Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

University Note Taking

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Reply 1

lcvedingdong

digitally - usually iPad or MacBook notes.

If youre somebody who learns by writing then iPad note taking may be for you or depending on the laptop brand you purchase such as Microsoft surface it has the function of being utilised as a laptop and as a tablet (being able to write).

Reply 2

University of East Anglia UG Student Rep: Danielle

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi @177445 :h:

Great question! A lot of people (in my classes at least) use laptops and type up, but I also see people using paper and iPads! There's no real set way, it's about figuring out what works for you! I find it quickest and most efficent to type up notes in lectures in seminars on my Chromebook as a way of getting it down, and then later on go through them and get it down on paper/with my iPad and make it look nicer if that is constructive to my work and time!

Danielle :smile:

Film and Television Studies

Reply 3

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi there @177445 - definitely as the other comments have mentioned, notes taken via a Laptop or iPad seem to be the most favoured. I did English Literature at University so I saw a lot of my classmates using iPads or Laptop/Tablet devices to take notes quickly during lectures. This helped to carry less paper around (we usually already had quite a few books in our bags!) :work:

I preferred taking hand written notes, however, as I felt I was quicker at writing rather than typing. It's whatever you prefer, is sustainable, and makes you feel comfortable - as lectures can go on for over an hour or two! :biggrin:

A few helpful features of technology or digital notes is that you can have apps that dictate lectures or record the sound of the lecture to transcribe later - though I'd ask for the permission of your lecturer before you do this :smartass:

Other features of touch screen devices can be writing on a tablet or iPad and it converts to text which kind of combines handwritten notes and digital notes. You ultimately end up with a word document of typed notes from the Lecture that you've written using a stylus or digital pen during the lecture.

Handwritten notes I'd say helped me more for the extra side-notes and additional information of a lecture to be captured - more like a spider diagram sometimes. I could space the work out however I wished and always revised it to highlight key points that helped me to retain the material from a lecture. I could also colour code my lecture notes according to module with more ease this way :pride:

I hope this helps! Everyone is different so whichever method works best for you, or trialing a few methods, means you can find one that sticks! :five:

- Rose

, De Montfort University Rep.

Reply 4

UCLan Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi there @177445, :smile:

It's a bit of a mix really and it's what your most comfortable with. I began my course writing up my notes on paper but switched to using my laptop as I found it easier to keep up in lectures and seminars. Typing up your notes also makes it easier to store and refer back to certain bits and is less bulky in your bag than note books would be.

All the best,
Sarah

Reply 5

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hey there!

Like others have said, a lot of people take notes on a laptop or ipad for humanities subjects. When studying criminology, I found it made it really easy to find sections of my lecture notes when writing essays and online exams. I did give hand writing notes a go but I found that I couldn't keep up as well as I could typing, so defo feel free to give different methods a try. My process was normally to type up key points for the lecture before hand (we were lucky and got the PowerPoint in advance) and then add in a different colour things my lecturer said/new ideas from readings. Some people annotated PowerPoint, some people just typed what the lecturer said so there isn't one right way to do it.

Hope that helps
Kat

Reply 6

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi,

Whatever works for you! There is always a mixture in my lectures, some people typing away whilst others like to use pen and paper. Dont worry about what everyone else is doing, focus on what works for you and what you feel will benefit you more.

Victoria
-Wrexham Uni Rep

Reply 7

ExeterStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi 177445,

Great question! I'd say it really differs from person to person, but the large majority of people make notes digitally on a laptop. But if hand writing on paper works for you then there's no harm doing it! You can also hand write on an iPad if you want something in between the two.

I started off handwriting notes on paper but found I couldn't write fast enough to keep up with the lectures. I'm also not fast at typing so I ended up making rough notes on my laptop before lectures using what was on the pre-released powerpoint slides, and then in the lecture I just sat and listened. This really helped me understand as I was able to focus on listening rather than getting it all down. Luckily, all of our lectures were recorded so I could watch them in my own time at home and make my notes more detailed. This may not be the case for all universities/courses but if you do have recorded lectures and feel like your struggling to keep up with the note-taking during lectures - it's ok to do it at home if you have the time! The benefit of having digital notes is that it's easy to find information fast (by pressing control F) rather than searching through paper notes.

Also, I find writing notes by hand ingrains information better into my brain. So alongside making computer notes, if I had an exam where I had to recall lots of information, I'd make hand written condensed notes as well.

It's honestly what works for you! It might take you some time to figure that out but you'll find your best method eventually :smile:

I hope this helps! Good luck with your journalism degree :smile:

Bethan
University of Exeter Student Ambassador

Reply 8

Chester Student

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi @177445,

Great question!

In my lectures, there's quite a good mix of people who take notes digitally on their laptops or iPads, and those who take notes on paper. I think it is now becoming more common to use a laptop or iPad for note-taking, as it means you can keep up with the pace of the lecture, and in my opinion it can be organized a lot better!

It really depends what you prefer and what works the best for your course. I would recommend using that first week of lectures to test out different methods of note-taking and decide which one works the best for you. It might be useful to think about how you prefer to organize your notes once they are written up, or how you like to revise to help you decide!

Hope this helps,
Isabella

Reply 9

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hey there @177445 !

I study Media at university and started off by taking notes on paper. It eventually got messy when I started as I always wanted to go back and add things to my notes but by that time I'd done another module's lecture so there was no space next to that weeks notes for the extra bits. I decided to switch to electronic notes (laptop) and this has helped me keep everything organised and keep my modules separate AND it means i can go back and add things to my notes. It also helps when doing research tasks in seminars which you'd need a laptop for anyway so if you take notes on your laptop as well then that's one less thing you need to carry to university.

I take my notes on Microsoft Word and organise them into files on my Macbook depending on the year of study, the module and the topic. It helps a lot to do it this way because when you have to go back at the end of the semester and write essays, you need academic sources to cite and make references of. If you don't sort it out this way then it just means you have to go out and find the research again when it comes to your end of semester project. I personally prefer a Macbook for my degree personally because I have some practical work to do and find Adobe Creative Cloud runs better on Mac software. For anything else or just simply note taking, a Windows laptop would be absolutely fine.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU

Reply 10

University of Sunderland Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi there,

For me personally, I take notes digitally exclusively. I use a mixture of laptop and iPad, using iPad in lectures and transferring onto my laptop later. I find that it is easier to keep up with the lecture this way. I don’t know many people who take notes on paper as it is often slower.

I hope this helps,

Ellen
Uni of Sunderland
Digital Ambassador

Reply 11

University of Kent

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?

Hi there

I think the way you make notes depends on how you learn and absorb information the best. It can be a case of trial and error. :smile:

I tried both methods during first year, I found it difficult to keep up with the speed lecturers spoke out, so I chose to type my notes on Computer. However, if I wanted to memorise something, I'll write in on paper as it aids my memory. :biggrin:

Overall, I think both are feasible ways of making notes, just go with whichever works the best for you.

All the best!
Chloe
-University of Kent Student Rep

Reply 12

random_matt

Fountain pen and cornell notebooks, digital methods are hideous.

Reply 13

University of Sunderland Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by 177445

Hi, I am planning to go to uni next year to study Journalism and was wondering if most people at uni take notes like on paper or digitally (and if so how)?