Learning from Lecture Notes - Part I - In Class

When you are taking lecture notes, you are actually creating a new document that you will use to study and learn the class material.  Here are some suggestions to take notes that you will be able to learn from later:

• Go to every class – be on time – get a good seat as near as possible to the front.  (Sounds obvious, but it needs to be stated!)
• Read the textbook before class.  This helps you know what will be covered and to be familiar with the vocabulary the professor will be using.
• Leave spaces between topics or ideas.  This helps you see the organization of the material, gives your eyes some place to rest, and provides space to add more information if needed.
• Similarly, just write on one side of the paper.  It looks much neater and you have a blank corresponding page if you need to add more notes.
• Use abbreviations, but be consistent.  
• Write so that you will be able to understand what you wrote a year from now.  You think you will understand what you wrote a week later, but you won’t!
• Watch for clues from the professor about what he or she thinks is important.  If they write anything on the board, be sure to write that in your notes.
• Watch for signal words such as “three points” or “on the other hand.”
• Review the previous class notes right before class begins and follow along in those notes if the professor reviews the information before starting the new material.

Next week we will think about how to learn from that excellent set of notes you have just taken!