Always Have A Plan and Believe in It. Nothing Good Happens by Accident

Go to class prepared.
“Always have a plan and believe in it. Nothing good happens by accident.” — Chuck Knox,
NFL football coach
 Use a three-ring binder instead of a spiral or bound book. Pages can be easily removed
for reviewing. Handouts can be inserted into your notes for cross-referencing. You can
insert your own out-of-class notes in the correct order (Ellis).
 Bring highlighters to class. Instructors will frequently make comments like, “This is an
important concept.” Or, “Make sure you understand this.” These are direct clues that this
will more than likely be on an exam. Highlighting these notes will help remind you later
that this is definitely something you need to know.
 Read assigned material and previous class notes before class. Make notations about
material or concepts you don’t understand. Look up vocabulary words that are unfamiliar
to you. You will have a better understanding about what the instructor is lecturing about
and that will allow you to better decipher the more important points of the lecture.
2. Improve your listening skills.

“Learn how to listen and you will prosper even from those who talk badly.” — Plutarch (A.D.
46 – 120). Greek biographer and philosopher
 Start by entering the classroom with a positive attitude. Going to class thinking, “This is
the last place I want to be today” only sets the stage for inattentive listening. Approaching
lectures with a positive attitude allows one to be open-minded and enables you to get the
most out of the information presented.
 Make a conscious effort to pay attention. Concentrate on concentrating. “Without
concentration there is no focus, and without focus there is no learning” (Pauk 190).
 Adapt to whatever direction a lecture takes. When a lecture takes an unexpected detour,
say a student asks a question you aren’t particularly interested in, students have a
tendency to “zone out.” Before you know it, the lecture got back on track five minutes
ago, and you missed crucial information that should have been noted.
3. Develop a notetaking method that works for you.

“Learn, compare, collect the facts.” – Ivan Petrovic Pavlov (1849 – 1936), Russian
physiologist.
Fine-tune the structure and organization of your notes to increase your notetaking
speed and comprehension later.
 Start each new lecture on a new page, and date and number each page. The sequence of
material is important.
 Write on one side of the paper only. You can set them out side-by-side for easier
reviewing when studying for an exam.
 Leave blank spaces. This allows you to add comments or note questions later.
 Make your notes as brief as possible. “Never use a sentence when you can use a phrase,
or a phrase when you can use a word” (Berkeley).
 Develop a system of abbreviations and symbols you can use wherever possible.
 Note all unfamiliar vocabulary or concepts you don’t understand. This reminds you to
look them up later.
4. Pay close attention to content.

“There is a great difference between knowing a thing and understanding it.” – Charles
Kettering (1876 – 1958), American electrical engineer and inventor
Knowing what and how much to write down is sometimes difficult. Rely on some of the
following tips for what to include in your notes.
 Details, facts, or explanations that expand or explain the main points that are mentioned.
Don’t forget examples.
 Definitions, word for word.
 Enumerations or lists of things that are discussed.
 Material written on the chalkboard or on a transparency, including drawings or charts.
 Information that is repeated or spelled out. (University of Texas at Austin)
5. Review and edit your notes.

“Ideas won’t keep; something must be done about them.” – Alfred North Whitehead (1861 –
1947), English mathematician and philosopher
Academic skills centers and other authorities on effective study skills consider reviewing
and editing class notes to be the most important part of notetaking and essential to
increasing learning capacity.
 It is extremely important to review your notes within 24 hours.

 Edit for words and phrases that are illegible or don’t make sense. Write out abbreviated
words that might be unclear later.
 Edit with a different colored pen to distinguish between what you wrote in class and what
you filled in later.
 Fill in key words and questions in the left-hand column.
 Note anything you don’t understand by underlining or highlighting to remind you to ask
the instructor.
 Compare your notes with the textbook reading and fill in important details in the blank
spaces you left.
 Consider rewriting or typing up your notes. (Ellis).
Note: For additional techniques for study and exam preparation, go to Tips for Effective
Study at http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/fancher/STUDY.HTM
Background
To research this topic I reviewed several texts and on-line web sites that gave
suggestions as to how students could become more effective learners and methods of
study that could accomplish this. The importance of class notetaking was emphasized
over and over. By looking at many different suggestions and notetaking guidelines, I
compiled a list of top 5 tips for effective notetaking that will enhance students’ learning
abilities and improve their college success.
Analysis
Students sometimes have a hard time making the transition from high school to college.
Students who did extremely well in high school may find themselves struggling in
college. Part of this can be due to increased freedom and now having to structure their
own time, rather than having it done for them. Also, many students don’t do as well
because the style of teaching is so different. High school instructors rely more on
textbook learning, whereas college professors rely more on lecture. Students find
themselves inadequately prepared for this new style of teaching and have to rethink
their study habits and skills in order to succeed.
A relatively easy way for students to improve their retention and comprehension is by
learning how to effectively take notes. Several studies have been done on the
importance of taking lecture notes in college and how doing so improves a student’s
grades. First, it is important to understand why taking notes is so crucial. A person’s
ability to remember material presented to them fades very quickly.
According to Walter Pauk (84), people lose their retention at the following rates:

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Go to class prepared.

2. Improve your listening skills.

3. Develop a notetaking method that works for you.

4. Pay close attention to content.

5. Review and edit your notes.

 It is extremely important to review your notes within 24 hours.

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