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Best way to take notes in college/university? I suck at it.

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soultron

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I blame being an engineering student who only really has to deal with maths and programming.

How the hell am I supposed to take notes from textbook readings in non-engineering classes? I only focus on what feels like important points, definitions, and diagrams...but I wrote 8 pages of notes on what was a 20-30 page Geology textbook chapter yesterday. And it took forever.

What do you guys to do stop your readings from taking hours at a time? I need to be spending my time on other subjects. Jesus.

Please don't tell me that me taking notes is the problem. If I don't take notes I find it really hard to concentrate and lose my focus. I have 3 chapters a week (roughly 100 pages per week.) to do, and I cannot see taking 2-3 hours per chapter, just so I can take notes, being practical.
 
soultron said:
I blame being an engineering student who only really has to deal with maths and programming.

How the hell am I supposed to take notes in non-engineering classes? I only focus on what feels like important points, definitions, and diagrams...but I wrote 8 pages of notes on what was a 20-30 page Geology textbook chapter yesterday. And it took forever.

What do you guys to do stop your readings from taking hours at a time? I need to be spending my time on other subjects. Jesus.

Please don't tell me that me taking notes is the problem. If I don't take notes I find it really hard to concentrate and lose my focus.
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All you need to do is read the definitions of key vocabulary words, and read chapter summaries.

Easy and efficient.
 
hermit7 said:
All you need to do is read the definitions of key vocabulary words, and read chapter summaries.

Easy and efficient.
Click to expand...

This pretty much. Sometimes I go online and just copy-and-paste the basics on that particular subject from wikipedia or some other online site if I just want the basics, and I read the text book fully when it's closer to mid-terms or finals.
 
My prof from Columbia for management systems (basically a glorified way to use statistics and combine it with excel to run simulations) would always have Powerpoint notes ready for each class.

I'd print them and jot notes on the side. Combined with audio of his lectures and text it was an amazingly potent combination.
 
If you're going to record stuff by hand like I do in a notebook write like a fucking barbarian...You don't need prepositions and shit.
 
are computers alowed ?

I bring my computer in college and I can just type every single word I'm listenning. Of course it's not interesting because it's mainly flood and waste of time when I read all that shit afterwards, but hey, I got the content and the girls asking me for my notes
 
hermit7 said:
All you need to do is read the definitions of key vocabulary words, and read chapter summaries.

Easy and efficient.
Click to expand...
I think I'd be missing a lot of content (and context) if I only did that.

I'm lucky enough that the professor in this one class said, "The book goes into greater detail than needed. You will learn everything you need to know in class, but it is important to also have your chapter readings done beforehand so that lecture is a review of the more important subjects."

I still don't think reading, by itself, is enough! Erg. If I didn't drift off so easily during readings I wouldn't take notes.
 
TC, if computers are allowed record your professor.

This is helpful if you miss anything or if you fall asleep.
 
Just to be specific here, I'm talking about note-taking from textbook readings. I like to do my readings ahead of lecture so that I am prepared.
 
Deku said:
My prof from Columbia for management systems (basically a glorified way to use statistics and combine it with excel to run simulations) would always have Powerpoint notes ready for each class.

I'd print them and jot notes on the side.
Click to expand...
This
If your prof is cool enough to put his powerpoints online for students to download, just print em about 4-6 slides to a page and make your notes on the paper. Less writing and you can pay more attention to what the prof is saying instead of scrambling to write everything down.
 
The point of notes for me is to remember important aspects of what I am reading. Which unfortunately means I do sometimes take very extensive notes. But I find that rewriting what I just wrote in my own words helps me remember better.
I'm sure its of little consolation now, but eventually you'll get better at recognizing what's important and what isn't. Especially after your first test when you learn what the teacher expects you to know. For instance, if he or she is big on dates, you'll know to make your notes timeline focused. If the professor likes to know about specific people and theories, you know to focus on those things. Just give it time and you'll get better at it once you know what your expected to learn.
 
soultron said:
Just to be specific here, I'm talking about note-taking from textbook readings. I like to do my readings ahead of lecture so that I am prepared.
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Honestly, don't bother. What I do instead when I want to go ahead is to do the review questions if they're provided at the end of the chapter. But actually trying to highlight and note content that your lecturer might not even bother covering is a waste of time.

Just my opinion.
 
soultron said:
I think I'd be missing a lot of content (and context) if I only did that.

