This class is AP European History, hence the remark about high memorization and fairly high writing required. First, to do well, you need to make sure you do your notes both from the slides and from the book outlines for reading quizzes, not stare at your phone the whole class like Mercer. Second, pay attention to the explanations of the notes on the slides during class time. They're very helpful and even seemingly dumb questions can usually provide information useful later on the quiz, such as what the book The Prince by Machiavelli is about. Third, ask a lot of questions. Mr B. (as we all call him) is a friendly and welcoming teacher and often talks about his dog, Otto, named after Otto von Bismarck (someone you need to know for class! ). He always answers questions in thought-provoking ways (such as making you come to conclusions with context rather than simply giving it to you) and his knowledge is extremely useful for assignments and review. (Yes, I know this is about the class, but this is from my own experience). I also find it easier to remember information directly reiterated to me or told in anecdotal ways than read straight from the slides, though you should absolutely take the slide notes as well. Fourth, don't stress over tests and papers. They're easier than they seem.