Note Taking

It is generally impossible to take note of every word your professor utters. Good note taking requires a strategy and experience. With effective use of a good strategy and as you gain experience you will develop a keen sense of what is important to write down and how to efficiently write it.

Prepare Before The Lecture

Before class, reread the notes from your previous class lecture. This will allow you to link lectures together and gain a deeper understanding of the material as a whole. Always complete the reading assignments prior to the lecture for that assignment. Even if you feel lost in some of the reading, this practice will prepare you to ask good questions during lecture and most likely some topics will become clear without question. Let’s face it, college students are busy with all of the work that is thrown at them. If you find yourself behind, at least skim the reading and absorb the main point, key points, and any essential key words of the reading assignment. Then read the material after the lecture. However, making a habit of reading prior to the lecture is a good goal and will likely increase your comprehension of the material.

When you arrive to your class, before the lecture begins, have a seat and prepare to take notes. During that time write down the date, the subject of the lecture (usually can be found in the syllabus), and number your pages. Note organization will help later in the semester when you prepare study guides for exams. Or if you are extremely pressed for time and cannot complete a study guide for an exam you will have a decent review that will be easy to follow. I do understand that time can be in short supply sometimes, but I do recommend making time to do exam study guides. The process of reviewing and making a study guide from your notes will itself make you half way ready for an exam. College is all about engaging the material. The more you expose yourself to the material (in an interactive way) the better you will do.

What To Do During Lecture

During the lecture, you should try to discern what you professor is trying to get across: What is the main point of the topic being discussed? How does it fit into the big picture topic of that lecture? How can I summarize the ideas being discussed? Also pay close attention to your professor’s language: Did they emphasize anything in particular? Did they spend a disproportionate amount of time on a certain topic? Did they flat out say “this will be on the exam?" Were they lecturing from a PowerPoint presentation but actually went to the board to write something specific (an example or otherwise)?

Lectures are a delicate balance between listening and writing. You should be writing down the important stuff (which you will easily discern with experience) and be actively listening the rest of the time. If you hone in on something important to take note but do not completely understand it do not get hung up just write it down and deal with it later.

While taking notes try to create an understandable structure. Use titles, asterisk, boxes, underlining, indentations, and skipped lines as necessary. Do not try to cram that last paragraph in just because you have a little more room on the paper. In fact, leave blank spaces on your notes. Blank spaces will allow you to add information that pertains to that note as the lecture progresses and include more notes at a later time for topics that were not completely clear. The whole point is to have all of the important information from a lecture written down in a clear and organized format.

In some lecture classes asking questions are frowned upon. However, if your professor welcomes questions during the lecture period then ask away. Even if questions are welcomed, you should really limit yourself to the really important one that you just need to ask. Also, if it is a question you expect will take more than a few minutes to go through avoid asking the question for now. Lectures are usually only and hour (give or take fifteen minutes) long, if information is missed some professors will require you pick up the slack for the exam. In these cases, it will not be fair to you or your classmates.

After the Lecture Is The Time To Excel

Now is the time to ask all of the time consuming questions that you wanted to ask. Most professors will hang around after class for ten or fifteen minutes just for this purpose. This is the best time to ask, as the information will still be fresh for both of you to discuss. However, if it will take longer than this, you should go see them during their office hours. Skim through your notes. Correct any errors, make thing you had to write quickly more clear, refine your formatting, and fill in blank spaces with information you gleaned by asking questions.

If you get any supplemental materials in class, write down the date and place it in a folder and do not forget about it when you are preparing for exams. If you take note with loose leaf paper in a binder then place the handout directly with your notes.