Become a Good Note Taker

want to be a good note-taker, you must be anotes and make sure they are complete all at the
good listener! Recognizing key ideas allows you tosame time.
understand and organize the material. You need toWhen you rewrite your notes, take the time
write down the main facts and also make note ofnecessary to put the notes into your own words
what the professor emphasizes as well. Notesso that you understand them later. Review and
from class are usually the clearest and greatestrewrite your notes as quickly as possible after
indicator of what the student should expect in theclass. While you are waiting for your next class to
test.begin, you could take that time to review your
By taking notes during class, the student has theirnotes from the previous time. Familiarize yourself
attention focused on the teacher which helpsfor the imminent lecture. In this way, you will be
them to have better concentration, understandingable to take more complete and appropriate
and retention of the material. The studentnotes.
becomes an active participant in the class ratherReview the week's notes at the end and
than an uninterested listener of daydreamer. Thebeginning of each week. Begin preparing for the
student remains present in the class by listeningupcoming test by spending fifteen to twenty
and taking notes.minutes each day throughout the time period
In taking notes, the student sorts out theassigned for that unit reviewing the relevant
pertinent information and by creating notes, thematerial.
student begins the actual learning process and isNumerous studies have shown that one's recall
actually making the spoken material his own.increases right after a learning period, such as a
These notes then become an aid in studying andlecture, and then declines rapidly until after about
help in the reviewing process before a test.twenty-four hours recall has diminished by around
Taking notes also leads to longer-term learning.eighty percent. Nevertheless, the decrease in
Do you want to make note-taking easier? Thenrecall can be dramatically reduced if one reinforces
you need to attend class regularly and be on time.the learning by a short review within one hour.
It is essential that you keep up on the readingWhat is the best single way to prepare for a
assignments or will you will be lost when it comestest? Studies have shown that recitation is the
time for the lecture. Make sure that yourbest way to prepare for a test. Summarizing the
note-taking materials are organized before classmaterial and hearing your own voice will greatly
and come prepared mentally.reinforce your mental image of the subject as
How important is it that you rewrite your noteswell as quizzing yourself in your own voice. Most
later? If you want your notes to be useful, theystudents think that rereading chapters is the best
must be arranged in a logical way so that you canway to study for tests. Right? More studies have
understand and use them. They must also beshown that spending your time with the recitation
legible and complete. By using the rewritingof your notes can be more profitable than
process you can reformat them, reword yourrereading the chapters!