Taking Notes: Taking Notes in a Lecture

Listening for Key Information

When you’re listening to a lecture, your goal is to capture the main points, facts, and ideas. One of the first strategies is knowing how to listen for the important information. Your goal is to listen to and think about why the instructor is presenting the information.

• Why is it important?
• How might that information be used in your class?
• How might the information be used on a test?
• Is this information a basis for other information?
• Could this information be used as content for an essay?

Instead of writing down everything you hear, think about what the information means and why the instructor is lecturing on that subject. Also, don’t worry about what your classmates are recording. You may see another student writing furiously and think you should be also. You should learn to trust your own judgment in taking notes and not worry what other students are doing.

When taking notes, also listen and look for clues from your instructor. Instructors often use several methods to stress the important information in a lecture. Consider the following verbal and nonverbal clues that usually indicate important information:

• Repeated ideas or themes: Most instructors repeat key information more than once to stress the importance. They may also preface important information by saying something like, “Now this is important” or “Remember this.”
• Information that’s written down on the blackboard, overhead transparency, or whiteboard: When instructors want to stress key points, they often write down key facts or ideas for you to both see and hear. These are usually important.
• Concepts that provide a foundation for other information: For example, an instructor may introduce key literary terms or concepts that provide the basis for a literary discussion. Or in a science class, an instructor may stress steps or procedures that are followed in experiments. Take note of these concepts and steps.
• Obvious organizational structures: For example, in the introduction to the lecture, your instructor may say, “I’m going to tell you the four main reasons why the United States entered World War I.” You note that there are four main points, and then listen for those four points. Sometimes the instructor reminds you of the points, saying things like, “The second reason why. . . .” Or the instructor may write down the main ideas. Another way an instructor may present a lecture is in chronological order, citing key dates or events. Again, use this structure to follow along, see how one event led to another, and organize your notes accordingly. And if you find a gap in the timeline, ask your instructor to clarify.
• Tangents: Sometimes, instructors get off on tangents, with a personal story or experiences. While this may make the information more vivid in your imagination, it’s not likely to be something the instructor will include on the test. You usually don’t have to record any personal stories or material that’s off the subject.
• Instructions that tell you what’s expected of you during the course: For example, your instructor may give you information about the timing and structure of tests, due dates and guidelines for papers, and so on. Usually, an instructor provides a handout for this crucial information, but if not, it’s up to you to record these details.
• Handouts: If the instructor takes the time to create a handout, it usually contains the main ideas, concepts, steps, and so on. If the instructor gives you the handout at the start of the lecture, use it to follow along with the key points. If you receive the handout at the end of class, use it to review what the instructor has stressed.
• Web site content: Many schools now use course-management systems that provide the students with communication and other tools for the course. For example, your instructor may post the syllabus, handouts, and assignments on the course site. Your instructor may also post a copy of lecture outlines or other information helpful for preparing for class and studying for tests. Pay careful attention to these.

Missing Point?

If you’re not clear what the key ideas outlined in the introduction are, ask your instructor for clarification. In the same way, if you think you missed one of the points, ask your instructor to repeat the key concepts outlined at the start of the lecture. 

Getting Tips for Taking Notes

Even when you know what’s important, it can be difficult to transfer all the important points from a lecture onto a page. You can use the following shortcuts to make note-taking easier.

• For lecture notes, include the date, instructor, and title of the lecture (if there is one). You may also include the textbook chapter, part, or pages on which the lecture is based.
• If the lecture is based on a reading assignment, make sure you’ve done the reading and, perhaps, even taken notes on the reading. (Taking notes from reading assignments is covered in the “Taking Notes on Reading Assignments” section later in this chapter.) If you know the material from the reading assignment, you’ll have a good idea of the structure of the lecture, as well as the key points. This helps you decide what to note and what to let pass. Also, if the instructor’s lecture is based entirely on the reading assignment, you can refer to the reading assignment as you take notes. And if the instructor adds facts, concepts, or new ideas or if the instructor disagrees with the reading assignment, these are alerts that you should be paying attention and taking notes on these ideas.
• If your instructor provides an overview of the lecture, structure your notes in an outline form so that you can understand how the ideas relate. After class, you can (and should) go back and revise your notes if the structure and organization of the lecture isn’t clear. (Revising your notes so that they make sense as a whole is covered in the “Organizing Your Notes for Studying” section later in this chapter.)
• Instead of trying to record what the instructor says word-for-word, put the ideas into your own words. Paraphrase what the instructor says. At the same time, do note key concepts or terms, even if you don’t know what they mean. Flag them to look the meanings up later. If you aren’t sure of the spelling, make a note (such as, “sp?”) next to the term so that you can go back and check the spelling and/or meaning.
• You may not be able to get all the details, but seek to get the main ideas, and then leave blanks to go back and fill in the detail. For example, if the instructor is talking about the five events leading up to the Civil War, it’s more important to write down the events than make complete descriptions of each event.
• Add your own thoughts about what the information means and how it connects to other concepts you’ve learned in class. Also record any questions you have (or questions you think the instructor may ask on a test based on the lecture content). For example, in a lecture on Shakespeare, you might discover and note, “I think this theme also occurs in Richard III.”
• Use abbreviations for common words. You can also use your own abbreviations, as long as you remember what they mean. For example, you might use “pt” to mean point. And you can shorten names to initials. For example, rather than write Napoleon Bonaparte every time, you can write “NB” or just “N.”
• Leave out time-consuming words like “the,” “in,” “for,” “be,” “are,” and so on.
• You don’t have to use complete sentences. For example, you may jot down “Halle Berry = first actress of color to win Best Actress Oscar.”
• Use a graphical structure for your notes (for example, indenting lines, drawing arrows, using bullets) to show how information is related.

Common Abbreviations

Some common abbreviations include the following:

• w/ (with)
• w/o (without)
• b/c (because)
• @ (about)
• = (equals)

You can also use your own abbreviations as long as you remember what they mean!

Sharing and Comparing Notes with Classmates

One helpful way to study for tests or review content is to create and work with a study group. If you’re in a study group, compare notes among your group to see whether you missed anything. You can even take turns condensing and organizing the notes from a lecture into a study sheet for the group.

If you miss a class, get lecture notes from a classmate. Ask someone in class that you know takes good notes or e-mail other students in the class to ask for a copy of notes. You may in fact want to get a few sets of notes instead of relying on just one other student. Also, check your course Web site (if you have one) for lecture outlines or forum discussions about a topic.