How To Take Notes During Class

Many people struggle with taking notes during class because they feel the need to write down absolutely everything that’s on the board or said by the teacher. This doesn’t have to be the case.

Today I’m going to discuss with you the best method (I’ve found) for taking notes during a lecture to get the most information with the least amount of work. If you find this blog post helpful, don’t forget to let me know in the comments and share with your friends!

Choose Your Method Of Notetaking.

During lectures, I find that typing notes on my laptop is quicker than handwriting them. Some professors can teach faster than I can write, making me miss out on potentially important information.

However, I do recommend handwriting notes when you can. I’ll always end up handwriting my typed notes after class to better internalize them.

Related: My Favorite School Supplies for College

Check If There Is An Outline Or PowerPoint The Teacher Will Be Using To Guide The Class.

For majority of the lectures I attend, the professor almost always projects a powerpoint onto the board to guide the discussion and highlight specific points.

If this powerpoint is uploaded to your school’s website, read it beforehand or have it open in another tab to guide your own note taking. This will help you avoid writing down every single bit of information, and instead simply add information to what is already posted.

Open Up A New Document, Title It With The Class Name, And Date It.

You want to keep your notes organized for when you go back and reference them to study for tests and quizzes. A typical header for my notes looks like:

Class/Course
NameDate
Topic of Discussion

A fool-proof way to keep all of your notes organized.

Create A Header For Each New Topic That’s Introduced.

Just like headers in a textbook, they chunk the information into related concepts and let you know what the following notes are going to be about. The easiest way to create a header is to choose a word or phrase that describes the broad idea being discussed, and bold or underline it in your notes. For example:

Parts of the brain:

• Frontal lobe
• Amygdala
• Hippocampus

The underlined words tell us that the following notes are going to talk about the parts of the brain. This helps you easily find specific information while skimming through your notes.

Use Bullet Points To Jot Down Information.

To prevent writing too much and potentially missing out on what the professor is saying, quickly jot down main points in bullet point form underneath your headers. The information doesn’t have to be too organized – it’s more important to just get it in your notes.

If you’re adding more information to something that’s already written down, indent the bullet point to show that it’s part of the above sentence. It’ll look something like this:

• Exercise lowers the risk of catching a cold or the flu.
  • It is recommended to get 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

Highlight Vocab Words, Underline Important Info, Bold Headers.

After writing an entire class worth of notes, you may look down at your page to find an endless stream of black ink on white paper. As a visual learner, I need to have cues to look for certain pieces of information such as color and lines.

In my own notes, I like to highlight vocab words so I can easily find them and their definition. I also underline or star any *extra* important facts to once again find them in my notes.

Keep A List Of Questions On Topics You Don’t Understand.

Sometimes it’s not possible to interrupt your professor while lecturing, even when you have a question about the material. Personally, I like to keep a pad of sticky notes nearby to jot down anything I might question or need clarification on. This way, you can go to your professor at the end of the class and remember what you needed to ask, or go to other resources, such as the textbook, to find your answer.

Watch this YouTube video of mine for more information!

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Remember, you don’t have to write down every. single. thing. that is discussed during the lecture. Take shortcuts when possible, such as summarizing information, using shorthand, or omitting things you already know. You have to actively be listening to the professor while taking notes to better learn the material, so don’t get caught up in all the writing.

If this blog post was helpful, make sure to let me know in the comments! Also, share it with you friends to hopefully help them as well. Thanks for taking the time to join me on my blog! Lots of love,

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