<p>How do ya'll take the notes that really helped you..like for tests and essays and finals and so on. I find it hard to take notes because I have to write down everything and I don't know what to write down so I continue to write and it the notes end up unorganized and confusing. When I'm reading idk what to look for that is important. What should I do? I really want to get good grades so i can get into the school of architecture at UT.</p>
<p>I always just pay attention. Profs normally have a way of letting you know something is important. Anyways it is all important. If you really want to do well, don’t memorize details, learn and understand the concepts.</p>
<p>but before i read the day before the lecture,how will i know what to focus on while im reading?</p>
<p>Normally, textbooks will be laid out in sections, wherein certain important topics are discussed. If one categorises one’s notes accordingly, that would be efficient.</p>
<p>If you do not know what is important when you read, read it against after you read it so you will know the entire section or w/e and know how things relate. It is similar to what I do in math courses since concepts can often be related in some way.</p>
<p>What does it mean to learn a concept rather than memorizing details? To understand a concept, wouldn’t you be required to know details?</p>
<p>I was just about to start a thread on this. What I want to know is…how do you figure out what might be on the test? In some classes(anything related to history, for instance), the instructor will just go on and on and on telling a story and you can’t write down <em>everything</em>. I figure a lot of what I’m jotting down is just a waste of time, paper, and memory. I figure most of what the instructor writes on the board is worth taking down, but what about when they just give these long speeches?</p>
<p>digital recorder ftw…</p>
<p>I’m just entering college and I also want to know what to copy down when a teacher gives a long lecture. Should you just write a short summary of what the teacher said? Or write down when teacher talk and put an emphasize on certain sentences?</p>
<p>but when taking notes in class, how do you know what is important in the lecture? I can’t write everything the professor is saying.</p>
<p>If it is on the board… it is important</p>
<p>Yeah, a general tulr of thumb is that you write down what they write down on the board or what is present on slides. As far as writing as they’re speaking, try to write down the key phrases and try to understand what they’re actually saying instead of just mindlessly taking notes. If you can just hit the high points if they’re a lecturer that goes on and on, I’m sure you’re notes will be much clearer for you when you read them later.</p>
<p>Just some other general note-taking advice: if you’re having trouble with the speed of writing and catching everything they’re saying, use symbols or shorten words so that you can understand them, so that it takes much less time to write. Also, you might consider rewriting your notes after class to clear them up, or typing them even. </p>
<p>About textbooks… bolded words are usually a pretty good hint that it’s important. If you’re just reading something from the text then try to understand as much as you can before any lectures on it, and then reread it after. If highlighting really helps you, then you can resort to that, but know that if you’re looking to resell your book after the course then its value will be greatly diminished. Finally, really try to understand what you’re reading, even if it takes you a few times to reread. Don’t just read the words on the page.</p>
<p>These things may be more time consuming, but welcome to the world of trying to get higher grades. You will get out what you put in.</p>
<p>read up the day before so u have some idea whats going on…works like a charm for econ</p>