“For years I used to sit with a pen in hand, poised over the note pad intent on writing as much as of the lecture as I possibly could. But most of the time I ended up jotting down those points which were not relevant”, says Atish Naik, 25, BPO Executive.
Lecturers do not always deal with their ideas in a logical and consistent way. However lectures are always informative and with the help of the following tips on note making and editing notes you can definitely help yourself and others to make the best use of a lecture.
Before the Lecture: Use a large, loose-leaf notebook. Use only one side of the paper. (You then can lay your notes out to see the direction of a lecture.) Draw a vertical line 2 1/2 inches from the left side of your paper. This is the recall column. Notes will be taken to the right of this margin. Later key words or phrases can be written in the recall column.
During the Lecture: Record notes in paragraph form. Capture general ideas, not illustrative ideas. Skip lines to show end of ideas or thoughts. Using abbreviations will save time. Write legibly.
After the Lecture: Immediately after the lecture you can recall which parts of the lecture were unclear to you so that you can consult the lecturer, a classmate, your text, or additional readings for further information. For better retention, review your notes immediately. Unless a student reviews within 24 hours after the lecture or at least before the next lecture, his retention is likely to drop; and he will be relearning rather than reviewing.
Editing Notes: A method of annotation is highly preferred to recopy your notes. Make a habit of underlining key statements or important concepts. Always use asterisks or other signal marks to indicate importance. Use margins or blank pages for organizing notes with the text. Perhaps indicate relevant pages of the text beside the corresponding information in the notes. If necessary use a key and a summary.
Making the Final Copy: Use one margin to keep a key to important names, formulas, dates and concepts. This enables you to look forward to questions of an objective nature and provides specific facts that you need to develop essays. Employ the other margin to write a short summary of the topics on the page, relating the contents of the page to the entire lecture or to the lecture of the day before. Condensing the notes in this way not only helps you to learn them but also prepares you for the kind of thinking required to succeed in essay and objective exams.
