How This Course Works

How to Trade is organized into modules, and each module into lessons. You’re in one right now. This page is the second lesson of the Orientation module, and it explains how the rest of the course will work.

Getting Around

The course page is the table of contents, listing every module and lesson in order. At the top of each lesson, breadcrumbs lead back to the course page. At the bottom, links to the previous and next lesson let you move straight through the whole course.

Homework and Stars

All lessons end with a homework section. This is the most important part of the course, so don’t skip it. The lessons help you understand the concepts, but homework is where you put those concepts into practice.

Each assignment gives you step-by-step instructions. When you’re finished, use the validation checklist to make sure nothing’s missing.

Stars measure how much homework you’ve done, and they come in three tiers. Only validated homework counts toward earning stars. You’ll need one star to move on to the next lesson, but you’ll get much more out of the course if you do more than the minimum.

Higher tiers don’t have to come before you continue, either. You can keep working any lesson’s homework while you move ahead through the course.

The Journal

The journal is where you’ll keep all your homework. Over time, it’ll become a record of everything you’ve practiced.

Save it anywhere that supports files and folders. Make a folder for each module, then a folder for each lesson inside it:

journal
├── First Module
│   ├── First Lesson
│   └── Second Lesson
└── Second Module
    ├── First Lesson
    ├── Second Lesson
    └── Third Lesson

Most homework includes saving screenshots, so organizing everything by lesson keeps your journal from turning into a mess.

Mastery Checks

Every module ends with a mastery check on what you learned. Each check has a quiz and a task, and you must complete both to pass. Pass, and you’re ready for the next module.

Answer the quiz questions from memory without using notes or references. When you’re done, compare your answers with the key at the bottom of the check. If every answer is correct, you’ve passed the quiz.

Follow the task instructions, then run through its validation checklist. If every box checks out, you’ve completed the task.

You can also take the check before starting a module. If you pass, you can skip that module entirely. If you don’t, review the lessons and try again whenever you’re ready.

Homework

For this lesson, set up your journal.

  1. Decide where your journal will live. Any place you can create files and folders will work. Pick somewhere you’ll still be using months from now.
  2. Create the journal folder. Inside it, make a folder named Orientation, and inside that, a folder for the previous lesson, Who This Course Is For.
  3. Put the statement you wrote in the last lesson inside that folder. It’s your journal’s first entry.

When you’re done, your journal should look like this:

journal
└── Orientation
    └── Who This Course Is For
        └── Your statement file

Validation checklist

Before you call the journal done, verify: