Tips for Effective Note-Taking

Before you start:

  • At a minimum, keep a notebook and folder for each class.
  • Ideally, you can keep separate portions of a multi-sectioned notebook for research notes and reading annotations, in addition to your daily course notes. You may also need a section for practice exercises depending on the course content.
  • Take time to review your notes each day, including a few minutes prior to class.

In class:

Separate each notebook page into three distinct sections:

The first section should deal with class notes taken directly from the professor. You’ll want to reserve at least half of the notebook page for this purpose, usually on the right side. In this section, you should…

  • Record enough information that you can fully piece everything together later that day but not with so much detail that it becomes difficult to listen or participate.
  • Do not worry about writing out full sentences or making an occasional grammatical, spelling, or punctuation mistake.
  • Focus on writing down key nouns and verbs from the professor’s lecture, paying particular attention to words that came up in previous classes or readings.
  • Pace yourself. Take notes attentively, but not frantically, throughout the class
  • Be aware of rhetorical emphasis; a professor may reveal that a particular concept is important through:

* a change in tone

* repetition and review

* intentional timing

* providing extensive background, evidence, examples, or anecdotes

* previewing the material

* detailing the concept on the whiteboard or in a PowerPoint presentation

  • Use symbols, abbreviations, and shortcuts to make your life easier. A few examples include:

* law students using the letter “K” to denote contracts

* chemistry students using symbols from the periodic table in their notes. It’s a lot faster

to write out Mg than magnesium

* using an upside down “A” to identify counterarguments, like Mark Busser

suggests in his collection of reading symbols(provide link)

* drawing arrows, +/-/= signs, and whatever shortcuts you develop over time that

allow you both to write good notes and listen attentively

* paying particular attention to symbology that professors use in their own

notes and descriptions

  • Be particularly conscientious about noting steps in a process
  • Don’t engage in electronic distractions in class
  • Make note of references relating to course readings, including important terminology, visual descriptions, and exercises that you can revisit after class
  • If a professor works out a problem or exercise on the board, write that down in full

Note: If such activities are common in class, you may want to reserve a particular

section of your notebook for this purpose

  • Record questions that you want ask later in class or explore on your own

Also in class:

Leave a small section at the bottom of each notebook page to record students’ questions, reactions, and answers. While your classmates may not be experts in the field yet, and they may make occasional mistakes, their responses can still be instructive and worth noting.

Later that day:

On the left side of the notebook page that you intentionally left blank during class, you should:

  • Organize your notes in a more coherent, organized, and complete format. Use language that will be comprehensible a few weeks later when you may be studying for an exam
  • Now that you can look back at the whole class in retrospect, organize your notes in proper logical, chronological, procedural, and/or curricular order
  • Denote where your class notes overlap with course texts
  • Reflect upon how that day’s materials fit into the course’s overall conversations, questions, and themes

Other thoughts:

  • If you are entitled to note-taking assistance as an academic accommodation, make sure to use those resources available through the Office of Disability and Accessibility Services throughout the semester
  • Some students find it helpful to print out professors’ PowerPoint presentations when they are available before class. They may use this strategy to record important examples, details, and evidence interspersed throughout a professor’s outline while also carefully listening. Other students prefer to carefully record initial notes on their own and then make comparisons to the PowerPoint document later. Both strategies can be perfectly effective.
  • Be aware of opportunities to:

* compare notes with a friend

* pretest yourself on topics covered in your class notes

*work closely with key course terminology, including the creation of flashcards and

concept maps

* integrate your class notes into active reading exercises, course assignments, and

discussions with your professors.

Written by Matt McCluskey, Coordinator of Academic Support