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  #1  
Old Apr 13, 2009, 11:59 PM
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Christina86 Christina86 is offline
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Here are some notetaking survival tips for college students.

1) Active listening. "Passive" listening is what you do when you watch a sitcom or have a casual conversation. In contrast, active listening is when you listen carefully to make sure you understand and learn the information that is being conveyed. Here are some things you should do to listen actively.
  • Listen for the main point and major subpoints. Don't just write everything down. Listen carefully and make sure you understand what the purpose of this lecture is. As you take down notes, keep the main point in mind and make sure you understand how these notes are related.
  • Listen for an organizational structure. Unless the teacher is a terrible lecturer, his or her notes are probably organized into some kind of outline. Listen carefully to figure out how the ideas are organized and they will make more sense. Of course, if your professor provides an outline by writing on the board or using PowerPoint notes, take advantage of this.
  • Pay attention to organizational cues. Listen carefully for words and phrases that reflect the organizational structure of the lecture. Pay close attention to the introduction, as it will probably indicate how you should organize your notes. If the lecture begins with, "Today I'm going to talk about three ethnic conflicts in the Middle East," then you have a good idea of what's going to follow. Listen for "signpost" words to indicate a transition for one point to the next, such as "next" and "finally" and numerical signposts like "first" or "third."
  • Listen with your eyes. Speakers communicate information through nonverbal communication. Watch the professor, and be aware of how he or she uses hand gestures, eye contact, and other body language to convey points.
  • Remove distractions. Don't tempt yourself! Put away the campus newspaper, your Sudoku puzzle, your cell phone, and anything else that might be more interesting than the lecturer.
  • Practice. Learning to concentrate and listen actively is an endurance skill. Make yourself do it, and it will get easier over time.
2) Proper techniques for writing and lecture notes. Learning to write down all the important information in an organized way is a challenge as well. Here are some tips to help you out:
  • Write down the date and the topic of the lecture. This will help trigger your memory when you are studying.
  • Learn to write quickly. Or type quickly, if you're using a laptop. Use lots of abbreviations. Don't worry about getting down every word, especially words like "a" and "the." Don't worry about writing neatly. As long as you can understand your notes, it's neat enough.
  • Write down definitions. If your instructor defines a term, make sure you write it down and understand what it means. .
  • Don't copy outline or PowerPoint notes word for word. Here's a common problem: a teacher puts a PowerPoint slide up, and students are so busy writing down every word on the slide that they stop listening to the lecture. This causes them to miss information that was discussed in the lecture but not written on the slide, and it also makes active listening impossible. Instead, use the notes to help you follow along.
  • If your instructor indicates that something is important, mark it. This is a strong clue that something may be on the test.
  • If your instructor is going too fast or is unclear, say something. Even the best lecturers get a little garbled sometimes. There's nothing rude about asking your teacher to clarify a point.
  • Err on the side of writing down too much. Excess notes are probably not going to hurt you on the exam. Not writing down enough will.
3) Reviewing your notes. This is very important, but students don't do this nearly enough. Review your notes to make sure you understand all the information and to keep it fresh in your head. Here are some note reviewing tips:
  • After the class period is over, rewrite or type your notes as soon as you can. This can help quite a bit with retaining the information.
  • Read over your notes before each class period. This doesn't take very long and helps you contextualize the new information.
  • As you look over your notes, mark anything that doesn't make sense to you. Stop by the instructor's office hour and ask for clarification, or ask a fellow student to help you out.
  • Make friends with a studious fellow student. Find someone who goes to class all the time and who takes good notes, and sit down together once in awhile to compare notes with each other. Even if you listen actively and come to class all the time, you're bound to miss a point here and there, so this can help you both out.
  • Get help if necessary. If you're having problems, show your professor your notes and ask for some guidance. Or stop by your campus study skills center and have someone go over your notes with you.
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How to Take Good Notes in Class!

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  #2  
Old Apr 14, 2009, 12:02 AM
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Christina86 Christina86 is offline
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Before the Lecture Begins


  1. Prepare for the lecture so that you will be more likely to predict the organization of the lecture. Check the course outline to see if the lecturer has listed the topic or key ideas in the upcoming lecture. If so, convert this information into questions.
  2. If an outline or handout is given out at the beginning of class, skim it quickly. Underline or highlight topic, new vocabulary, key questions and/or main ideas.
  3. Sit as near to the front of the room as possible to eliminate distractions.
  4. Have a proper attitude. Listening well is a matter of paying close attention. Be prepared to be open-minded about what the lecturer may be saying, even though you may disagree with it.
  5. Have extra pencils sharpened and ready, or extra lead for mechanical pencils in case a pencil breaks during the lecture.
  6. Write down the title of the lecture, and the date.


