Some students try frantically to write down everything their professor says in a lecture. Others take hardly any notes at all, planning instead to rely on the lecture outline or worse yet, their memory. If you fall into either of those camps, you’ve likely discovered by now that your method of note taking isn’t very effective. Source <> http://www.edubilla.com/articles/student-career-tips/tips-for-effective-note-taking-at-lectures/

1. Tips for effective Note
taking at Lectures
Some students try frantically to write
down everything their professor says
in a lecture. Others take hardly any
notes at all, planning instead to rely
on the lecture outline or worse yet,
their memory. If you fall into either of
those camps, you’ve likely discovered
by now that your method of note

2. taking isn’t very effective.
For starters, fighting public enemy
No.1 is distractions - Students have all
of these electronic devices and are
often trying to multitask. Even during
their lectures, they’re tending to their
phones or are on social media or
playing games. Not eliminating those
distractions when they go into their
class is probably the first mistake
students make. So, Turn off your
phone and put it away. Make sure
your laptop is open only to what’s
being covered in the lecture.
Next, don’t expect any lecture outline
to replace the need to take notes.
Your professor will expand upon the
topics listed in the outline (which can
be used to organize your notes) and
may also provide valuable examples.

3. NOTE TAKING TIPS :
Create a system of abbreviations and
symbols to help you write faster.
Don’t try to write verbatim everything
your professor says. Rather,
summarize key concepts he discusses
and write a conclusion of those
concepts in simple language and in
your own words.
If taking notes by hand, leave a
margin-plus-sized space on the left
side of the page so you can come up
with a question (either during the
lecture or when reviewing your notes
afterwards) that summarizes each
section. It helps keep you focused and
to make connections to what you’re
learning. Those questions will
become a review tool when you study
for exams.

4. If you’re a visual learner, create
diagrams or concept maps instead of
just sentences to help you visualize
connections between different ideas.
Use coloured highlighters
strategically — such as one colour for
definitions, another for conclusions,
another for headings and another for
subheadings so you can readily find
the information you’re seeking.
Listen for cues from your professor. If
a professor spends a long time talking
about or is really passionate about a
topic, that’s a good indicator it’s
something you’ll need to know for an
exam. If he says certain information
will be on the exam, mark it with an
asterisk.
If you have to miss a lecture, ask a
classmate for their notes but don’t

5. make it a habit. People’s notes tend to
make sense only to them. Students
will sometimes compare notes in a
study group to see if they took away
the same things from a lecture.
Once the lecture is over, review your
notes and perhaps even create study
tools, such as cue cards. Use 24-hour
rule: within 24 hours of attending a
lecture, spend some time reviewing
your notes. Otherwise, there’s a good
chance you’ll forget a lot of what you
learned.
Read the assigned textbook chapters
before each class. This provides a
context for the lecture material and
enhances note-taking. Sit front and
centre. The closer you sit to the
lecturer, the more alert you’ll be. And
the fewer distractions you’ll have.

6. Identify the topic of the lecture at the
beginning of your notes. Number your
pages and include the date. This will
help organize your notes and allow
you to identify anything that may be
missing. Reinforce what you learned
in a lecture by teaching or talking
about the material to someone else.
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