How to Take Notes

Strategies for Academic Success: Improve your note taking skills whether you attend an online college or a traditional college classroom.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pencil

1. 1
   
    
   Pencil

   WHY TAKE NOTES?
   
   -Note taking is essential for studying and learning in college
   
   -Taking notes develops a sense of listening
   
   -Lecture notes provide the clearest and best indication of what the you should study for the exam
   
   -Taking notes in class makes the student an active participant in the learning process rather than a passive listener or daydreamer.
   
   -Taking notes helps the student sort out important information
   
   -The notes taken will become a study aid, an external memory device, and an instrument to aid in review and recitation

2. 2
   
    
   Notebook

   BE PREPARED!
   
   -Attend Class Regularly
   
   -Be on Time
   
   -Keep up with Reading Assignments
   
   -Organize Note-Taking materials ahead of time

3. 3
   
    
   Listen

   LEARN TO LISTEN
   
   -If the professor say, "For example..." that is a phrase that should get your attention
   
   Be ready to write groups of points when you hear the professor say something like, "there are three reasons why...."
   
   Supporting Material may start with phrases like, "On the other hand" or "Similarly"
   
   Conclusions or summary use words such as, "Therefore..." or "From this we see...."

4. 4
   
    
   College Classroom

   REMEMBER THESE IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT TAKING NOTES
   
   -Review your notes as soon as possible after class
   
   -Review the notes from the previous class meeting while you sit and wait for the class to begin
   
   -Review each week's notes at the end of the week
   
   -Studies have shown that one's recall rises immediately after learning
   
   -After about twenty-four hours, recall has diminished by about 80%
   
   -The single most effective way to prepare for a test is recitation
   
   -Hearing your own voice summarizing the material and quizzing yourself on it will greatly reinforce your mental image of the subject.
   
   -Studies have shown that about 80% of your study time should be spent in recitation rather than rereading.

on 3/18/2009 Good article on taking notes. Thanks for sharing.

on 3/3/2009 I asked the prof if I could tape class, and then boosted my notes after class when I listened to the tape. Great idea!!

on 3/3/2009 Grea article. I became very good at this during Nursing school.

on 2/16/2009 Good article very useful help for school. 5*

on 2/15/2009 Great tips. I'm a note taker myself. 5*