Your success in this course is a direct result of the amount of time and effort you put forth. I will be honest with you; this course is extremely demanding and laborious. The course is difficult for a number of reasons, but its main difficulty lies with the amount of new information you must process while at the same time working on the projects. 

Overall, there is one basic trait that distinguishes successful students in this course from those who are not: tenacity. You do not need to have a photographic memory or be Albert Einstein to earn a good grade in this course; you need tenacity. In general, tenacity means that you refuse to give up and you will stick with things even when you are miserable, sad, rundown, depressed, etc., and things are not going well. As Louis Pasteur once remarked:

                       "Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." 

Successful students work hard to understand the material presented in the course. They tend to constantly ask themselves, “Do I really understand this material?” If they are having trouble understanding the material, then the successful student typically engages in one of two behaviors. First, they put forth more effort to understand the material by re-reading the material or asking peers for help. Second, if these initial efforts do not help the student understand the material, then the student will actively seek out the professor for help. 

On the other hand, the unsuccessful student believes that no amount of effort will help them understand the material so they, in essence, give up by decreasing their efforts in the course. The unsuccessful student will go through the motions of attending class, reading the assigned chapters from the text, and doing any assigned class work. But, the unsuccessful student will expect that these behaviors alone will guarantee them a passing grade. The unsuccessful student will put forth minimal effort to try to understand the material.

Behaviors that will lead to poor performance in this course:

Consistently arrive late for class.
Never ask questions.
Never attempt to answer the professor's questions.
Never go the professor's office for help.
Do not buy the book or the APA manual.
Wait until the day of or the day before an assignment is due to begin working on it.
Miss class, then ask the professor if "anything important" was covered.
Turn in papers filled with misspelled words and grammatical errors.
Never take the time to look up a spelling, grammar, or style question. 
Only caring about getting “acceptable” grades with minimal work. 
Check your e-mail constantly and talk to the people sitting near you.
Wait until the day of or the day before an assignment is due to go to the professor for help.