Taking lecture notes like a champ. Because you can.

Written by Infinite

Going to lectures are part of the university study experience. Most students will bring along their laptops to take down notes. If you are old school like me, pens and papers are your trusted ally.

Don’t be the person who writes down EVERYTHING. 

Suppose you find yourself writing down everything or word by word of the lecture. In that case, the chances are, you are not engaging in active listening throughout the lecture. Active listening in any lecture is essential: it allows you to contextualise information that is being put out by the lecturer, and you are not just merely listening to some person spurting out words, but rather, you are making sense of it and processing the information as you go. By continuously writing down notes, you are merely hearing what people are talking about, rather than listening to information pertinent to your learning.

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Write in shorthand if you want. No full-sentence needed.

Your notes are, yours. Therefore, technically, it only needs to make sense to you and you only. Unless you are sharing it with your BFF, then that’s a different story. Write in short and crisp bullet points might help; or use shorthand and subheading to save space and time!

Inspired to be a journalist?
Try
Teeline shorthand.

Colour coding your lecture notes like neon lights.

If you are using a laptop, colour coding your notes are simple. If you are using pen and paper, you can use different highlighter colours. Colour coding is good for rapidly reviewing information, organising your notes, and bringing focus to certain parts of your notes. They are not just for aesthetic purposes!

Rewrite/clarify your notes each day after your lectures.

This is an easily neglected part of an effective lecture note-taking practice. Many students made the mistake of just leaving the note as it is right after a lecture. Doing so doesn’t help you retain any information, but it could also cause problems later on when you want to revise. Typical issues arise such as writing that made sense before suddenly doesn’t anymore because you didn’t go back and rewrite it, or information is mismatched. Therefore, it might be useful to revisit your notes each time when you finish attending a lecture. You can make some quick edits, and make sure that what you’ve written down makes sense to you.

If you are still unsure how to take notes like a champ after reading this, Joe can help you with it!

Joe taught in the University of Auckland for the last eight years. He has written lectures for years and he knows how highly complex information can be captured easily. These tips are only the tip of the iceberg. Cliche and maybe pun intended. Speak to Joe if you need more guidance on the art of note-taking, or if you have other academic issues that you think Joe can help you with!