Effective Note Taking

When you are sitting in a lecture trying to concentrate on what your lecturer is saying at the same time as trying to make legible notes you can use for study later, how do you go about doing this? Whether you are the kind to spend the lecture taking notes or if you prefer to just listen and make notes after the lecture it is important to find the way that suits you best.  Everybody remembers things different so using a style that compliments your way of learning i.e., if you are a visual learner a mind map may be best suited to you.

Speaking from my own experience, if like me, you take notes after the lecture it is still always a good idea to have pen and paper out in front of you because you never know what pieces of important information the lecturer might tell you that aren’t in their slide notes. That way you can add the extra pieces of information to your own notes later on.

If you take notes in class there are a few things you should do to be prepared;

Be on time – being there at the start of the class means you will have a full set of notes when leaving

Be prepared – bring everything you need with you to the class, whether that’s note books and pens or a laptop, be prepared!

Choose who you sit beside carefully! – Sitting with friends in class is great if they distract you from the lectures it could be doing more damage than good.

Styles of note taking