If you are doing a degree then maybe you do assignments. If you’re unlucky then some of them will contribute towards your final mark! The real top students know how to make sure their marks are the best in the class, and while attending lectures and studying regularly sounds like hard work, you will be pleased to know that’s not what counts. In this weeks The Shortcut to Academic Success, you will learn how to add that very special after-touch to your submitted class-work. But first you need access to it, after it’s been submitted.

Before you pick a lock, you need to know how it works. Most modern locks use a system of pins in a rotating barrel (pin-and-tumbler design). The pins are arranged in pairs, and with pressure from springs protrude from the housing of the lock into the barrel so that the barrel cannot be rotated. When the pin pair is pushed up by the correct distance (e.g. by the notch on a key) the point where the pair of pins meet is at the exact height of the barrel, and since they are two separate pieces of metal there is no longer anything stopping the barrel from rotating. This system ensures that only a key segment that is the exact height (not less or more) will allow the barrel to turn. The correct distance is different for each pin pair, which is why keys have a long jaggedy bit, but when all the pin pairs are at the right place the barrel is free to turn and your lecturers filing cabinet (for example) is now unlocked.

Without a key, you need something to turn the barrel and something to manipulate the pins. There are tool kits you can by, but with practice a screwdriver and a bobby pin will do fine. First up you want to know which way the lock turns. If it’s your own door that you’re practicing on then you’ll know this but if it’s an unknown office door (for example) then you need to first apply torsion with the screwdriver. If there is a firm stiff resistance, then you are going the wrong way; the correct direction with yield a millimeter or two. Now with a small amount of tension, push each pin up as far as it will go. Your goal is to push the upper pin out of the barrel, and let the lower pin fall back down. With the pins separated, the slight misalignment resulting from your applied tension should cause the upper pin to rest on the barrel. You will hear a faint click when this happens. Repeat for every pin and you are in.

Now it is a simple step of going through everyone else’s assignments and changing the answers on your paper to match the best looking ones. NOTE: This is a demonstrative use of lockpicking only. Actual lockpicking is generally frowned upon by Johnny Law.