Taking notes while staying focused in class can be challenging. Feeling overwhelmed is counter-productive to the task at hand. Learning how to record accurate notes is essential to a student’s ability to review, understand, and prepare for tests.
Here are few strategic practices that will help students to take clear, effective notes.
Listen carefully to recognize the most important points in a lecture. Be aware of cues during class to identify the main points of a lecture. Here are some tips to recognizing those important points:
- Listen for signal words or phrases like: “There are three main…” or “To sum up…”, “In conclusion”, or “A major reason why…”
- Repeated words or concepts are often important.
- Watch for cues like when the teacher points, gestures, or uses vocal emphasis.
- Final remarks can provide a summary of the important points of the lecture.
Try these steps to master your note-taking skills:
During Class
- 1. Listen for Key Information: Focus on main points, arguments, & themes, with trying to record every word.
- 2. Use Your Own Words: Summarize what you hear and write, in your own words, to help you understand and remember.
- 3. Use Highlighting and Symbols: Using different color highlights or different symbols to mark the most important.
- 4. Organize Notes: Use headings, subheadings, numbered lists, bullets and indentation to distinguish major from minor points.
- 5. Leave Space: Leave blank space in the margins to add details, definitions, or diagrams later.
After Class
- Review and Revise:Review your notes after class. While reviewing your notes, fill in definitions of key terms, organize, and figure out any concepts you may have missed or not fully understood in class.
- 2. Summarize: Write a brief summary at the bottom of the page or section that focuses on the main ideas.
- 3. Organize: Use the reviewed and revised notes to create a more organized and clear version. Try highlighting, numbering, bolding or starring the most important points.
The experts at Team Tutor provide several suggestions on how to take accurate notes:
For middle school students: https://www.teamtutor.com/how-take-better-notes/
https://www.teamtutor.com/note-taking-techniques-for-middle-school-students/
For high school students: https://www.teamtutor.com/study-tips/
Following these note-taking steps will help students simplify and streamline their note-taking experience. As you can see from the recommended process, in addition to learning how to take notes in class, it is just as important to review, revise, and organize notes after class. Stay focused, listen carefully, always review your notes.