The document provides guidance on effective note-taking strategies for lectures. It recommends (1) predicting the lecture content and structure beforehand, (2) evaluating during the lecture to identify the most important points, and (3) listening for the lecturer's main points and key words. Examples are given of partial lecture transcripts with the main points and signal words highlighted to demonstrate how to identify essential information. The document also suggests using abbreviations and symbols, rewriting notes soon after to reinforce learning, and making initial guesses about missed information.

1. Purposeful Lecture Note-Taking
By: Mark

2. Efficient note-taking
• Question:
Is it really important
to take down notes when
in fact I can manage
remembering all the
informations I’ve learned
each day?
• Oh... Really?!
Actually...

4. Usual ways of taking notes in a
Classroom
One who lesisurely jot down a
phrase or two...
One who frantically scribble
away...

5. Usual ways of taking notes in a
Classroom
One who lesisurely jot down a
phrase or two...
One who frantically scribble
away...

6. Taking down notes is a skill!!!

7. Guides toward developing skills in
note-taking...

8. 1. Predict lecture content and
organization...
• Having an idea of what
you will listen to and
how this will be
organized will give you
a mindset already tuned
in to expected content
and structure.

9. Predict lecture content and
organization...
Example:
• People who have never
been to the desert
often assume that it’s a
place where nothing
can survive. But they
are wrong.

10. Predict lecture content and
organization...
Example:
• People who have never
been to the desert
often assume that it’s a
place where nothing
can survive. But they
are wrong.
• You can guess from this
example that the
lecture content is going
to be a presentation of
things that grow in the
desert. 

11. 2. Evaluate as you listen to
determine what is important and
relevant...
• Not everything mentioned in a lecture has
equal importance. Read the following
transcipt of a lecture...

12. A. You see, in explaining fads, crazes, or even cults...
Ummm we need to go back to what sociology calls...
Uhm... (on board) collective behaviour. Someone, Park...
let’s see... Rober E. park, if I remember correctly, was the
guy who coined the term. his definition was... uh, uh...
that this is the uh... behaviour of individuals under the
influence of an impulse, that’s right, and impulse,
common and collective,... ummmm in other words, an
impulse... that is a result of social interraction. Take note,
take note... by defining it this way, Park, emphasized that
participants or, okay, people in crowds, fads, or other
forms of collective behaviour share a common attitude or
behave alike. And this is not really because of a rule or an
authority... like government or police, you know oooor...
not because they happen uhhhh.... as individuals to have
the same attitudes at the start, but .. uhh... but because
of something that most likely took place during their
interaction

13. A. You see, in explaining fads, crazes, or even cults...
Ummm we need to go back to what sociology calls...
Uhm... (on board) collective behaviour. Someone, Park...
let’s see... Rober E. park, if I remember correctly, was the
guy who coined the term. his definition was... uh, uh...
that this is the uh... behaviour of individuals under the
influence of an impulse, that’s right, and impulse,
common and collective,... ummmm in other words, an
impulse... that is a result of social interraction. Take note,
take note... by defining it this way, Park, emphasized that
participants or, okay, people in crowds, fads, or other
forms of collective behaviour share a common attitude or
behave alike. And this is not really because of a rule or an
authority... like government or police, you know oooor...
not because they happen uhhhh.... as individuals to have
the same attitudes at the start, but .. uhh... but because
of something that most likely took place during their
interaction
You see?! There are a lot of irrelevant
words in the lecture... so, it is then SO
necessary to EVALUATE well the lecture...

14. A. You see, in explaining fads, crazes, or even cults...
Ummm we need to go back to what sociology calls...
Uhm... (on board) collective behaviour. Someone, Park...
let’s see... Rober E. park, if I remember correctly, was the
guy who coined the term. his definition was... uh, uh...
that this is the uh... behaviour of individuals under the
influence of an impulse, that’s right, and impulse,
common and collective,... ummmm in other words, an
impulse... that is a result of social interraction. Take note,
take note... by defining it this way, Park, emphasized that
participants or, okay, people in crowds, fads, or other
forms of collective behaviour share a common attitude or
behave alike. And this is not really because of a rule or an
authority... like government or police, you know oooor...
not because they happen uhhhh.... as individuals to have
the same attitudes at the start, but .. uhh... but because
of something that most likely took place during their
interaction
Well... Let us examine important things in
the lecture...

15. A. You see, in explaining fads, crazes, or even cults...
Ummm we need to go back to what sociology calls...
Uhm... (on board) collective behaviour. Someone, Park...
let’s see... Rober E. park, if I remember correctly, was the
guy who coined the term. his definition was... uh, uh...
that this is the uh... behaviour of individuals under the
influence of an impulse, that’s right, and impulse,
common and collective,... ummmm in other words, an
impulse... that is a result of social interaction. Take note,
take note... by defining it this way, Park, emphasized that
participants or, okay, people in crowds, fads, or other
forms of collective behaviour share a common attitude or
behave alike. And this is not really because of a rule or an
authority... like government or police, you know oooor...
not because they happen uhhhh.... as individuals to have
the same attitudes at the start, but .. uhh... but because
of something that most likely took place during their
interaction.

