OxfordLearning.com speaks to the benefits of good notetaking, saying, “Learning how to take better study notes in class helps improve recall and understanding of what you are learning.” Below are 12 tips for taking notes as a volunteer notetaker, as well as ways to improve notetaking for yourself.
- Be on time. Many professors give important information during the first 5 or 10 minutes of class.
- Include the class name and date on the first page and page numbers on all subsequent pages.
- Be unbiased. Do not interject your opinions into the notes.
- If you hand write your notes, please write legibly and make sure the electronic copy of your notes is readable.
- Include as much information as possible.
- If there is class participation, try to summarize the discussion in your notes.
- Include examples given by the instructor and how it relates to text or visual information (i.e. Example, slide 3, chart on page 316, the answer to problem 2.1).
- Include white space and use formatting such as bold, bullet points, or adding a symbol to emphasize important words or phrases.
- Leave blanks if you are unsure or miss something and ask the instructor for clarification later. Your instructor is the expert on subject and content.
- If you are not sure of the spelling of a word, write sp? above the word and correct the spelling later if needed.
- If you are typing your notes, leave white space and use formatting such as bold, bullet points, or adding a symbol to emphasize important words or phrases.
- Note technical terms that may show up on an exam and include abbreviations with expansions (i.e. dept = department).