the GRQs and do three of them a day from the day they are assigned. That way, you won’t spend your weekend learning forty-five years of history, and you will not develop deep-seated anger issues towards our founding fathers. Instead, heed the wise (and interpreted) words of Benjamin Franklin: “A GRQ a day keeps the bad grades at bay.”

3)      Read the chapter before starting.

Even though scanning the pages looking for key words that will you lead to the answer may seem like the most efficient method, you will still end up reading the chapter sooner or later. If you read it sooner, you have time to let it all “sink in,” and reading it the next time will be easier.

It has been said that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it. So, to avoid having to repeat your United States history course next year, take these steps when doing your GRQs.