6 Mistakes Students Make When Taking Notes & How to Fix Them

By Tamiera Vandegrift on January 30, 2018

Learning how to take effective notes is one of the best skills you can pick up as a student. You might have gotten by in high school without making a single mark on your college-ruled notepad, but college classes are a whole other ball game. You will be absolutely flooded by information and you will need to know how to organize yourself if you want to earn the best grades possible and build a gorgeous GPA.

Fortunately for me, my university offers lectures, workshops, and seminars just for students who want to learn more about how to take effective notes and what they can do to avoid the common blunders of some notetakers. The university’s website offers tips on taking Cornell notes, notes for mathematics related courses, and notes for making shorthand and abbreviated notes for whenever you’re in a pinch.

note taking benefits, infographic, note taking tips

Infographic via Tamiera Vandegrift

Taking effective notes in class is one of the most important things you can learn how to do because, without a doubt, it is something that you will have to take with you in your future career no matter what industry you decide to work in. If you decide to work in the medical field, you will need to take fast notes about symptoms and patients to effectively make them feel better. If you decide to work in the media and journalism, you will need to know how to jot down notes for interviews and press releases. As both a columnist and a staff writer, I’ve conducted many interviews in my time. How did I become so good at taking notes for interviews? By taking good notes in class!

There are a ton of pitfalls you can easily slip into when you’re taking notes in class, but this article exists to set you straight. Without further ado, here are some of the most common mistakes students make when taking notes… and how to fix them!

Mistake #1: Not taking notes at all

Some professors post their PowerPoints and notes online, so that means you won’t have to pay attention or take notes in class, right? Wrong. First, the information that your professor posts online might not include the details that your professor is sharing verbally in class. Some professors actually don’t write exams based on the information posted online – they might actually focus on the details shared in class, which can be detrimental to your success in the class if you chose not to take notes.

How to fix it: Take notes!

According to an article by David Gutierrez for Stanford University’s The College Puzzle blog, writing down notes is the best way to actually learn the material. We have access to a ton of note taking technology, but whether or not this technology helps or hinders us remains to be seen. There are many different methods you can use to take effective notes in class, but the most important thing is that you’re attending class and while you’re attending class, you are alert, focused, and taking notes. You need to be able to comprehend and summarize the material and the best way to do that is by taking the material given to you in class and breaking it down in your notes. What’s the best way to do this? Taking notes!

Mistake #2: Writing down every single thing

When you’re listening to your professor give a lecture, you might be in a frenzy trying to write down every single detail of every single slide thinking that anything is fair game on the exams. Instead of jotting down the key components of every lesson, a lot of students fall into the trap of writing essays and long summaries of the material without taking the time to consider it or break it down into condensed pieces in order to understand it. It’s true that taking all of the material into consideration is important, but it’s also possible to overload yourself without taking a second to make sure that you’re really learning and comprehending the material at hand.

How to fix it: Keep notes short, sweet, and to the point

I know the last mistake was not taking notes at all, but it’s still important to remember not to spend 80% of the time in class jotting down every word out of the professor’s mouth or every single slide and only 20% of the time actually listening and digesting the material. While you’re listening to a lecture, take the time to reflect on the material and work on condensing it into your own words. Use this time to think about the material and work it out in your brain into smaller terms that you definitely understand. Since you’ll already be in class, this is the ideal moment to ask questions and utilize your professor for any clarity you might need. Consider using shorthand or some abbreviations to keep things short and sweet, but only if you know for a fact that you will be able to understand the notes when it’s time to revisit them as you’re studying.

laptop, notebook, classroom, college

Image via: www.pexels.com

Mistake #3: Using the same note taking method for every class

It’s easy to fall into the pattern of “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” when it comes to classes. If recording lectures and jotting down important notes from the PowerPoint works, go for it. If using the Cornell method works, go for it. If using shorthand and abbreviated text works, go for it. Unfortunately, these methods aren’t always interchangeable between classes. After all, every class is different and must be treated as such. Note taking methods for a physics class might not be the same as an English literature class. In order to be better at taking notes in class, you will need to be flexible and ready to adapt to different ways of jotting down and understanding the class content.

How to fix it: Treat every class individually

As I mentioned earlier, every class is different and needs to be treated and studied on an individual basis. First, there is definitely an effective way for students to take notes for every subject, whether it’s calculus, biology, creative writing, or anything else. There might be a method that you just haven’t discovered yet that would be more effective and more helpful in learning the material for each of your classes. It’s important to do your homework (both literally and metaphorically) and figure out what works best for you. It might even be helpful to contact your professor and see what types of note taking techniques they would recommend for the course material. You might just discover something helpful that you never would have thought of.

