Note-taking at University...

I'm starting uni this September to study Law, and I was wondering what current students take is on note-taking.

Do you take your laptop in to lectures of take notes by hand?

I only query because my laptop is one of those that have to be plugged in constantly because it'll only last about 10 mins on the battery!
Plus it has a VERY noisy fan so it wouldn't be practical for me to take it into lectures!

Is it possible to note take in subjects like Law? Quite worried!

Reply 1

Miracle Day

So basically we go in for the law lectures and just write down what is said, without any guidance as to what, then we revise what we wrote then go in for an exam? It sounds so hard!

Reply 2

jelly1000

Original post by ebduff

should be, plus at most unis now they put basic lecture slides online. and a lot of what you need to know comes from reading.

Reply 3

simplylldxo

Original post by Miracle Day

So basically we go in for the law lectures and just write down what is said, without any guidance as to what, then we revise what we wrote then go in for an exam? It sounds so hard!

It sounds hard but once you get into it; it'll get easier! That's how I'm feeling atm, the aspect of independent study scares the hell out of me but once i ease into it; then I'll feel a lot better!

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Reply 4

aldridge99

No idea about your question as I'm in same situation as you, but I seen you comment about your battery life on your laptop, best thing to do is get on eBay and buy a new battery they cost 10-15 just type in your make and model and our replacement battery :-) x

Posted from TSR Mobile

Pen and Paper.

I've used a variety of ways to take/make notes, so here's my two cents.

Laptop - I find lugging around a laptop in your bag to be quite bothersome. My laptop is fairly heavy, which just adds to the weight of the books and folders in my bag which are heavy enough! Having lecture slides on hand is great, but make sure you're organized enough to save your notes with the relevant slides, otherwise you'll have mismatched files which mean nothing to you when revision time comes around. Typing of course is faster and less tiring on the wrist than writing, so if you take a large amount of notes, a laptop isn't a bad shout. The biggest problem I find with it is that it's just too distracting. Chances are you'll be connected to the university wifi, and you'll find yourself messing about on Facebook or Twitter without even realising it. This is especially a problem in long 2-3 hour lectures.

iPad/Tablet - Ah, having an iPad to take your notes is great since it's much easier to carry around and better to read off of come revision time. Make sure you have pages or something similar so you can transfer your files onto your computer at home to print or read from later though. I find typing on tablets really comfortable, much more than a laptop. This can be even more distracting than a laptop though!

Pen and paper - Good old pen and paper with lecture slides! This is what I initially started with before trying out other things, and it is in my opinion, the best. Annotating slides whilst making notes means all of your information is hard copy which is much easier to read from and all in once place. Drawing diagrams/charts are also easier free hand than on a laptop and much much easier than doing it on an iPad (I tried and failed). You also won't get distracted like you might do on a laptop or a tablet! Just make sure your handwriting is legible, otherwise your notes will be pretty much useless to you when you come to revise.

Everyone prefers different ways of taking notes so it's probably best you try out different things to find out what's best for you. :smile: