In-class benefits
Taking good notes in class is an important part of academic success in
college. Actively taking notes during class can help you focus and better
understand main concepts. In many classes, you may be asked to watch
an instructional video before a class discussion. Good note-taking will
improve your active listening, comprehension of material, and retention.
Taking notes on both synchronous and asynchronous material will help
you better remember what you hear and see.
Post-class benefits
After class, good notes are crucial for reviewing and studying class
material so that you better understand it and can prepare appropriately
for exams. Efficient and concise notes can save you time, energy, and
confusion that often results from trying to make sense of disorganized,
overwhelming, insufficient, or wordy notes. When watching a video, taking
good notes can save you from the hassle of pausing, rewinding, and
rewatching large chunks of a lecture. Good notes can provide a great
resource for creating outlines and studying.
How to take good notes in class
There’s a lot going on during class, so you may not be able to capture
every main concept perfectly, and that’s okay. Part of good note-taking
may include going back to your notes after class (ideally within a day or
two) to check for clarity and fill in any missing pieces. In fact, doing so can
help you better organize your thoughts and to determine what’s most
important. With that in mind, it’s important to have good source material.
Preparing to take good notes in class
The first step to taking good notes in class is to come to class
prepared. Here are some steps you can take to improve your note-
taking before class even begins:
Preview your text or reading assignments prior to lecture.
Previewing allows you to identify main ideas and concepts that will
most likely be discussed during the lecture.
Look at your course syllabus so that you know the topic/focus of the
class and what’s going to be important to focus on.
Briefly review notes from previous class sessions to help you situate
the new ideas you’ll learn in this class.
Keep organized to help you find information more easily later. Title
your page with the class name and date. Keep separate notebook
sections or notebooks for each class and keep all notes for each
class together in one space, in chronological order.
Note-taking during class
Now that you are prepared and organized, what can you do to take good
notes while listening to a lecture in class? Here are some practical
steps you can try to improve your in-class note-taking:
If you are seeking conceptual information, focus on the main
points the professor makes, rather than copying down the entire
presentation or every word the professor says. Remember, if you
review your notes after class, you can always fill in any gaps or
define words or concepts you didn’t catch in class.
If you are learning factual information, transcribing most of the
lecture verbatim can help with recall for short-answer test questions,
but only if you study these notes within 24 hours.
Record questions and thoughts you have or content that is confusing
to you that you want to follow-up on later or ask your professor
about.
Jot down keywords, dates, names, etc. that you can then go back
and define or explain later.
Take visually clear, concise, organized, and structured notes so that
they are easy to read and make sense to you later. See different
formats of notes below for ideas.
If you want your notes to be concise and brief, use abbreviations and
symbols. Write in bullets and phrases instead of complete
sentences. This will help your mind and hand to stay fresh during
class and will help you access things easier and quicker after class.
It will also help you focus on the main concepts.
Be consistent with your structure. Pick a format that works for you
and stick with it so that your notes are structured the same way
each day.
For online lectures, follow the above steps to help you effectively
manage your study time. Once you’ve watched the lecture in its
entirety, use the rewind feature to plug in any major gaps in your
notes. Take notes of the timestamps of any parts of the lecture you
want to revisit later.
Determining what’s important enough to write down
You may be asking yourself how you can identify the main points of a
lecture. Here are some tips for recognizing the most important
points in a lecture:
Introductory remarks often include summaries of overviews of main
points.
Listen for signal words/phrases like, “There are four main…” or “To
sum up…” or “A major reason why…”
Repeated words or concepts are often important.
Non-verbal cues like pointing, gestures, or a vocal emphasis on
certain words, etc. can indicate important points.
Final remarks often provide a summary of the important points of
the lecture.
Consider watching online lectures in real time. Watching the lecture
for the first time without pausing or rewinding can help force you to
focus on what’s important enough to write down.
Different formats for notes
There is no right format to use when taking notes. Rather, there are many
different structures and styles that can be used. What’s important is that
you find a method that works for you and encourages the use of good
note-taking qualities and stick with it. Here are a few types of formats that
you may want to experiment with:
1. Cornell Notes: This style includes sections for the date, essential
question, topic, notes, questions, and a summary. Check out this link for
more explanation.
2. Outline: An outline organizes the lecture by main points, allowing room
for examples and details.
3. Flowchart/concept map: A visual representation of notes is good for
content that has an order or steps involved. See more about concept
mapping here.
4. Charting Method: A way to organize notes from lectures with a
substantial amount of facts through dividing key topics into columns and
recording facts underneath.
5. Sentence Method: One of the simplest forms of note taking