Second, with that being said, different classes require different things so here are some ideas to help you start thinking about what methods to use. Courses that are riddled with quizzes and exams require you to know the ins and outs of concepts and lectures. So, for courses like these, you might want to consider taking detailed, comprehensive notes while also making flashcards and hand-drawn mind maps. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find some flashcards already made for you on Quizlet. A course that is mainly based on essays and discussion board posts will require you to understand the larger ideas and things that your professor specifically points out, not every detail that’s in every lecture. Every class has different needs and it’s up to you to experiment and find out which method of taking notes is best for your comprehension and learning ability of the material.

student, woman, thinking, classroom

Image via: www.pexels.com

Mistake #4: Taking notes and never using them again

You might think that once the professor ends class that you’ve done your job and you can stash away your notes and forget about them until it’s time for exams. A common mistake is spending an entire class session taking beautiful, detailed notes and then stashing them away somewhere where you’re likely to lose them or forget about them until it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon before your final exam. Before you stuff your notes into the void of your backpack or dorm room, remember how hard you worked to focus and take notes… and remember not to waste that time.

How to fix it: Continue to invest time in your notes

After the lecture is over, you should definitely still continue to refer to your notes, review the material, and build on them when you learn new information. Students who are successful at taking notes in class know the value of well-written notes and use them to the best of their ability to understand and digest the material. Use the notes to draw mind maps, make outlines, and create flashcards. If you spend an entire class period taking notes and forget about them as soon as the lecture is over, you’re only hurting yourself and your ability to succeed. Don’t waste your time in class. Use it effectively to learn what you need to learn way before that final exam week panic.

Mistake #5: Organizing notes ineffectively

With that being said, let’s talk about organization. What does it mean to organize your notes effectively? What does it mean to organize your notes ineffectively? First, it all depends on storage. What are you using to take your notes? Are you using the same notebook for all of your classes? Are you using several different notebooks for the same class? Second, it also depends on layout and style. Are you scribbling down your ideas so fast that you can’t read what you’ve written? Are you doodling and highlighting so much that your notebook is beginning to look like an art museum rather than a college notebook? If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re taking notes ineffectively and your methods definitely need to change to ensure academic success.

How to fix it: Organizing notes effectively

Without effective organization, you could lose all of your notes and therefore lose out on weeks or months of material that you could need to use for essays and studying for exams. First, you should always use a different notebook for every class. It would even be helpful to color-code your notebooks and use a different color for each one to make it easier to keep them apart. Second, you should always have a good place to keep your notebooks so that they are easy to access and refer to whenever you need them. So don’t shove them under your bed or in a drawer somewhere. That’s just as silly as throwing them in the garbage.

Now, let’s talk about the nitty-gritty of actually taking notes. When you’re handwriting your notes, be sure to label every page with the date, the title of the lecture, and the name of the texts that the lecture could be referring to. Try to keep everything in one place so that you don’t have to go searching for information. If you’re using a computer to type your notes, create different folders to organize all of the material from class notes, essays, course readings, and study guides. Mark them with the date, lecture title, and name of texts just as you would with handwritten notes. If you’re willing to go above and beyond, print your notes and study them like you would flashcards or a mind map.

Overall, stay organized and keep all of your material separate in order to keep your stress levels down and your hardworking levels peaking.

texting, chalkboard, professor, student

Image via: www.pexels.com

Mistake #6: Going to class unprepared

Our final common mistake is going to class unprepared. While making sure that your notebook is ready and that you’ve brought your textbook is a start, that’s not what it means to be prepared for class. Being prepared for class means that you’re ready to answer any question that your professor might throw at you about the material. By not being prepared ahead of time, you risk missing out on important additional points and discussion opportunities if you’re busy jotting down notes of things you could have learned from the readings. You’ll also be able to ask more detailed, meaningful questions rather than simply asking the professor to repeat what the reading material has said already. If you’re not there yet, don’t worry. It’s not too late to get started.

How to fix it: Prepare for lectures before class

Before you go to bed the night before a class lecture, take a few minutes to skim over whatever readings or course materials that your professor has posted for you. Even if it’s optional, they have definitely posted it for a reason. Once you’re in class, having filled yourself in on all of the class material for that day, you can ask more questions and learn more than what the texts have to offer. It’s important so that you can set aside any difficult concepts you may have come across and have them explained and solved in a group setting. Also, let’s face it, professors are definitely impressed when their students actually do the required reading.

To succeed academically, taking notes is a skill that all college students need to obtain and perfect before their academic career is over. There are a ton of rookie mistakes that students can fall into, but also a ton of solutions to steer them back into the right path. Keeping these mistakes and solutions in mind is a great way to start the semester strong.

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