Top Study Tips for starting university

What would be your best recommendations on effective note taking and studying for a first year at uni (esp for science based courses)

Reply 1

University of Kent

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

What would be your best recommendations on effective note taking and studying for a first year at uni (esp for science based courses)

Hey Anon,

I don't study a science based course, (I do philosophy) but I'm hoping I might be able to give you some tips.

If your lecture powerpoints are available in advance, I would recommend printing them off so you don't have to worry about taking down this information and then you can add notes on the print out of anything extra that your lecturer is saying. Then you can use this resource to make a summary of the lecture and any questions you have or areas you struggle with which will help with revision.

I would also definitely recommend doing the reading before your lectures, not just your seminars where you can as this will help contextualise the lecture better. Definitely reflect on the lecture and not just passively let it wash over you as you'll find you retain information better.

In terms of note-taking, find a system that works for you and makes sense - I use lots of sub-bullet points to link ideas together, but if you're not sure where to start, why not look into the Cornell notes system.

I really hope this helps, best of luck with your studies!

Best Wishes,
Gabby

Reply 2

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

What would be your best recommendations on effective note taking and studying for a first year at uni (esp for science based courses)

Hiya!

Gabby has already shared some excellent advice, and I highly recommend following it!

Just to emphasise on Gabby's point, I strongly suggest doing the assigned reading. Lecturers often refer back to these materials and ask students questions about it, so if you have been organised and pre-pared for the lecture, the lecturers will be impressed and appreciate it. Plus, all the assigned reading and the extra ones they suggest, will be useful to use as references in any of your assignments and demonstrate that you have explored and engaged in various academic sources.

Many lectures are recorded with audio and PowerPoint slides. I like to re-listen to these recordings later, which is when I write up my notes. This helps me review difficult concepts or catch anything I might have missed during the live session.

When it came to note taking in class I found there was too much information to write down, and the slides went quite quick. So what worked for me was noting the slide number and focusing on jotting down information that wasn’t already on the slide, so I didn’t miss anything important.

I hope this has helped
-Maddie, Second year Health and Well-being in Society student at De Montfort University

Reply 3

University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Original post by Anonymous

What would be your best recommendations on effective note taking and studying for a first year at uni (esp for science based courses)

Hi I hope you are doing well,

I have already seen some great suggestions made so thought I'd offer some on my own as well!

First of all to reiterate the point again about pre-recorded lessons. They are great for taking notes either after or before the lecture so that you don't miss anything and can concentrate on what the lecturer is saying and only needing to take the necessary notes during the lecture.

1) Be Selective: Not everything will need to be noted down and it's easy to get lose something when trying to take notes of everything. Look at what is required for your assessments and then make the notes that are most relevant to that. If there is something you don't understand, make a note of the question you have and either ask during the lecture or speaking to the lecturer outside of lessons about it to ensure you understand the content.

2) Review and Revise: After the lecture, take time to go over your notes. Fill in any gaps, clarify difficult concepts, and add extra details from textbooks or discussions. As said by other people, it's important to do extra reading recommended by the lecturers to gain a wider understanding of your content and his favoured by lecturers.

3) Organising your notes: Everyone has different ways of retaining information so write yours in a way that will help you best. For some, they find a big chunk of notes is the best way whereas for some, they prefer a more creative approahc with spider diagrams and presentation to help remember key information. For some they prefer typing notes, and for others they prefer handwritten notes. Whatever helps you remember the best and allows you to take notes efficentielty is the best way.

I hope these tips help,

Daniel
(University of Portsmouth Student Rep)

Reply 4

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

What would be your best recommendations on effective note taking and studying for a first year at uni (esp for science based courses)

Hi there!

I haven't got experience in a science based course however note taking tips can be adapted to all different types of courses. My main tip would be to stay organised with the notes. Be organised in what notes you take, meaning be selective with them as you can easily fall into a trap of making notes about everything. Be organised in the way you store them too, making sure you can easily find the notes you are looking for.

It often helped me if I had the PowerPoint slides printed out before my lecture started so I could make relevant notes and annotate the PowerPoint as it was being spoke about.

Hope this helps! 🙂
Jakub- Fashion promotion graduate