Challenge yourself to think creatively and out-of-the-box. I found that this really helped find new perspectives on the material we were given, either on summatives or as in-class practice, and ultimately results in a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the texts. And for God's sake, pay attention in class- so many people would complain of the class being "too hard", but they would literally never pay attention or put in any effort whatsoever. "Paying attention" doesn't just mean being seated in the class- mentally, you must be present and ready to learn. Being interactive in terms of writing notes and asking/answering questions is beneficial to you and likely everyone else who's had the same question in their head for over an hour. Even if you are putting in effort and paying attention and you are still not where you want to be grade-wise, reach out to Mr. Baker (he's one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and is still my favorite teacher to this day), and I have no doubt he will be more than happy to work with you.