Cougar Mentor Program

Student Success Tips
 

Taking Notes Basics:

• Clear, concise notes are more effective than copious notes.

• Instead of using a spiral, use a loose-leaf notebook divided into class sections.

• Make all notes on loose-leaf paper. In an upper corner title and date each sheet as you use it.

• Rewrite and combine your old study and lecture notes into a new single set of notes or outline. Use them as a replacement for your old notes in the loose-leaf binder.

Lecture Notes:

• Sit near the front of the class to avoid distractions.

• Be a good listener – Focus and concentrate on the main points of the lecture. Get them down on paper. Pay attention to the instructor’s clues as to what they consider important.

• If there is something you don’t understand, ASK!

• Immediately after a lecture, without looking at your notes, try to recall on a separate paper as much as you can about what you have heard and learned. Then review your actual lecture notes to confirm and/or supplement your memory.

• During your next study session, quickly recall again on paper what you learned. Then review and reorganize your lecture notes in your own words.

• Repeat the recall process several times over several days to commit the new information to memory.