NHTI, Concord's Community College - Learning Center Study Skills - Lecture Notetaking

Study Skills - Lecture Notetaking
During Class

Attend every class. Sit where you can see and hear. Stay alert. Watch and listen actively for main ideas.
Write down key words, information that is stressed and repeated, references to textbook pages, change of topics, etc.
Date and number each notebook page and all handouts you receive in class.
Mark your notes if you miss something or if you need to ask the teacher about anything you do not understand.
As the instructor changes topics, do not try to finish what you are writing;
instead, leave space in your notes and start the new topic. Consider using a tape recorder with a counter as a backup and writing down the counter number so you can easily listen to what you missed and fill in any gaps.
Listen for clues to what is important such as: "This may be on an exam," or "You should know this." Mark these in your notes; you'll probably see this again!
If you use abbreviations, be sure to define them somewhere in your notes.
Don't worry if these notes are messy. Don't take the time during a lecture to erase or write more neatly than you can quickly; you'll be rewriting them soon.