Taking and summarizing notes for course content at any class is an essential part of learning, which involves active listening and writing skills to develop your own effective method that you can carry with you throughout the remainder of your studies and beyond.

Taking notes

• Equip yourself by printing out lecture notes and tutorial outlines before class. Glance over the lecture notes so that you can get an idea of what your professor will touch on. If you miss a class, see if you can download the lecture notes on Pogojo.
• To add meaning and understanding, write down any additional points, examples, diagrams or comments on the handouts during class and be sure to write down and circle any questions you have so that you may take them up during your tutorial or with friends who will be able to answer them. 
• Use highlighters, underlining, circling, symbols and other significant symbols to draw attention to certain points. You may used different markings to represent different notes, for example; highlight all rules, circle all history dates, box all equations and so on.  
• Remember to keep your notes brief and succinct. Be selective in what you write down and only focus on the issues of high importance. Abbreviations are the best way to make sure you do not spend too much time trying to write and in doing so, not tuning in to the entire class.  
• Read the relevant texts and other resources that are required each week and make notes on interesting points you have learned or worthwhile facts that you may later utilize in your exams or even your assignments.  
• Many universities now record classes in both sound and video formats. Inquire about these at your university, and if they are available, utilize them to review the class and to get any notes or points you may have missed or needed to hear again to understand the learning outcome better. 

Summarizing notes is different to taking notes, click here to learn how to do this well.

Organizing your notes

Arranging your course materials is crucial. This includes all course handouts, written materials and computer notes. Revision time will be more effective if you have all your course materials in logical order.

• Bundle all lecture notes, tutorial notes, tutorial exercises and any additional notes you have written/typed up.
• Separate them all in to weekly content, using folder dividers or sticker tabs. These help you to flick through each week to find information faster.
• File them in to a folder for each subject or one folder for all subjects that is clearly indexed to keep subject materials separate.
• Label each week of the semester at the start of each week’s documents and clearly mark the topics covered in each week.