Note-Taking Techniques

1. Identify the main ideas. The first principle of effective note taking is to identify and write down the most important ideas around which the lecture is built. Although supporting details are important as well, focus your note taking on the main ideas. These ideas can be buried in details, statistics, examples, or problems, but you will need to identify and record them for further study. Some instructors announce the purpose of a lecture or offer an outline of main ideas, followed by details. Other instructors develop PowerPoint presentations. If your instructor makes such materials available on a Web site prior to class, you can print them out and take notes on the outline or next to the PowerPoint slides during the lecture. Some instructors change their tone of voice or repeat themselves for each key idea. Some ask questions or provide an opportunity for discussion. If an instructor says something more than once, chances are it is important. Ask yourself, “What does my instructor want me to know at the end of today’s class?”
2. Don’t try to write down everything. Some first-year students try to do just that. They stop being thinkers and become just note-takers. As you take notes, leave spaces so that you can fill in additional details that you might have missed during class but remember or read about later. Take the time to review and complete your notes as soon as you can after class. Once you have decided on a format for taking notes, you might also want to develop your own system of abbreviations. For example, you might write “inst” instead of “institution” or “eval” instead of “evaluation.” Just make sure you will be able to understand your abbreviations when it’s time to review.
3. Don’t be thrown by a disorganized lecturer. When a lecture is disorganized, it’s your job to try to organize the material presented into general and specific points. When information is missing, you will need to indicate in your notes where the gaps are. After the lecture, review the reading material, ask your classmates to fill in these gaps, or ask your instructor for help. Some instructors have regular office hours for student appointments, while others are willing to spend time after class answering students’ questions. However, it is amazing how few students use these opportunities for one-on-one instruction. The questions you ask might help your instructor realize which parts of the lecture need more attention or repetition.
4. Keep your notes and supplementary materials for each course separate. Whether you use folders, binders, or some combination, label your materials with the course number and name. Before class, label and date the paper you will use to take notes; after class, organize your notes chronologically. In your folder or binder, create separate tabbed sections for homework, lab assignments, graded and returned tests, and other materials. If you take notes electronically, you should create separate files and folders for each class, with specific names and dates. You can create a folder for each course and add subfolders for notes, assignments, and projects within each folder.
5. Download notes, outlines, diagrams, charts, and graphs from the CMS site and bring them to class. You might be able to save yourself a lot of time during class if you do not have to copy graphs and diagrams while the instructor is talking. Instead, you can focus on the ideas being presented while adding labels and notes to the printouts.
6. If handouts are distributed in class, label them and place them near your notes. Buy a portable three-hole punch, and use it to add handouts to your binder or folder as you review your notes each day.

Taking Notes in Nonlecture Courses Always be ready to change your note-taking methods based on the situation. Group discussion is a popular way to teach in college because it engages students in active participation. On your campus, you might also have courses with Supplemental Instruction (SI) opportunities, which allow students to discuss the information covered in class lectures and discussions outside of class.

Taking Notes in Science and Mathematics Courses Many mathematics and science courses build on one another from term to term and from year to year. When you take notes in these courses, you will likely need to go back to them in the future. For example, when taking organic chemistry, you might need to review the notes you took in earlier chemistry courses. This can be particularly important if some time has passed since you completed your last related course, such as after a summer or winter break.

• Write down any equations, formulas, diagrams, charts, graphs, and definitions that the instructor puts on the board or screen.
• Write the instructor’s words as precisely as possible. Technical terms often have exact meanings that cannot be changed.
• Use standard symbols, abbreviations, and scientific notation.
• Write down all worked problems and examples step by step. The steps are often necessary in answering exam questions. Actively engage in solving the problem yourself as it is being solved during class. Be sure that you can follow the logic and understand the sequence of steps. If you have questions you cannot ask during the lecture, write them down in your notes so that you can ask them in a discussion session, in the lab, or during the instructor’s office hours.
• Consider taking your notes in pencil or erasable pen. You might need to make changes if you are copying long equations while trying to pay attention to the instructor. You want to keep your notes as neat as possible. Later, you can use colored ink to add other details.
• Listen carefully to other students’ questions and the instructor’s answers. Take notes on the discussion and during question-and-answer periods.
• Use asterisks, exclamation points, question marks, or symbols of your own to highlight both important points in your notes and questions that you need to come back to when you review.
• Refer to the textbook after class; the text might contain better diagrams and other visual representations than you can draw while taking notes in class. If they are not provided in handouts or on the instructor’s Web site, you might even want to scan or photocopy diagrams from the text and include them with your notes in your binder.
• Keep your binders for math and science courses until you graduate (or even longer if you are planning to go to graduate or professional school). They will serve as good review materials for later classes in math and science. In some cases, these notes can also be helpful in the workplace.

Using Technology to Take Notes While some students use laptops, tablets, or other mobile devices for note taking, others prefer taking notes by hand so that they can easily circle important items or copy equations or diagrams while they are being presented. If you handwrite your notes, entering them on a computer after class for review purposes might be helpful, especially if you are a kinesthetic learner who prefers to learn through experience and practice. After class, you can also cut and paste diagrams and other visuals into your notes and print a copy, since a printout might be neater and easier to read than notes you wrote by hand.