16. Your notes will probably be like
this...

17. • Collective behaviour explains fads, crazes,
cults) – common/collective behaviour of
individuals under influence of an impulse
• Not due to:
a. rule of authority, e.g. government or police
b. same attitudes of crowd participants at the start
• But, due to:
something that took place during interaction

19. 3. Listen for the lecturer’s main
points...
• Develop the habit of
catching key words.
They will help you
determine what the
important ideas in a
lecture are. With these,
you can avoid filling up
your notes with
extraneous details.

20. 3. Listen for the lecturer’s main
points...
Let us study the following transcipt:

21. A. Ok . . . Let me tell you, ahh... the composition of milk is
influenced by many factors. Yeah, these factors include
breed. Also.. the... uh genetic constitution of the cow..
the individual cow. Aaand, not to be overlooked... the
intervals between the milkings. Since the last milk to be
drawn at each milking is, uh... richer in fat than the rest,
the completeness of milking additionally influences the
composition of the sample. Well,.... basically, those are
the main factors. But... we can add to them, uh... the age
of the cow, uhmmm... also, the stage of lactation and,...
should there be any... certain disiease conditions. These
should be about te more common factors affecting the
composition of milk. A final point, I want to make clear...
is... uh, in general, the kind of feed... has only a slight
effect on the composition of milk,... however, feed of
poor quality and insufficient quantity, again.. poor quality
feed... aand... insufficient quantity cause both low yield
and insufficient percentage of nonfat solids.

22. A. Ok . . . Let me tell you, ahh... the composition of milk is
influenced by many factors. Yeah, these factors include
breed. Also.. the... uh genetic constitution of the cow..
the individual cow. Aaand, not to be overlooked... the
intervals between the milkings. Since the last milk to be
drawn at each milking is, uh... richer in fat than the rest,
the completeness of milking additionally influences the
composition of the sample. Well,.... basically, those are
the main factors. But... we can add to them, uh... the age
of the cow, uhmmm... also, the stage of lactation and,...
should there be any... certain disiease conditions. These
should be about te more common factors affecting the
composition of milk. A final point, I want to make clear...
is... uh, in general, the kind of feed... has only a slight
effect on the composition of milk,... however, feed of
poor quality and insufficient quantity, again.. poor quality
feed... aand... insufficient quantity cause both low yield
and insufficient percentage of nonfat solids.
The main points in the preceding
lecture have been set in italics and
colored with white for you...

23. A. Ok . . . Let me tell you, ahh... the composition of milk is
influenced by many factors. Yeah, these factors include
breed. Also.. the... uh genetic constitution of the cow..
the individual cow. Aaand, not to be overlooked... the
intervals between the milkings. Since the last milk to be
drawn at each milking is, uh... richer in fat than the rest,
the completeness of milking additionally influences the
composition of the sample. Well,.... basically, those are
the main factors. But... we can add to them, uh... the age
of the cow, uhmmm... also, the stage of lactation and,...
should there be any... certain disiease conditions. These
should be about te more common factors affecting the
composition of milk. A final point, I want to make clear...
is... uh, in general, the kind of feed... has only a slight
effect on the composition of milk,... however, feed of
poor quality and insufficient quantity, again.. poor quality
feed... aand... insufficient quantity cause both low yield
and insufficient percentage of nonfat solids.
In addition, signal words have been
underlined and also, colored with
white...

24. A. Ok . . . Let me tell you, ahh... the composition of milk is
influenced by many factors. Yeah, these factors include
breed. Also.. the... uh genetic constitution of the cow.. the
individual cow. Aaand, not to be overlooked... the
intervals between the milkings. Since the last milk to be
drawn at each milking is, uh... richer in fat than the rest,
the completeness of milking additionally influences the
composition of the sample. Well,.... basically, those are
the main factors. But... we can add to them, uh... the age
of the cow, uhmmm... also, the stage of lactation and,...
should there be any... certain disiease conditions. These
should be about te more common factors affecting the
composition of milk. A final point, I want to make clear...
is... uh, in general, the kind of feed... has only a slight
effect on the composition of milk,... however, feed of
poor quality and insufficient quantity, again.. poor quality
feed... aand... insufficient quantity cause both low yield
and insufficient percentage of nonfat solids.

25. Your notes will probably be like
this...

26. • Common factors influencing composition of milk:
1. breed
2. genetic const. of individual cow
3. intervals bet. milikings
4. age of cow
5. lactation stage
6. disease conditions
• kind of feed – only slight effect on milk comp.
• poor quality feed + insufficient quan. = low yield
& insufficient % of non-fat solids
Basics
Basics

28. 4. Make initial guesses on missed
information...
• Lecturers usually repeat
or paraphrase; as they
do so, you can continue
checking your notes for
accuracy as you listen.
Go over the earlier
examples of lecture
transcipts to see how
much repetition and
restatements a speaker
provides.

29. 5. Don’t take down everything...
• Devise an
understandable system
using abbreviations or
symbols.
• Let us go back at the
notes on “Composition
of Milk”...

30. • Common factors influencing composition of milk:
1. breed
2. genetic const. of individual cow
3. intervals bet. milikings
4. age of cow
5. lactation stage
6. disease conditions
• kind of feed – only slight effect on milk comp.
• poor quality feed + insufficient quan. = low yield
& insufficient % of non-fat solids
Basics
Basics

31. 6. Rewrite or reorganize your notes
as soon as possible...
• Rewrite or reorganize
your notes as soon as
possible whlie the
lecture is still fresh in
your mind.

32. Let us watch this following clip
considering the strategies in taking
down notes...