7/28/2019 Taking Effective Notes from Lectures

1/2

RYERSON UNIVERSITY

LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES

Taking Effective Notes from Lectures

To take good notes, you need good listening skills. You will find information onlistening skills in the separate handout Getting the Most from Lectures Through ActiveListening. This handout explains strategies for recording what you listen to. By takingnotes, you will stay focussed on the lecture and will thereby learn and retain the materialmore effectively. As well, reviewing notes regularly will help you prepare for exams.

Be prepared for notetaking. Early in the term,

go over the entire course outline to get the big picture for the course.Knowing the course objectives, the main topics, the grading criteria, and thetypes of assignments and quizzes/exams will give you an idea of what to focus

on in each lecture. In particular, if you know how you will be tested, you willknow how detailed your notes should be. For multiple choice exams, take

notes on details such as names, dates, definitions of terms, and specificexamples. For essay exams, take notes on more general ideas such as keyconcepts and the relationships between them.

determine whether the professor bases course content more on thetextbook or the lectures. If lectures are more important, you will have torecord more information from them.

exchange phone numbers with someone in the class who is willing to act

as a note buddy. Agree that you will share notes if either of you misses aclass or misses taking down important information during a class.

Before the lecture, look at the course outline to determine the topic,review notes from previous classes, and complete any assigned readings. Thatway you can anticipate what the lecture will cover and connect the newmaterial from the lecture to what you have learned from these other sources.

Take notes during class.

Write on only one side of the page. Leave a wide left margin and space at

the bottom of each page so that later you can write questions and summaries.

Dont write down the lecture verbatim. Use point form to record mainideas and important details in your own words. Also record questions the prof

asks the class and students responses, as well as the profs reponses tostudents questions. Use abbreviations such ase.g. (for example,)&(and),def. (definition), # (number), % (per cent), < (less than), > (greater than).

7/28/2019 Taking Effective Notes from Lectures

2/2

Use outline form. For example, you could write headings in capitalletters. Then write important points directly under the heading and indent lessimportant points. You can also number points in sequence.

THREE USES OF ADVERBS

1. to describe verbsFrank walked quickly out of the room.

2. to describe adjectivesStephanie is a highly skilled carpenter.

3. to describe other adverbsThe man turned around very slowly.

Include examples, as above, because they help you see how a theory orconcept is applied.

Try the best you can to take notes from overheads or other audiovisualmaterials. Later, ask your note buddy to help you fill in any gaps.

If you dont hear what the prof says, ask him or her to repeat it. Ask

questions if there is anything you dont understand.

Leave space between notes if you miss key information so that you canadd it later.

After class, review your notes and test your understanding.

Review lecture notes as soon as possible after class, at least within 24hours. Fill in missing information by referring to the text or plan to ask yournote buddy or the prof during office hours or in the next class. As well,collate lecture notes with notes from the textbook and other sources so that allmaterial on the topic is together.

For each section of notes, create a question that sums up the main point.For instance, for the first part of this handout, you could create the question,How can I prepare for notetaking early in the term? Write the questions inthe left margin. Then cover the notes and recite out loud the information that

answers each question. Check your answer; if youre wrong; recite the correctinformation again until you know the material.

Summarize notes by writing a summary paragraph at the bottom of eachpage. Then write a more condensed summary at the end of the notes for eachlecture. Summarizing helps you understand the information more fully.

Review and recite your notes as often as you can to prepare for the exam.