Note taking in university

[frozenmelon]

My note taking skills are crap. If I wanted to buy a set of notes for a course, what do you suppose it would cost?

For this thread, let's say there's 2 types of courses:

notes intensive <-- I care about this one
not notes intensive <-- meh

I know that my university pays $50 for good notes to give to people with learning disabilities. I guess that's a starting point.

[flexwong]

My note taking skills are crap. If I wanted to buy a set of notes for a course, what do you suppose it would cost?

For this thread, let's say there's 2 types of courses:

notes intensive <-- I care about this one
not notes intensive <-- meh

I know that my university pays $50 for good notes to give to people with learning disabilities. I guess that's a starting point.

they PAY people to be volunteer notetakers? that's kind of brutal isn't it. everyone at my university does it voluntarily.

develop better note taking skills. you're not gonna be able to constantly buy notes off of people when you get to upper year classes with only 15 people. why do you "suck" at taking notes? are you not able to listen and write at the same time?

[Octavius]

they PAY people to be volunteer notetakers? that's kind of brutal isn't it. everyone at my university does it voluntarily.

develop better note taking skills. you're not gonna be able to constantly buy notes off of people when you get to upper year classes with only 15 people. why do you "suck" at taking notes? are you not able to listen and write at the same time?

If they're desperate and if there's nobody who's willing to do it for free then they'll pay them at my old University as well.

I volunteered for two courses (not expecting to get paid) but in the end they gave each volunteer a $50.00 chapters gift card as a "Thank You".

All depends on the department, how many people need notes, etc.


I do agree with you in taking proper notes. My problem with my notes was that my handwriting sucked...so I got a laptop. I type 80+ WPM so my notes were essentially word-for-word what the prof said in class (less the useless stuff). For a three hour lecture, it would be normal for me to have 5-6 pages typed single spaced for non-super intensive classes...and 8-9 pages typed single spaced of uber intensive classes.

[CSR]

If they're desperate and if there's nobody who's willing to do it for free then they'll pay them at my old University as well.

I volunteered for two courses (not expecting to get paid) but in the end they gave each volunteer a $50.00 chapters gift card as a "Thank You".

All depends on the department, how many people need notes, etc.


I do agree with you in taking proper notes. My problem with my notes was that my handwriting sucked...so I got a laptop. I type 80+ WPM so my notes were essentially word-for-word what the prof said in class (less the useless stuff). For a three hour lecture, it would be normal for me to have 5-6 pages typed single spaced for non-super intensive classes...and 8-9 pages typed single spaced of uber intensive classes.

i use a recorder =)

[cq358]

recorder is not effective in my opinion...because prof's voice must directly refer to the blackboard/overhead. Why don't you ask senior students whom had taken the same course and borrow their notes. Read through their notes prior attending to your lecture. So at least you are ahead of the game. Socializing at university are very important for your success(study group..tips sharing).

In many school, older students upload their exams/assignments/notes to a file sharing website (Coursereserve.ca). However, there are no guarantee their answers on both exam and assignment are correct.

[Rishi]

If you're going use a recorder, ALWAYS ask the prof first if it's okay. I've seen people get reamed for this.

[infinite.chaoz]

i use a recorder =)

Recorder encourages sleeping in class, or not showing up for class at all. Its best if u write things down on the spot. You can always ask the prof to repeat something or go a little slower on certain part if you need to. Besides, if its something very important that you have to have it down, the prof usually repeats it once or twice throughout the lecture.

[frozenmelon]

TBH its not even about neatness and its not that I need to a voice recorder either.

Some people have this talent to organize and summarize notes really effectively. You'd only have to study from those notes and nothing else. That's what I'm interested in buying. :)

[IBOPM]

Write fast, and only neatly enough for you alone to understand. No one else has to read them but you. That takes away the pressure to be neat and allows you to go lightning fast. Use acronyms and abbreviations. Words that end with "ion" like "explanation", "expectation", "equation" replace that with a little triangle.

[infinite.chaoz]

Write fast, and only neatly enough for you alone to understand. No one else has to read them but you. That takes away the pressure to be neat and allows you to go lightning fast. Use acronyms and abbreviations. Words that end with "ion" like "explanation", "expectation", "equation" replace that with a little triangle.

I think there's a course in high school that teaches you all the note taking shortcuts and abbrv.

[IBOPM]

I think there's a course in high school that teaches you all the note taking shortcuts and abbrv.

Really? Damn, I had to make all this up myself. You're not talking about short-hand are you? While it's useful, it is becoming archaic.

[infinite.chaoz]

Really? Damn, I had to make all this up myself. You're not talking about short-hand are you? While it's useful, it is becoming archaic.

