Effective note-taking

Studying at university is going to mean 'taking lots of notes'. To ensure that you do this effectively and that they reinforce your learning, (as well as jogging your memory), it's good to have a few guidelines to keep in mind when taking notes in your lectures, workshops and tutorials.

• Ensure that you have a separate notebook/ folder for each different subject you're studying.
• Keep your notes organised and logical and try to keep your handwriting as clear to read as you'll need to be able to understand and read them, many weeks from now.
• Your aim is for your notes to remind you of as much of the relevant lecture content as possible. They should also be meaningful 24 hours later, 72 hours later, and months later (when you revise them for a possible exam).
• Don't try to write down everything from a lecture word for word. Aim to capture the relevant pertinent points, summarise ideas and concepts, and use bullet points, flow diagrams, and charts to capture the key content.

• It can also help to develop your own shorthand system so that you can try to take notes in a quicker, more abbreviated form. An example of this might be:

  'Mktg SWOT analysis useful 4 invstging intnl + ext strgths of a Co.'

  A marketing SWOT analysis is useful for investigating the internal and external strengths which exist in a company

• There are a few tried and tested different methods of taking notes, or you can develop your own system. Generally, try to use headings and subheadings, bullet points/ short phrases to summarise the key information, and a margin to the right side of the page and the bottom of the page, which can be helpful for notes on extra readings, external sources, notes, reminders, etc.
• Try to review your notes regularly and always briefly re-read them before your next lecture/ workshop.
• If you need more information on effective note-taking, check out the Self Study Resources Folder and some of the recommended reading texts on this site.