FAST FACTS

Taking
Lecture Notes
It’s three o’clock in the afternoon. About college lectures
Time for physics lecture again. You The college lecture is usually a novel experience to new Carnegie Mellon
enter the lecture hall and take your students. Unlike most high school classes, college lectures can be very large,
seat in the last row. Although it’s with two or three hundred people attending. Although in high school the
difficult to see the board from up function of a lecture is usually to rehash material already covered in the
textbook, college lectures most often provide an extension or enhancement of
here, you get an excellent view
text material or introduce entirely new material.
through the window of people playing
Frisbee out on the Cut. You take a pen Lectures provide rich learning opportunities that can help you in a number of
and pad out of your backpack and ways: by reinforcing key concepts and principles, demonstrating application of
prop your feet up on the chair in front concepts, providing different perspectives of text material and expanding on
of you. course topics not covered in the textbook. They also give you the opportunity
to take notes that will help you with later study and review. To get the most out
The prof begins to drawl in his low of lecture time, you need to make the most of your listening, seeing, thinking
monotone. Today’s a special review and problem-solving abilities, all the while filtering out any number of irritating
session for the exam scheduled for distractions that may be present. As such, special skills are required for getting
next class. You slyly reach into your the most out of the time you spend in lecture. The lecture experience can be
backpack and turn on your tape confusing and frustrating if you’re ill-prepared.
recorder. Now you can bide your time
Tips for a better lecture notetaking strategy
without worry; you can always play
Before the lecture begins
the tape back later if you miss some Review. Looking over the course syllabus and notes from the previous class
information during class. You yawn; helps you determine the intended focus of the lecture and gives you some
the heat’s making you drowsy.... background for learning new material.

You’re awakened by the sound of Read the material that’s been assigned. Doing so will help you better
voices and shuffling feet. You open understand the material discussed in class—you’ll already be familiar with the
your eyes—the lecture’s over. You concepts and vocabulary that are used.
look at the page in front of you. Not
too many notes there! In fact, aside During the lecture
from a doodle or two, it’s downright Avoid distractions. If you often find yourself daydreaming out of windows, for
instance, don’t sit next to one.
blank. Well, there’s always the tape.
Uh-oh—looks like the batteries died
Date your notes. It will then be easier to find notes for any particular class
somewhere in the middle. when you review later.

Can there possibly be a better way? Take spacious notes. Use one side of the page only. This allows you more
freedom for including additional notes, for inserting textbook references and for
reorganizing information later. Leave blank spaces for material you miss or are
 Taking Lecture Notes

uncertain about; you can ask a she presents material and ideas— Synthesize. Look for relationships
classmate or the professor to help fill usually becomes apparent early on among material presented in lecture,
them in later. and won’t change much throughout in discussion sessions, in homework
the semester. Knowing your and labs, and in the text. Try to
Use your own words. Research instructor’s lecture techniques will develop a general picture of the
shows that we remember information help alert you to the times you should material underpinning the course
better if it’s phrased in our own be paying extra attention. instead of simply memorizing facts
language. Therefore, translate and equations. If you truly
concepts presented in class into your Avoid recording lectures. Unless you comprehend the course material
own words, as if you were explaining have a specific need to use a tape instead of merely proceeding by rote,
them to someone else. Of course, recorder in class, it may be better not you’ll be better able to anticipate test
you’ll sometimes be forced to use to use one. Tape recorders questions and to ask informed
technical language in order to make encourage passivity and hence aren’t questions that will help fill gaps in
definitions and concepts clear. a great alternative to active your knowledge. The course will
notetaking. Your schedule is probably serve as far better preparation for the
Be sensitive to the lecturer’s verbal already too congested—do you really more advanced classes you’ll take; it
and visual cues. Phrases such as have the time to listen to your will form a more sturdy building block
“chief outcome” and “in conclusion” lectures twice? Even if you have a in the foundation of your education.
signal summary topics of primary disability that requires the use of a
importance. Tone and pauses can tape recorder, always try to take
also alert you to important notes, too. (As a courtesy, always
information. ask the professor for permission to
record the class.)
Mark examples in your notebook.
Examples, pictures, graphs, Pay attention to others’ questions.
problems, etc. presented in lecture Take notes during class discussions
are selected for specific reasons, or when questions are raised;
usually because they help illustrate important concepts are often clarified
important concepts. Often, examples at these times.
or problems similar to those given in
class later appear on exams, so it’s After the lecture ends
always a good idea to note when Review lecture notes periodically.
these come up in lecture and review Research shows that you can forget
them later. up to 80% of what you learned in the
first 24 hours after a lecture if you
Use abbreviations and symbols. don’t review. Reviewing periodically
Doing so can greatly speed your keeps information fresh in your long-
notetaking and thereby increase the term memory and helps you integrate
number of notes you can take during new information with old.
class. If a concept or idea is difficult
to explain in words, try symbolizing it Re-organize your notes. Don’t just re-
using an alternative form, such as a write them—categorize and reclassify
chart or diagram. Of course, be sure the information, cluster similar
that you remember what the concepts together, look for the
abbreviations and symbols mean or overriding concepts behind sample
they can’t help you later. problems, compare and contrast
theories, etc.
Recognize a lecturer’s pattern and
follow it. A lecturer’s style—how he or
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