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Students have to deal with taking down notes in class every day. These notes are important because they do more than just provide you with information to study. They also help you in understanding, analyzing, and interpreting your lessons and keeping them in mind so that you can answer test questions correctly and participate in class recitations. Taking down notes effectively can help you do better in your academics. This article provides you with note-taking tips that can help you in class.

Start preparing before you get to class

You can enhance your note-taking skills even before you get to the classroom. You can do this by readying your things and making sure that you have them in your bag when you get to class. Make sure that yo have your papers, notebooks, pens, highlighters, pencils, and books with you. It’s also advisable for you to read your lessons in advance and familiarize yourself with the terms so that it would be easier for you to understand class lectures and take down notes.

What to do during class

Once you’ve read about your next lesson, you will be prepared to listen in class. This is important because listening helps you understand and remember various information that your professors will teach you. When you’ve already read about the lesson in advance, you don’t have to write down all the things your teacher says. You can just take note of important information and listen to what your teacher has to say. In case your teacher says something that can’t be found in your textbooks or other reference materials, then you should definitely take note of these information.

Tips on taking down notes

It would be easier for you to understand your notes if you keep them organized. A good way to do this is to make lists by using bullet points and numbers. This will help you remember numerous but short pieces of information. You can also make use of signs and symbols such as lines, stars, and letter size to mark important points in your notes. It might also be good for you to leave some extra space so that you can add notes later on when you learn new information about a particular topic.

Photo Credit : MGShelton

Effective note taking is almost always a bane among college students. In fact, students who get low test scores or, worse, fail the entire course has one naughty monkey on the back – finding the best way to digest all the information that spirals around a particular college classroom.

This difficulty can be attributed to the early years, when youngsters in K-level to even junior college are inadequately trained to put the teacher’s words into paper. We can notice poor thought organization skills or, more appropriate to this generation, breakneck attention spans that leave professors and teachers thinking, am I in a school or a mall?

As these students enter the august halls of college, he or she is dumbfounded and shocked to see how past misgivings are taking their toll.

What can the beleaguered student do amidst all the chaos? Start with effective note-taking. Before the term papers, reports and exams, students should know how to take notes. Without it, the battle is lost before it even began.

Effective note taking starts with listening. Active listening, that is. You don’t attend class just to listen to teachers or lecturers in a way akin to going to a theater or a family reunion, or passive listening. In active listening, you listen to understand and understand really well.

When the teacher starts the lecture, turn off the iPod, ditch the PSP, or forget how your seatmate looks like. Listen intently.

As you carefully listen to what the lecturer is saying, first check for cues about the lecture’s purpose. What is the teacher talking about? If you get the main point, then your further travails will be a lot smoother because as you listen further, you would only relate the subsequent utterances to this grand purpose.

Then check for the way the teacher organizes the lecture. Watch for the big introduction, like “Today’s lecture is about the masters of Renaissance art.” This will provide the best guide on how your notes should be organized. Look for statements of emphasis, especially those that start with “remember” or “don’t forget,” enumerations, starting with “number one, number two” or “first, second,” and transitions, with “next” and “finally”. Almost always, these should reflect on your notes.

When you write, you must also be organized. Follow the cues and the keywords uttered. Start with the date and topic on top. Follow on with subtopics at the bottom with terms that you should define, names that should be introduced under that particular heading. As you hear all the words or sentences the lecturer emphasizes, mark it down right away and make sure you understand what you wrote. If you did not understand what the lecturer said, call his or her attention and have it repeated. Of course, try to learn how to write faster.

The most crucial part of effective note taking is reviewing what you wrote. Do it after class. It allows you to clearly understand the lecture. If not, the lecturer is always at hand.

photo credit: Paul Worthington