2. For some reason, students are more reluctant to
change their note-taking habits than any other studying practice.
However, this information may be some of the most helpful you’ll hear all
semester.
Students who take good lecture notes and know how to use them to their
advantage usually do better on tests…which leads to good grades, an excellent
GPA, and a great career someday!
So try out some of our suggestions. You might
find that you’ll have a set of notes that will be an
awesome study tool!

3. BE THERE—ON TIME
Try your best to get to class a few minutes before it starts so that you can be ready to
go when your professor starts lecturing.
SIT IN FRONT
Students who sit in the front of the classroom tend to listen better, ask
questions, take better notes, and even perform better on tests than students who hide in the
back. This is especially important if your professor relies on PowerPoint presentations
or writes important points on the board.
BE PREPARED
Have everything ready when the lecture begins—notebook with clean
paper, pens, textbooks, and lecture notes from the last class to refresh your memory.
DO YOUR OWN THING
Outlines and visuals provided by your professor are a great way to help organize
your notes, but be sure to put in additional explanations.

4. USE A BINDER, PLEASE
Binders are much better for holding your notes than spiral- bound
notebooks—you can better organize your notes and insert any handouts with a
particular day’s notes. If someone wants to borrow your notes, you can give them
just the pages they need, not the entire notebook.
WRITE LEGIBLY
You’ll have to use your notes to study from, so try to write as legibly
as possible. You’ll be upset with yourself if you can’t even decipher your own
handwriting!
KEEP AT IT
Write for the entire period—listening to a lecture is a relatively passive
activity and note-taking can keep you actively engaged.
HEADS UP
Listen for cues during the lecture—lists, definitions, examples, voice
changes, and even obvious cues (“This is really important for you to know, so be sure
to get it in your notes”).

5. LISTEN, THINK (FAST), AND THEN WRITE (FAST)
Accept that you are not going to be able to get down every word the
professor says. Try listening to an entire thought, quickly paraphrasing what was said,
and then writing it down in your own words.
REVIEW YOUR NOTES REGULARLY
Don’t wait until a day or two before a test to start reviewing your
notes. Review whenever you have small pockets of time. Try reviewing your notes
from the previous day while you are waiting for class to begin.
COMPARE NOTES WITH A CLASSMATE
Set aside some time to compare your notes with someone else’s. This can
help you clear up some confusing points or missing ideas.

6. This note-taking method
is named the “split-page”
because you divide (or
split) your paper into two
columns.
You take notes on the
wider right-hand side
and then use the left-
hand side (which will
have a two- or three-inch
margin) to write
questions or annotations.

7. Once you have your paper set up, keep these tips in mind:
•Date your notes in case you need to refer to notes given on a specific day.
•Number each page so that if you take pages out of your notebook to study or
to lend a friend, you’ll be able to get them back in the right place.
•Take notes in the larger right-hand space.
•Write in pen rather than pencil, which can fade, smudge, and smear.

8. Once you’re ready to take your notes, follow these guidelines for taking notes in
an organized way:
•Write in simple paragraph form. Students who make detailed outlines tend to leave out
lots of information and concentrate more on the outline itself than the material that should
be included.
•Indent or underline key points and skip a line or two between key points.
•Identify examples by marking them in a specific way.
•Number lists.
•Write in phrases, not complete sentences.
•Use abbreviations to save time.

9. After your class, review your notes. This is
where the left-hand side of your paper is used:
Write questions in the margins that you can ask yourself as you study.
Annotate key words and then verbally turn those key words into questions when you
study.

10. One of the key advantages of using the split-page method for note-taking is
that it allows you to do blind self-testing.
1. Begin by doing what you have perhaps always done: read through your notes a
couple of times to review.
2. Fold your notes back so that all you can see is the narrower left-hand margin where
you have your questions or annotations.
3. Now ask yourself the question or turn your annotation into a question.
4. Try to answer the question without looking at your notes.
5. Now look at your notes. How much information did you remember?
6. Continue asking yourself questions as you plow through your notes. Find some
way to distinguish the questions you know from those you need to spend more
time on.

11. Depending on what types of tests you will have and the type of course
you are in, you may need to modify and personalize your note-taking
strategies.
CONSOLIDATING TEXT WITH LECTURE
Some students like to use the back of their paper to add material
that is related to the lecture but is only found in the text.
DISCUSSION CLASSES
A three column approach may be used: the
narrow left-hand column contains the question
posed by the professor, the middle column may have
student responses, and in the far right- hand column
you may write any additional comments your
professor makes.

12. VISUALS GALORE
Try to get reasonable replicas
of diagrams into your notes. Also,
be sure to get down the lecture
notes that go along with the diagram.
LECTURE NOTES ON THE WEB
If you have access to notes on the Web, go
to class everyday and take the best
possible notes you can. Once your
professor’s notes are posted on the Web,
download them and compare yours with his.
Insert or expand on information you may have
missed.

13. If nothing else, remember these tips:
•Some note-taking behaviors should be routine. For every class, you should be
ready to take notes when the professor begins lecturing, write legibly, keep at it for
the entire period, listen carefully, write in simple paragraph form, and review your
notes regularly.
•In order to take notes in an organized way, use the split-page method, annotating or
writing questions based on information in your notes.
•Self-test as a way of reviewing for your exams.
•Know how to modify your note-taking for situations other than straight lecture
classes.