I'm lucky enough that the professor in this one class said, "The book goes into greater detail than needed. You will learn everything you need to know in class, but it is important to also have your chapter readings done beforehand so that lecture is a review of the more important subjects."

I still don't think reading, by itself, is enough! Erg. If I didn't drift off so easily during readings I wouldn't take notes.
Click to expand...

How is the textbook organized? Can you look at the index and get a quick and easy outline of the subject matter to use? If so, type that up then, as you go through each section, add the important points, definitions, or themes, but don't go into the minute details since he said the book goes into greater depth than needed.

Then, if you can take a computer to class, do so and fill in your outline as he goes through the material. If not, print your outline off and take that to class. Adjust the spacing on your outline as needed prior to printing.
 
soultron said:
How the hell am I supposed to take notes from textbook readings in non-engineering classes? I only focus on what feels like important points, definitions, and diagrams...but I wrote 8 pages of notes on what was a 20-30 page Geology textbook chapter yesterday. And it took forever.
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Oh God this always gets me.

When studying history, my summary notes ended up being too long to read over so I ended up summarizing my summary notes.

Though that way, it did help me remember them pretty well.
 
soultron said:
Please don't tell me that me taking notes is the problem. If I don't take notes I find it really hard to concentrate and lose my focus. I have 3 chapters a week (roughly 100 pages per week.) to do, and I cannot see taking 2-3 hours per chapter, just so I can take notes, being practical.
Click to expand...
For the sake of being extra unhelpful, I never took notes while reading a book for a class. I just plowed through. Once I'd hit the class it always turned out that I retained more than I thought I did.

Even in the case of stuff like Walden which I couldn't recall a word of immediately after reading, (even down to reading from one paragraph to the next) I was capable to handling an in class discussion the next day.

Only text that didn't work with was The Rape of the Lock. :lol
 
I just write down whatever comes after a word my teacher emphasizes a word. Its alot of writing though... and it sucks since my hand writing sucks.


Reading on the other hand... thats another story. Being a history major is rough if you suck at reading :lol
 
WickedAngel said:
OneNote + Dropbox is probably the greatest combination I've ever seen. I still use the combo daily for work.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried dropbox, yet. I'm not switching between computers so I haven't found the need. But I can definitely see how it could improve the functionality of OneNote.

Not to continuously pimp the program like a paid shill, but it's hard to go back to Word after using OneNote for a while.
 
soultron said:
I think I'd be missing a lot of content (and context) if I only did that.

I'm lucky enough that the professor in this one class said, "The book goes into greater detail than needed. You will learn everything you need to know in class, but it is important to also have your chapter readings done beforehand so that lecture is a review of the more important subjects."

I still don't think reading, by itself, is enough! Erg. If I didn't drift off so easily during readings I wouldn't take notes.
Click to expand...

Read the chapter summaries, and take all your notes in class. It will provide a preview for what you are learning, and then in class you can take more intensive notes.
 
Just make an outline. Almost all lectures can be structured in outline format (hell, the Prof's notes are probably in outline format).
 
I'm taking a course on effective research writing, and the instructor has a pretty simple exercise:

* For this activity, use the hardcopy you made of an article or chapter useful to your research.

* Skim through the article paragraph by paragraph. As you go, in the margin by each paragraph, jot down a brief note, phrase, or diagram that summarizes its essence, its “gist”.

* Avoid whole sentences or straight copying. Your notes merely capture the gist (the point or substance) of each section. This is a way of remembering that is partly based on the original, and partly on your own interpretation and précis; it prepares you to write a fresh version of the central ideas.

* Now, read down the margin (donÂ’t re-read the article - in fact, cover up the text), and write a brief summary of the article from your marginal jottings.

* This is a useful, and not terribly time-consuming strategy to summarize worthwhile research as you go along. (Much less strenuous than sorting desperately through 97 articles and trying to retrieve an essential quotation before a thesis deadline!) The exercise is also a sound basis for an annotated bibliography, and for summarizing the literature in a field.

* If you do this with each worthwhile reference you read, your review of the Literature will almost write itself.
Click to expand...

Just a slightly more detailed way to make an outline.
 
ahoyhoy said:
Just make an outline. Almost all lectures can be structured in outline format (hell, the Prof's notes are probably in outline format).
Click to expand...

This, and if your prof tends to run through his lectures, you might want to get used to some form of shorthand if you aren't already. Learn it anyway.
 
As an engineer, I never read anything for my non-engineering classes. I relied mostly on showing up to class and taking notes. If you are able to bring a laptop and take notes through Word or any other program you feel comfortable with.
 
