Take Note!Lunch and Learn

Student Success

Note-Taking Tips that lead to Success

The Unfortunate TruthFor some reason, students are more reluctant to change their note-taking habits than any other studying practice.

However, this information may be some of the most helpful you’ll hear all semester.

Students who take good lecture notes and know how to use them to their advantage usually do better on tests…which leads to good grades, an excellent GPA, and a great career someday!

So try out some of our suggestions. You might find that you’ll have a set of notes that will be

an awesome study tool!

Write On: Some Terrific Note-Taking Tips

BE THERE—ON TIME

Try your best to get to class a few minutes before it starts so that you can be ready to go when your professor starts lecturing.

SIT IN FRONT

Students who sit in the front of the classroom tend to listen better, ask questions, take better notes, and even perform better on tests than students who hide in the back. This is especially important if your professor relies on PowerPoint presentations or writes important points on the board.

BE PREPARED

Have everything ready when the lecture begins—notebook with clean paper, pens, textbooks, and lecture notes from the last class to refresh your memory.

DO YOUR OWN THING

Outlines and visuals provided by your professor are a great way to help organize your notes, but be sure to put in additional

explanations.

Terrific Note-Taking TipsUSE A BINDER, PLEASE

Binders are much better for holding your notes than spiral-bound notebooks—you can better organize your notes and insert any handouts with a particular day’s notes. If someone wants to borrow your notes, you can give them just the

pages they need, not the entire notebook.

WRITE LEGIBLYYou’ll have to use your notes to study from, so try to write as legibly as possible. You’ll be upset with yourself if you can’t

even decipher your own handwriting!

KEEP AT ITWrite for the entire period—listening to a lecture is a

relatively passive activity and note-taking can keep you actively engaged.

HEADS UPListen for cues during the lecture—lists, definitions,

examples, voice changes, and even obvious cues (“This is really important for you to know, so be sure to get it in your notes”).

Terrific Note-Taking Tips

LISTEN, THINK (FAST), AND THEN WRITE (FAST)Accept that you are not going to be able to get down every

word the professor says. Try listening to an entire thought, quickly paraphrasing what was said, and then writing it down in your own words.

REVIEW YOUR NOTES REGULARLYDon’t wait until a day or two before a test to start reviewing your notes. Review whenever you have small pockets of time. Try reviewing your notes from the previous day while you are waiting for class to begin.

COMPARE NOTES WITH A CLASSMATE

Set aside some time to compare your notes with someone else’s. This can help you clear up some confusing points or missing

ideas.

Be Creative: Use the Split-Page Method of Note-Taking

This note-taking method is named the “split-page” because you divide (or split) your paper into two columns.

You take notes on the wider right-hand side and then use the left-hand side (which will have a two- or three-inch margin) to write questions or annotations.

Using the Split-Page Method

Once you have your paper set up, keep these tips in mind:• Date your notes in case you need to refer to notes given on a

specific day.

• Number each page so that if you take pages out of your notebook to study or to lend a friend, you’ll be able to get them back in the right place.

• Take notes in the larger right-hand space.

• Write in pen rather than pencil, which can fade, smudge, and smear.

Using the Split-Page MethodOnce you’re ready to take your notes, follow these guidelines for taking notes in an organized way:

• Write in simple paragraph form. Students who make detailed outlines tend to leave out lots of information and concentrate more on the outline itself than the material that should be included.

• Indent or underline key points and skip a line or two between key points.

• Identify examples by marking them in a specific way.

• Number lists.

• Write in phrases, not complete sentences.

• Use abbreviations to save time.

Using the Split-Page Method

After your class, review your notes. This is where the left-hand side of your paper is used:

Write questions in the margins that you can ask yourself as you study.

Annotate key words and then verbally turn those key words into questions when you study.

You’re Almost There: Self-Testing Using the Split-Page Method

One of the key advantages of using the split-page method for note-taking is that it allows you to do blind self-testing.

1. Begin by doing what you have perhaps always done: read through your notes a couple of times to review.

2. Fold your notes back so that all you can see is the narrower left-hand margin where you have your questions or annotations.

3. Now ask yourself the question or turn your annotation into a question.

4. Try to answer the question without looking at your notes.

5. Now look at your notes. How much information did you remember?

6. Continue asking yourself questions as you plow through your notes. Find some way to distinguish the questions you know from those you need to spend more time on.

Different Strokes for Different Folks:Modifying the Split-Page Method

Depending on what types of tests you will have and the type of course you are in, you may need to modify and personalize your note-taking strategies.

CONSOLIDATING TEXT WITH LECTURE

Some students like to use the back of their paper to add material that is related to the lecture but is only found in the text.

DISCUSSION CLASSES

A three column approach may be used: the narrow left-hand column contains the

question posed by the professor, the middle column may have student responses, and in the far right- hand column you may write any additional comments your professor makes.

Different Strokes for Different Folks:More Modifications for the Split-Page Method

VISUALS GALORETry to get reasonable replicas of diagrams into your notes. Also, be sure to get down the lecture notes that go along with the diagram.

LECTURE NOTES ON THE WEBIf you have access to notes on the Web,

go to class everyday and take the best possible notes you can. Once

your professor’s notes are posted on the Web, download them and compare yours with his. Insert or expand on information you may have missed.

If nothing else, remember these tips:

• Some note-taking behaviors should be routine. For every class, you should be ready to take notes when the professor begins lecturing, write legibly, keep at it for the entire period, listen carefully, write in simple paragraph form, and review your notes regularly.

• In order to take notes in an organized way, use the split-page method, annotating or writing questions based on information in your notes.

• Self-test as a way of reviewing for your exams.

• Know how to modify your note-taking for situations other than straight lecture classes.