During the Lecture
  1. Listen carefully to the introduction (if there is one). By knowing this outline, you will be better prepared to anticipate what notes you will need to take. Decipher this outline by listening for:
    • A topic for each section.
    • Supporting points or examples for the topic.
  2. Copy what's written on the whiteboard, especially the outline. To make sure that you get everything, get in the habit of skipping words like "the" and "a" and make use of shorthand and abbreviations. Summarize your notes in your own words, not the instructor's. Remember: your goal is to understand what the professor is saying, not to try to record exactly everything he or she says.
  3. Recognize main ideas by signal words that indicate something important is to follow. See the tip on signals below.
  4. Jot down details or examples that support the main ideas. Take down examples and sketches which the lecturer presents. Indicate examples with "e.g." Give special attention to details not covered in the textbook.
  5. If there is a summary at the end of the lecture, pay close attention to it. You can use it to check the organization of your notes. If your notes seem disorganized, copy down the main points that are covered in the summary. It will help in revising your notes later.
  6. At the end of the lecture, ask questions about points that you did not understand.


After the Lecture
  1. Revise your notes as quickly as possible, preferably immediately after the lecture, since at that time you will still remember a good deal of the lecture. Also it is a good idea to reread your notes within 24 hours of the lecture. It may be a good idea to rewrite or type your notes to make them clearer and more organized.
  2. Review the lecture notes before the next lecture.
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How to Take Good Notes in Class!
  #3  
Old Apr 14, 2009, 12:16 AM
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Christina86 Christina86 is offline
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What I like to do...

Well, I have diagnosed learning disabilities, so I have some academic accommodations through my university. Like, for instance, I'm *supposed* to have a notetaker, because it's hard for me to listen to my prof, read notes projected on PowerPoint, and copy all of this down at the same time!! So if a volunteer in the class can be found, I can get some notes so I don't have to completely freak out about missing information.

Anyways... I haven't always had that accomodation. Also, notetakers get sick too, since they're students like me.

So it's always good to have decent notetaking skills.

First...

1. Obtain lots of paper and lots of pretty coloured pens. Yes, more than one colour ink! Go nuts - as long as you can read it, it's good!!

2. Write the date/course code on the top. Also page numbers, esp. if it's looseleaf paper!

3. If the prof provides PowerPoint slides, especially before class, make sure you print those off and bring them along - this is so you don't have to rewrite everything that's put up on display!!

4. Write the title of the lecture at the top of the page (or the topic being discussed). Develop your own system of abbreviations for some words and develop a way of organizing info. Leave space for added notes afterwards!! (Don't cram it all onto one page!). Use indenting, bullets, arrows... anything that makes sense to you.

5. Any subsection "titles" write in another coloured ink. Important terms, dates, people - anything that the prof defines - write in another colour, or underline or box it off - anything so you know its important when you go back!

6. Put stars beside things that the prof seems to hint at or says is important - that generally means more likely testable on exams and stuff!!

7. If the prof mentions specific pages in a textbook, write those down beside whatever is discussed - in another colour ink from your regular notes! Its good to go back to.

8. If the prof mentions a project/essay/assignment in the future or deadlines - WRITE THOSE DOWN LIKE THIS and in another colour - and put it in your agenda/planner/PDA whatever. Organization is key.

9. Question marks are your friend. You don't understand something? Put a ? beside it. Or put your hand up and ask. If you ask a question, the prof stops rambling about stuff which means there's less stuff to write down. Make sure you write down his answer though if the answer is important to your question (or if the question was important)

10. Profs are NOT there to be mean. Some are, yes. But use their office hours to ask them stuff. Most of them sit bored in their offices by themselves during their office hours because students are afraid of them... make friends with your profs, that helps you out a lot in the long run (for academic references, and better grades if you argue one!)

11. After the lecture, even if you hate it... take some time to review. Definitely within 24 hours of the lecture. THEN, add clarifications if you need to, to your original notes.

12. If you're like me, your handwriting can get pretty hazardous during class... so I type up my notes on my computer. This also helps if you want a "note buddy" in your class and they happen to miss one - then you can give them a nice typed copy of the class notes. They'll be grateful and you'll have help as you need it!!
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How to Take Good Notes in Class!
  #4  
Old Apr 14, 2009, 01:22 AM
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whiteNight whiteNight is offline
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I have started using Microsofts Office OneNote program to take my notes for all my classes on my laptop

this way, I have lessoned the amount of paper i need to use and keep track of.