Nappuccino said:
Can you highlight your books?

Easily the most efficient way I've found for making notes.
Click to expand...
Or you could just underline, which has the same effect as highlighting, except doesn't require a specialized marker, and plus you can use the pen/pencil you're writing with to make margin notes based on the stuff you're underlining/putting brackets around/drawing arrows from/etc.
 
Dragona Akehi said:
How long does it take you to read the average chapter?
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For say, 30 pages, it will take me approximately 2 hours. I tried to tackle a 40-page chapter tonight and I got through 15 pages before I gave up. I had 4 pages of notes after all was said and done.

I read a few sentences, and if I run across anything that seems important (or a definition), I write a bullet point on it. (Sometimes I fall victim to copying verbatim.)

This stop-and-go method really slows things down. I've since gotten better since I no longer draw out diagrams that are important. I simply write, "refer to fig. 2.12.'

I'm great at taking notes in class, on my laptop, but I just struggle when tackling the textbook.

EDIT: My roommate who is in Social Sciences suggested that hi-lighting works great for her, but I bought a used book and it's already been highlighted. (It makes reading very distracting since I instantly bust past non-hi-lighted sections. Blessing or a curse, I haven't decided.)
 
To save time...don't bother actually reading unless the material is stumping you. Just skim for the important points/terms and jot them down.
 
I record all lectures and take extensive notes in-class. I then outline the notes, understand concepts, then listen to the recorded lectures prior to exams.

I also do the required readings for further context.
 
My advice is go lighter on the amount of notes the first time through but re read each chapter and take notes twice.

Also I find that googling an extra piece of data you are curious about during the chapter helps remember the entire subject matter.

In both cases I think its because my brain switches from passive learning to active learning (hey I googled something, I MUST be interested in this!"

Anyways, hope that helps.
 
Everything that is written on the board I write down and I have an audio recording device for the rest of what he is talking about. Gives me time to ask questions and pay more attention to the teacher. After classes I go and write great notes off of the audio recording. This method worked great for me because I wound up listening to the lecture twice and got alot more out of it. BTW this is coming from someone who SUCKED at school until I started using this method, might take longer to study but I found it alot more useful. Also save the audio recordings for later and sell/trade them with other students :P
 
First things first. You need to understand why you are making notes at all. There's a lot of students make notes and then never ever read them. Waste of time. Also quite often you'll cover a topic three or four times (textbook, lecture, class handouts, revision class) but what you don't want is three or four different sets of notes all covering the same thing.

The way I do it is this:

1) First time I hit a topic (whether it is a book or a lecture or whatever), take detailed notes - get the heading structure right, note every significant step in reasoning, important diagram/equation/case reference etc. This takes a LONG TIME, but it makes all the subsequent steps much easier.

2) Use the second time you hit the topic (for me, usually the lecture) to EDIT the notes you took first time round. Add bits you didn't understand properly, delete bits you noted wrong. Don't whatever you do take separate notes for the lecture - it just makes more stuff to carry around.

3) When you get to the end of a book/series of lectures, go back over your notes and (a) delete everything that is completely obvious (b) compress what is left

4) For revision, take a copy of these notes and DELETE everything you already know. Then you're left with only the stuff you have yet to learn.

Don't ever do handwritten notes (unless you are going to immediately get them on computer), don't highlight, don't scrawl on powerpoints, don't write in books. You want all your notes in one place.

Taking this approach I end up with super-condensed notes that I can put in my pocket (I print them in A5 double-sided booklet form) and read on the train. For example, I have the whole of contract law on 27 pages - that's just 7 sheets of paper folded over. Other people in my class had three ring binders and could never find anything they needed.

Of course, there are other reasons for taking notes then making your own personalised revision text - some people use them just to get a feeling that they are actuallly making progress, as if learning can be measured in column-inches - but there are usually other ways to do this stuff. For example, if I have a massive book to plough through I'll do a chart showing chapter by chapter and put coloured sticky labels next to each chapter as I read/understand/revise it/have it incorporated in (or at least checked against) my main notes. There's something very satisfying about a chart filling up with green stickers.
 
Depending on how you write, 4 pages isn't bad for 15 pages. The fact that you are writing down what you need to know, will allow you to retain much more of that info.

I normally do the same, every week(This is mainly to avoid getting into an apathetic state about school again). I do the chapter outlines. They are about 20-25 pages, and I end up with some 4-5 pages of notes.
 
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