dragonbook

27 have the basic ideas, you’ll find the lectures very helpful, but if you don’t have the basics, you’ll probably end up more confused that ever. 2. Make sure you have your notebook in class everyday. I recommend having a separate notebook for each class. It’s no good to have biology notes mixed with history notes mixed with sociology notes mixed with English notes. It’s also very difficult to study for an exam when some of your material is in one notebook, some in another, and some on loose sheets of paper you just happened to bring to class that day. 3. Date and title your notes. If you ever miss class, it’s very important to know what material you covered and what material you missed. The date and title also helps you find specific material you may be looking for when you study. 4. Take extensive notes, but try to listen and “translate” rather than just copying mechanically. In my classes, a good student typically gets four to five pages of notes in every lecture. If you have a really good ear for highlights, you might get by with less. 5. As you take notes, find a way to emphasize material that’s particularly important. Use underlines, asterisks, arrows, diagrams—anything that will make the most important points stand out. 6. So what is important? Generally, anything the professor puts on the board (with, perhaps, the exception of difficult to spell words) is usually important. Anything a professor repeats more than once tends to be important. Anytime a professor says, “this may be on the test”—well, it might not be important, but knowing it will help your grade. 7. Review your notes before they’re cold. It is an excellent habit to look over your notes right after class while the material is still fresh in your mind. You can add details you didn’t have time to get down in class, highlight important material (using a highlighter sometimes works really well), and fix places where your handwriting is illegible. 8. Ask questions. If you are confused in class, of if the professor has moved to quickly for you, don’t hesitate to raise your hand. Most of the time, there will be plenty of other students who have the same question you do, and, even if they don’t, they’ll be grateful to you for slowing things down a bit. In general (though not always) professors too are grateful for student questions, and there are some who absolutely need the questions. We don’t always know what students know and what they don’t, and student questions help us use class time in the way we should. Need more note-taking advice? Here’s some advice from Gregory Wells (reproduced below with his permission):