I'm not sure what the course is called, but it was offered at my high school. My friend took it and she said it was very useful.

[flexwong]

what's the point of recording? you spend 3 hours of your life in the lecture and u record the whole thing and spend another 3 hours listening to it again? that was the reason one of my profs gave as to why he did not allow people to record. laptops are very useful in arts classes. using pen and paper in first year, i maybe took about 2 pages of notes per class and sometimes missed key things. using my laptop in 2nd year, i could take a lot of notes and they always had all the key things.

[skyrink]

though i do take notes such as copying stuff down from the boards and overheads....i realized that i rarely go back to them, i can have from 1-4 pages of notes from a 1 hour class and i never go back to them even on tests or assignments b/c the textbook is really all u need. u gotta read/skim through the textbook anyways....so why not learn while doing ur assignment. u'll notice theres a lot of holes when a lecture pertains to a specific chapter. its difficult for me to multi task too...if im copying notes at an instant, anything that the prof says for those few seconds is missed...so i listen intently and minimize note taking. just my 2 cents

[IBOPM]

Upon researching shorthand. I would offer shorthand as a solution to your problems.

[LNahid2000]

though i do take notes such as copying stuff down from the boards and overheads....i realized that i rarely go back to them, i can have from 1-4 pages of notes from a 1 hour class and i never go back to them even on tests or assignments b/c the textbook is really all u need. u gotta read/skim through the textbook anyways....so why not learn while doing ur assignment. u'll notice theres a lot of holes when a lecture pertains to a specific chapter. its difficult for me to multi task too...if im copying notes at an instant, anything that the prof says for those few seconds is missed...so i listen intently and minimize note taking. just my 2 cents
Yep, that's how I do it. I rarely, if ever take notes in any of my classes. In the odd situation where I need something that is not in the textbook, I'll just ask a friend.

[perplexed_one]

TBH its not even about neatness and its not that I need to a voice recorder either.


Some people have this talent to organize and summarize notes really effectively. You'd only have to study from those notes and nothing else. That's what I'm interested in buying. :)

im assuming the prof doesn't do a lot of writing on blackboard/projector. Then there are the profs who go all over the place in their lectures.

don't sweat it, I bet plenty of your peers have troubles keeping up the sometimes rambling of certain profs, I certainly know I have had this trouble.

However I agree with the first replyer to this thread, notetaking is essentially in the workplace. You may not be writing points down on a piece of paper but you will need to know how to organize instructions and points on the spot mentally.


That being said in the lecture hall try these strategies:


- listen for key words and points especially if they are repeated over again (this means there are important)

- borrow notes from a peer nearby during or after class.

- ask for clarification from peers on a certain segment of the lecture you didn't hear or understand.

- bring a recorder as a backup so that you may catch something you miss first time around.

- don't be shy, politely interrupt your prof in the middle of his lecture for clarification of the last point. OR if you feel uncomfortable talk to your prof/TA after class/lecture

- go to your university's writing (extra help) center, get tutorials and sessions to improve your notetaking skills.



Hopefully this advice helps you, good luck!

[killoverme]

TBH its not even about neatness and its not that I need to a voice recorder either.

Some people have this talent to organize and summarize notes really effectively. You'd only have to study from those notes and nothing else. That's what I'm interested in buying. :)

well if you want it organized then organize it.

So your saying you have the ability to take good notes, just not organize them effectively.

Either type your notes, and rearrange them so they are neat and organized or rewrite them after class.

Either way you will be studying while organizing.

[koft]

It is hard if you don't know what your prof is talking about.
Try to prep, or have a quick read on what the prof will be teaching that week. It can be quite difficult at times, because of the volume of materials with full course load. At least then you can key in the key words and main focus of his/her lectures.

Make good friends with your fellow colleagues, some of them are willing to lend you their notes, as long as you show up and actually attempts to take notes. Unless you have a learning disability, you can ask the student centre to provide help for note taking.

[flygo]

Some people have this talent to organize and summarize notes really effectively. You'd only have to study from those notes and nothing else. That's what I'm interested in buying. :)

how much would you be willing to pay? if you're at UofT lifesci, I might be interested in selling notes :cheesygri

[Rishi]

It's always good to inquire with the prof early on to see what his policy on questions is. Some will not take questions/interruptions during a lecture, others actually like it when people ask questions.

[isom3tric]

In engineering its different, its mostly equations and charts. Although its a lot of copying, listening to the prof is vital for making side notes. What I mean is that he/she would skip steps in the equation but explain it while writing it down. I suck at writing and listening and struggle at this lol.