Note taking in uni?

[sdfg]

Hello!

I have been through so many note-taking methods since starting uni and was wondering how people did things? Nothing just seems to work for me - I've tried annotating printed lecture slides, going plain simple writing dot points in an exercise book, and doing everything electronically on OneNote. Every method just doesn't 'click' and it feels like I'm note taking just for the sake of note taking.

Back in high school, I didn't note take during class and just listened to the teacher lecture and explain stuff. I made summaries of everything I needed to know and did practice questions for SACs and exams. I was thinking about trying this out instead - is this an effective way of studying at uni?

Thanks for all help.

[brenden]

If note taking isn’t working for you, stop taking notes 😂

Of my 24 subjects, I only took notes for like, 2 of them. (They were hard asf). I took so much more out of just listening to what was being said, as opposed to writing down what gets said but never truly hearing it, which I think is what a lot of people do tbh.

[extremeftw]

My approach:

For my history units I never bother even looking at the content for lectures, much less take notes for them. Marks in those units are almost entirely derived from assignments that do not benefit from extensive note taking.

For politics units I just handwrite the lecture slides from Moodle since they are usually fairly extensive (and politics classes almost invariably have a class test entirely based on lecture content). I don't bother listening to the lectures, except for perhaps the exam revision one as they usually drop hints as to what will be on the exam.

For economics I watch every lecture on ~1.8x speed and handwrite the lecture slides. Economics is heavily exam-weighted so you need to have a good grasp of the lecture material. Being able to draw graphs correctly is essential in economics so you need to practice it.

As you see, your approach to note taking will likely vary between different units. It will take some time to find out what works for you. There is no right or wrong approach.

[The Special One]

My lecturer recommended everyone handwrite their notes and had the stats and facts to prove it

Not that I needed convincing though, your idea sounds quite sound, many people  learn in a particular way.

[Sine]

I definitely prefer to just listen in a lecture although I do sometimes just quickly type up something that the lecturer says that is important but is not found on the slides.

I know some people find the lecturer to go too fast since they need to get through a lot of content in 50 mins so you could try watching the lectures online which would allow you to pause and rewind to make sure you understand a certain concept before moving on.

[sdfg]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Of my 24 subjects, I only took notes for like, 2 of them.

Were your subjects fact-heavy? Most of mine are and the main reason I'm apprehensive about just sitting and listening is because I'll won't remember anything unless I write it down.

I definitely prefer to just listen in a lecture although I do sometimes just quickly type up something that the lecturer says that is important but is not found on the slides.

So how would you revise then? Would you makes notes whilst watching the lecture recordings afterwards, or would you just rely on what you've remembered from the lectures?

[Sine]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Were your subjects fact-heavy? Most of mine are and the main reason I'm apprehensive about just sitting and listening is because I'll won't remember anything unless I write it down.

So how would you revise then? Would you makes notes whilst watching the lecture recordings afterwards, or would you just rely on what you've remembered from the lectures?

nah didn't make notes other than annotating the lectures slides which was sometimes directly on my laptop or printing the slides out and then writing on them. Re-watching lectures would be nice tbh but most people don't have the time nor patience to do so.

[sdfg]

nah didn't make notes other than annotating the lectures slides which was sometimes directly on my laptop or printing the slides out and then writing on them. Re-watching lectures would be nice tbh but most people don't have the time nor patience to do so.

What program do you use to annotate lecture slides on your laptop?

[EEEEEEP]

What program do you use to annotate lecture slides on your laptop?

You can you adobe PDF (right click - add comment) or Microsoft PowerPoint (add notes )

[Natasha.97]

What program do you use to annotate lecture slides on your laptop?

I use Microsoft OneNote! I upload the file as a "file printout" and annotate from there

[Sine]

What program do you use to annotate lecture slides on your laptop?

mainly adobe PDF and just type under the lecture slides.

I did try Onenote but didnn't like it since it isn't really made for printing and has weird formatting.

[Vaike]

I use Microsoft OneNote! I upload the file as a "file printout" and annotate from there

+1 for OneNote. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of taking in lecture notes (with a few exceptions). However, I do find constructing notes as a really effective (although probably not very efficient) way of consolidating what I've learned throughout the week. It takes up a large amount of time and is always a bore, but it's my way of making sure I understand the content. I much prefer it to physical note taking; much easier to keep things neat, orderly, accessible from anywhere and most importantly, light!

Spoiler

[sdfg]

Thanks for all the help guys! Seeing that you're all science students, how do you guys go about writing chem equations, drawing diagrams etc.?

[Vaike]

Thanks for all the help guys! Seeing that you're science students, how do you guys go about writing chem equations, drawing diagrams etc.?

See my edited above post. I have a Microsoft Surface, which I absolutely love. It's far from perfect (expensive, low amount of RAM, quality control issues, poor IO etc.) but honestly, I think it's the perfect device for any student who wants to take handwritten notes. It makes my life so much easier, so for that reason alone, it was well worth the investment for me.

[sdfg]

See my edited above post. I have a Microsoft Surface, which I absolutely love. It's far from perfect (expensive, low amount of RAM, quality control issues, poor IO etc.) but honestly, I think it's the perfect device for any student who wants to take handwritten notes. It makes my life so much easier, so for that reason alone, it was well worth the investment for me.

Thanks for reply! Do you take notes (handwritten on OneNote) during lectures? And was just wondering, why do you object to taking in lecture notes to lectures?

nah didn't make notes other than annotating the lectures slides which was sometimes directly on my laptop or printing the slides out and then writing on them. Re-watching lectures would be nice tbh but most people don't have the time nor patience to do so.

When annotating slides, what exactly did you jot down? Just stuff that wasn't on the slides, or things that you thought were really important (if so what do you consider 'important')?