[BleachFan22]

I find that its hard to write down everything my instructors say because I'll be finishing one sentence and they've just finished another one and then added "That will be on the test, by the way."

What are you habits?

Not saying I take bad notes (over break I suddenly learned how to actually pay attention...), I'm just curious and kinda looking for new methods.


Also, tape recorders aren't allowed in my school unless you have a valid reason for using it (other than laziness...)

[erure]

I'm quite terrible at taking notes. I just try to write what's written on the board as well as important stuff. It's hard to fish out the "nuggets" but I try... Sometimes if I feel like it I just take my laptop along and chug out all the stuff that's on the powerpoint [which is rather pointless and stupid].

[pussycat]

ahh..teach me how to take notes too..i cant use a tape recorder cos i didnt see anybody using it.haha. But today i tried to type it out in word document when the teacher was speaking..it was much much much faster.

[yujo]

I guess it's just a matter of learning how to write a shorthand during lecture and write freaking fast.

My method of studying is to take notes down on paper and then before a midterm, transcribe them to computer, and if I don't know it well enough still - take it back down on paper.

Because I have to catch everything, I use a shorthand of sorts for my writing. It's a practical thing. For example, instead of saying something like, "Genetic testing in a biological sense is only practical if your client is aware of what he is looking for." I would scrawl down, "Gen Test only prac if clnt's knows wut to look for."

I'm also listening to additional fluff words while I'm taking down notes, so I know what I can delete and still get a decent idea of the sentence. It requires an awful lot of quick thinking and incredible speed with a pen. I used to have nice pretty, curly writing when I came to college. Now it looks like one of those cardiogram things.

[twinkl]

I tend to write down key words under key headings, then go back to the readings if I don't remember what was mentioned in lecture about those key words/phrases/headings.

A lot of my professors have been helpful in that they provide lecture notes and powerpoints BEFORE lecture, so we can just print them out and add any extra tidbits if we need something cleared up.

But yeah, you just have to be fast. My handwriting looks like it was written with my opposite hand (I know this because I once opened my notebook to show a friend a page I had to write with my left hand, and he pointed to a page and asked "Oh, is that it?"... needless to say, that was a normal page of writing).

[BishieAddict]

hm.. my profs write notes on the overhead (since my classes are more problem solving orientated). If they say something interesting, I'll just jot it down on the side....

But when I take the more artsy courses, they prepare ppt presentations... I just bring them with me to class and write whatever extra info that isn't obvious from the slides.

[safety_bread]

=3 Good question. Hahhaha. 8D

I usually read the book before class and write my own notes from the textbook. Er, I don't highlight the whole book since yeah, kind of pointless. I write keywords, important information that I believe would be on the test or even in the future. Urm. During classes though [at least for me] allow me to have a tape recorder. But, I don't use it. But, normally the professors would post up their own notes online or power point presentation and I jot that all down. But, they would discuss and I hear what they emphasize continuously and jot that down. I also write questions while I'm writing down notes from the textbook and power point. Like "How," & "Why?" =3

Use short hand. It'll help you tons. XD

[15;;1/2]

My methods vary but usually I just write everything then just rewrite later. I usually just write down keywords and use abbreviations.

[cpopbaby19]

i leave big spaces on my notebook or where i would put my lectures on. i think my jotting down skills is kinda effective cuz i can review with my notes even without books. [; but the problem for me is that i have a verryyyy crapppy hideous hand writing! and yeah, i do rewrite my notes after the class. esp, if its history or related to my major.

[Trungy]

I've found out this past year that writing in cursive is a heck of a lot faster than writing in print and saves some time. Granted, the first month in writing cursive was a bit shaky because I hadn't written in cursive since I was 7 (I am 20 now!), but after awhile, I became comfortable with writing letters correctly and writing without looking down on paper so often.

I also make use of space on the paper. I hate it when I use 3 or 4 pages a lecture with so much open space, so I've started using every tiny space that I can (well, enough so that my writing can be legible). I also use a lot of arrows and stars, so if there is a point that my professor mentions, I write it on the side or something, and then bridge it with an arrow indicating what it refers to.

Lately, I've been using a series of pictures to indicate a change to a diagram that the professor writes on the board. So if there is something important happening to the diagram on the board, I usually quickly write another diagram with the change to indicate the importance of the change. I would love to start using colors as well, but I have neither the time to reach into my pocket for another color nor the balls to whip out multiple colored pens in front of the entire class.

Lastly, I write down every little point that my professor says. It drives me nuts sometimes, because not only does it require constant attention and focus, it requires quick writing and quick thinking (because it is pointless writing down something that doesn't mean anything to you!). For some classes, this is quite simple, but for physics classes where every little thing the professor says has a lot of importance, sometimes by the end of the lecture, I have to wrap my hand on ice.

All in all, I'm quite comfortable that everything I miss in lecture is also covered in the textbook. It just really sucks for those little tidbits that the professor says is not covered in the book.

[lilsh0rtnancy]

I try to shorthand a lot of the words and leave out some basic words that doesn't really matter.

i.e.- because> b/c
amino acid> a.a.

etc...

Whoa... you can't use tape recorder? How weird... most schools allow you to. I don't use tape recorders because well it's boring to listen to the whole lecture again and I'm just too lazy.

[akira53]

just write down what you think is important or the obvious things, like dates for history courses or formulas for science/econ classes etc. Probably by the 2nd midterm you'll kind of be able to judge how the professor does the tests so you can take better notes (focus on what you really need, the important stuff).
Or if the professor uses powerpoint slides, copy those exactly and jot dowm more notes within the main points or on the side.

[sulfuric_ACID]

i just end up scribbling all i can down. the bad thing about that is, i don't give my brain enough time to process the info =\

[Korowa]

i used to write topic headings and whatever I found interesting to write down.

Did I do well in tests? No
But I probably learned everything I wanted from the class.

[birthdaycakes]

Write quickly

A lot of my professors have powerpoint presentations and put their notes online, so I'll print those out and take them to class, then add stuff in, like the problems they work during lecture and stuff.

[gfntasy]

if the slides are on the school's website, then i just copy down wat he says..not every single little thing that he says, but i just listen to the basic jist of what he says n write down my own short summary when he/she pauses to look at the slide on the projector. I found it the best way cuz copying down the slide is stupid since it's already on the website and copying down everything the teacher says is quite impossible.