There are many reasons for taking lecture notes.
Making yourself take notes forces you to listen carefully and test your understanding of the material.When you are reviewing, notes provide a gauge to what is important in the text.Personal notes are usually easier to remember than the text.The writing down of important points helps you to remember them even before you have studied the material formally.
Instructors usually give clues to what is important to take down. Some of the more common clues are:
Material written on the blackboard.Repetition.Emphasis. Emphasis can be judged by (1) the tone of voice and gesture (2) the amount of time the instructor spends on points and the number of examples he or she uses.Word signals (eg., "There are two points of view on . . ." "The third reason is . . ." "In conclusion . . .").Summaries given at the end of class.Reviews given at the beginning of class.
Each Student should develop his or her own method of taking notes, but most students find the following suggestions helpful:
Make your notes brief -
Make your notes brief -
Never use a sentence where you can use a phrase.
Never use a phrase when you can use a word.
Use abbreviations and symbols, but be consistent.
Put most notes in your own words. However, the following should be noted exactly:
Formulas.Definitions.Specific facts.
Use the two column form for note taking. This helps you distinguish major from minor points, and is useful for review.
If you miss a statement, write key words, skip a few spaces, and get the information later.
Don't try to use every space on the page. Leave room for coordinating your notes with the text after the lecture. List key terms in the left column or summarize the contents of the page.
Date your notes. Perhaps number the pages.
Always compare your lecture notes to the notes you take while reading.
Fill in the gaps in lecture notes from text.Lecture emphasis shows what is most important in text.Putting these two together helps make you the master of the material.
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