STUDY SKILLS
Practice Good Note-Taking Habits
So you’ve made the right choices so far and attended all of your classes.
For each class, you have a shiny new notebook and a color-coordinated folder
that has your syllabus and all of the important documents that you were
given on the first day of class.
Now, you want to know how to get a good grade in your class. The answer,
quite simply, is to mindfully and diligently take notes by hand. Forget your
laptop, especially if you are in a large lecture hall. It will only serve as a
distraction as you maneuver it around your lap in your tiny fold-up chair, only
to force you to search for a place to power it up when the battery gets low.
And if your school’s lecture halls have wi-fi, avoid using your laptop in class
like the plague. It will only tempt you to plug in and tune out.
Good Note-Taking Habits Include:
•
Actively listening to your teacher’s lecture and jotting down the
main ideas in an orderly, easy-to-read outline.
•
Writing down in the margins of your notebook any subject-relevant
questions, areas of confusion, or interesting connections that pop into
your head. You can ask your teacher your questions at the end of class or
contribute your ideas during class discussions.
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