During your lectures, you may find that you are missing parts due to not being able to type or write quickly enough. But there are some ways to ensure you complete your lecture notes without feeling overwhelmed.
You are not alone in this feeling. It can be hard to keep up with the lecturer who is leading these sessions, while also noting down all the information that you think may be useful or ultimately come up in your exams.
Below are some ways to keep yourself calm while also getting the correct and most relevant information down.
Sit and listen
If you are someone who is a meticulous note-taker, then you will find it quite challenging to write everything at once. If this sounds like you, the first thing I would suggest is to see if your lectures are recorded.
Since the pandemic, many lectures are. If, by chance, they are not, talk to your lecturer and ask if this is something they could offer.
If you do manage to get your lectures recorded, then for the in-person one, you can now sit and listen. Maybe limit yourself to writing 10 important bullet points. In your free time go home and listen to the lecture again. Expanding on these short points you have made gives you the time you need to write your notes effectively.
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Condense a Revision Page
If you do manage to write down all your notes during the lecture, then you can go away and condense them for your revision.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer revisions cards or a neatly written A4. Finishing every lecture and then condensing the most important parts is a habit that your future self will love you for. This saves time during exam season and helps you to better understand the overall content of your topic far more.
Study groups
Some universities give out a warning about sharing specific notes due to the fear of plagiarism. But for exams, it doesn’t mean that you can’t revise and help each other know the core set knowledge for your module as well as you can.
Study groups and relying on each other to make certain parts of a topic far clearer are really helpful.
Uni will really give you the chance to find out what type of revision and note taking method works best for you are your course.
The key thing is, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed when taking lecture notes, take a moment, try to relax, and know there are things that help.
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