On-Line Study Skills Handouts

 DOs and DON'Ts of Note Taking
DOs
  1. Look over previous notes before class.
  2. Attend all lectures.
  3. Be academically aggressive.
  4. Take a front seat to see, hear, concentrate better.
  5. Use a large loose-leaf binder.
  6. Carry lined 8 1/2 x 11 loose-leaf sheets to class. (Will go in binder later).
  7. Write on only one side of sheet.
  8. On top of the sheet record course, lecture, and date.
  9. Begin taking notes immediately.
  10. Write in short telegraphic sentences.
  11. Make notes complete for later understanding.
  12. Use modified printing style.
  13. Use lecturer's words.
  14. Strive to detect main headings.
  15. Capture ideas as well as facts.
  16. Keep your note organization simple.
  17. Skip lines; leave space between main ideas.
  18. Discover the organizational pattern.
  19. If the lecture is too fast, capture fragments.
  20. Leave blank spaces for words to fill in later.
  21. Develop your own abbreviations and symbols.
  22. Record lecturer's examples.
  23. Identify your own thoughts in your notes.
  24. Keep separate loose-leaf binders for each course.

Don'ts

  1. Don't sit near friends.
  2. Don't wait for something "important."
  3. Don't convert lecturer's words.
  4. Don't look for facts only.
  5. Don't give up if the lecturer is too fast.
  6. Don't stop to ponder.
  7. Don't over indent.
  8. Don't doodle.
  9. Don't use spiral-bound notebooks.
  10. Don't consider any example too obvious.
  11. Avoid using Roman numerals.
  12. Avoid too many abbreviations.

Source: Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College (6th Edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1997.

For more information contact The Learning Skills Specialist at
(610) 660-1846