Orientation

Note Taking

Here are some hints ("Do not's") regarding taking notes on classroom lectures that can save time for almost any student. 

Do not plan to rewrite or type your notes later.  To do so is to use a double amount of time; once to take the original notes a second to rewrite them.  The advice is simple: DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

Do not take notes in shorthand.  Though shorthand is a valuable tool for a secretary, it is almost worthless for a student doing academic work.  Here's why.  Notes in shorthand cannot be studied in that form.  They must first be transcribed.  The act of transcribing notes takes an inordinate amount of time and energy but does not significantly contribute to their mastery.  It is far better to have taken the notes originally in regular writing and then spend the time after that in direct study and recitation of the notes.

Do not record the lesson on a cassette tape or any other tape.  The lecture on tape precludes flexibility.  This statement can be better understood when seen in the light of a person who has taken his/her notes in regular writing.  Immediately after taking the notes this person can study them in five minutes before the next class as s/he walks toward the next building, as s/he drinks his/her coffee, or whatever.  Furthermore, this student, in looking over his/her notes, may decide that the notes contain only four worthwhile ideas which s/he can highlight, relegating the rest of the lecture to obscurity. Whereas the lecture on tape has to be listened to in its entirety including the worthwhile points as well as the "garbage," handwritten notes may be studied selectively.  A student who takes the easy way out - recording the lecture on tape as he or she sits back doing nothing - will box him or herself into inflexibility.

Learning to make notes effectively will help you to improve your study and work habits and to remember important information.  Often, students are deceived into thinking that because they understand everything that is said in class they will therefore remember it.  This is dead wrong!  Write it down.

As you make notes, you will develop skill in selecting important material and in discarding unimportant material.  The secret to developing this skill is practice.  Check your results constantly.  Strive to improve.  Notes enable you to retain important facts and data and to develop an accurate means of arranging necessary information.