I have different tabs for each subject and new tabs on the right hand side for each set of notes

when I have a mass omount of notes, like for my astronomy class, there is a search system that I can you that will locate and highlight for me

it also autosaves so the worie over remembering to hit the save button is gone

my hand writing, especially when in a hurry can be hard to read, now i can write fast and use spell check for words I spell wrong

this is just my digital extra to the amazing topic you have posted
Thanks for this!
Christina86
  #5  
Old Apr 14, 2009, 12:01 PM
equive equive is offline
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Member Since: Jan 2009
Location: Saint Louis, USA
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These are all such great tips!

One thing I do is skip a line every time I make a note. So there's skipped lines everywhere. That way if I need to go back and add something, I have room, or can write extra thoughts while I'm reviewing later. And even if I don't add anything, it's much easier on my brain to look at a line at a time, instead of one huge block of writing.

It was suggested to us by a professor my freshman year of college - he MADE us do it. I was annoyed, but it actually worked!

Another thing I like to do too is compare notes with someone else. I always try to make friends in my classes to do this - often, we'll both have something the other doesn't, or a different way of taking notes, or a different way of understanding things, so it's really helpful to compare notes. Like for a class this semester, I have a friend who took it a semester ago, and she gave me her notes - so I always compare when I'm studying for the exams.

Thanks for this!
Christina86
  #6  
Old Apr 15, 2009, 12:54 PM
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tinyflyer02 tinyflyer02 is offline
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Posts: 27
Those are some really good ideas! I always look for different ways to help me with my studying. I wish I still had some of my goalsetting stuff because it gave some very good studying tips unfortunately; I turned in all my stuff thinking I was going to get it back.

A really good website that gives some good tips on studying and strategies to use is http://www.studygs.net/index.htm

My dean that taught my Freshmen seminar class used this website to help us and give us ideas.
Thanks for this!
Christina86
  #7  
Old Apr 15, 2009, 01:36 PM
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(JD) (JD) is offline
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If it's a lecture on information in one of your texts, read the textbook first. Make your own list of questions regarding what you read. This will help you find those answers during the lecture, and if not, you will have cogent questions to ask.

Listen to classical music before any heavy duty study or intensive lecture. This will help you remember and perform better.

When wishing to instantly remember something, visualize the information (question, answer) and look up to the left in your visual field. "Place" the information you will want later into that area (upper left) and "see" it there. When you later wish to find the information, look again up to the left and your brain will have it ready for you.

Learn shorthand. (You probably already use some abbr. for many words.)

Use a recorder if you are allowed. Transcribe soon after (or have someone else do so.)

Ask the lecturer for a copy of her/his notes, after the class. (Hey, it works sometimes. If not, you receive an A for effort in my book!) Tell them that the lecture was so terrific, you didn't want to lose a single word of it.

Pick notepaper that suits you. I do horrible notetaking on standard lined paper... but if those same wide lines are on a yellow legal pad...I do better. I do great with college ruled papers. I do even better with half sheets, long wise. (I tend to keep filling in words and end up with quite a mess if I utilize the entire large sheets of paper.) I also do better if the paper is a pastel, such as pink, which has a natural calming effect for me.



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Thanks for this!
Christina86
  #8  
Old Apr 15, 2009, 07:20 PM
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jacq10 jacq10 is offline
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I actually have found that taking notes during class just distracts me. My theory for the past two years has just been to attend all of my lectures, listen/watch the prof, sit near the front, try and minimize distractions, and just BE there. Now, the only time that this hasn't worked is when my prof's don't post their notes, but for the ones who do - I just go and listen! It makes class MUCH more enjoyable, and I find I remember things better that way!
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Thanks for this!
(JD), Christina86
  #9  
Old Apr 18, 2009, 01:47 AM
GrayNess GrayNess is offline
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Usually I use some short script (i.e. my own abbreviations, which some others can figure out but most of it is rather cryptic) and sit right in the first few front rows. I read the material before class then I write right on the lecture notes I've printed off, so I only add on what is important.

During a break (i.e. courses with 3 hour lectures) or after the lecture, I compare notes with my friends. Sometimes I miscopied or just missed something entirely.

I handwrite it as I'm not a very fast typer.

When I write, usually I look where on the paper I put my pen/pencil then listen to the prof and write without looking, and yes, it is very legible and relatively neat.

I don't skip lines between notes as I don't like to, so I tend to draw little arrows around the page, although they're not too bad, still legible.
Thanks for this!
Christina86
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