Taking Notes in Lectures

Taking notes in a lecture can be stressful, the lecturer talks too fast, too slow or they just use slides all sorts of things can change the way that you are able to take notes. So I though that I would write a post on taking notes in a lecture the way that I found has worked in many different situations. See my other College Series posts for other forms of note taking.

First of all I like to get to class early, this gives me time to read over my previous notes and get my pen and paper sorted out. By doing this I am more focused and not in a rush at the start of the lecture, therefore putting pressure on myself to keep up.

At the top of the page I write the date and the name and number of the lecture. During the lecture I tend to write as much information down as possible. As long as it is somewhat readable I really don't care what it looks like.

I underline the headings in the colour corresponding to the subject that the lecture is on. I mainly take these notes in a bullet point format, this allows me to jot down as much information as possible without having to worry about sentences.

After the lecture when I get home I rewrite my notes into my notebook. I add in details from the slides (if there are some) and add in diagrams.

After I have rewritten all my notes I will go through and highlight things like references to the textbook, people's names, important dates and key words and concepts. This means that I am inadvertently studying my notes by rewriting them, and it helps me to remember what was covered.

How do you take notes in a lecture? Do you like to rewrite them? Do you have any good study tip that you find help?