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How do you ‘make notes’

I’m not sure how to make ‘notes’ out of uni lecture slides and recordings, I end up writing everything down..

And for revision how do you ‘revise’

Please let me know what works for you! I’m still trying to figure this out.
I like to shorten it to least possible with funny silly things in the side in order to remember it. I draw quick pictures, diagrams.
Generally, with revision, I like to explain it to someone.
Reply 2
One way might be to look through the slides or listen through the entire recording and jot down what you remember immediately after. :smile:
Use colour coding!
Original post by SisterXI
I’m not sure how to make ‘notes’ out of uni lecture slides and recordings, I end up writing everything down..

And for revision how do you ‘revise’

Please let me know what works for you! I’m still trying to figure this out.


Notes wise, I tend to pluck out key-words, ideas and statistics, before throwing them on the paper and joining pieces together with fewer words than what I have been reading from (if necessary for understanding). My friends attending university confirmed they did much the same.

For revision, I take a long-winded method. First I hand-write my notes and reword them as I go, while retaining any elements that help maintain the fluency of the sentence. Afterwards I use my laptop, and compile my notes onto a word document in an essay form two or three times. To finalise retention, I prepare flash cards or make a concise powerpoint to work from. This consistently allows me to sponge up everything I have studied, although I literally have no social life as a result... hm.
Thank you. I feel like I need some practise, I really struggle with ‘studying’ and my revision is basically memorising.. I need to think of other ways! Would appreciate any other responses
Original post by SisterXI
Thank you. I feel like I need some practise, I really struggle with ‘studying’ and my revision is basically memorising.. I need to think of other ways! Would appreciate any other responses


Active note making and active revision is usually best. Trying to memorise information by simply reading it over is really difficult for most people. You're not alone :smile: How you make your revision active depends on how you like to learn. Here are some ideas -

:smile: make sure you understand your topic - pick out the most important points of your topic area and think about how you would outline these points to someone else. You can't memorise information that you don't fully understand - it sounds obvious but make sure you're confident with what you know before you start to revise it

:wink: quiz yourself (or ask your friends or family to fire quick questions at you)

:tongue: set yourself some mock exam questions or ask your school or college for some past papers... what might you be asked? Often completing a past paper helps you understand where your gaps in knowledge are

:smile: produce a summary sheet - stick to one sheet and outline the most important parts of your learning - keep referring to it to check that you understand the relationships between the different areas of your topic

:biggrin: make a mind map, chart, brainstorm, diagram or drawing of the key points (stick these up around your desk)

:redface: create a revision timetable - cover all topic areas and ensure you set aside enough time for each. Build breaks into your day and make sure you fit some relaxation time in too

Good luck!
(edited 6 years ago)
Thank you :smile:
Original post by SisterXI
I’m not sure how to make ‘notes’ out of uni lecture slides and recordings, I end up writing everything down..

And for revision how do you ‘revise’

Please let me know what works for you! I’m still trying to figure this out.


Depends if you get notes given like slides or course notes? For me it depends on the type of lecture, for some lecturers you can more or less write down everything that's written on the board plus extra bits they say that are important. For others writing stuff down in the lecture is pointless and you are better to just listen and then find a textbook to consolidate what you heard and makes notes from there.

But I would really stress that it helps to look over what you did in the lecture not too long afterwards, and find a textbook for extra background or to get the bits you don't understand.
Reply 9
i just make mark schemes and specification as my notes like the specification is what the board is going to look at and make papers and mark schemes show what they will be expecting. It has worked for me so far, so i would defo recommend it!

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