Best way to do notes in uni
I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Reply 1
Maybe voice record the lessons of your phone and hand write ur notes, any missed information you can catch up on later!
Reply 2
Hi there!
For me personally (I study pharmacy) I enjoy using notion to write up my notes during the lectures and then during revision, I will write up the notes and concepts that I actually need to know. I can then some sometimes copy and paste into anki which makes the notes into flashcard for me. I found this way works for me because when I handwrite the notes, it sticks more than if I were to use my ipad.
I find notion a great way to keep all my notes organised as well and can review them whenever I want to! I hope this helps!
University of Bath
For me personally (I study pharmacy) I enjoy using notion to write up my notes during the lectures and then during revision, I will write up the notes and concepts that I actually need to know. I can then some sometimes copy and paste into anki which makes the notes into flashcard for me. I found this way works for me because when I handwrite the notes, it sticks more than if I were to use my ipad.
I find notion a great way to keep all my notes organised as well and can review them whenever I want to! I hope this helps!
University of Bath
Reply 3
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hello! @Lettuce272 🙂
I also do Natural Sciences (with roughly the same combination of modules!) and I had the same experience in my first year, so hopefully this will help!
During lectures I will type up my notes as it means I can keep up. However, I usually look at the slides beforehand and type up the things I think are important. This means that during the lecture I can focus on understanding the concepts and adding in anything else to my notes which were missing before.
This is very helpful for biochemistry based modules too, as you can screenshot any diagrams/ molecules etc...
After finishing a topic in the lecture series, I will handwrite my notes but only include the important things. You can think of this as a cheat sheet. I like this method because when it comes to exams I have everything I need to know about each module on a piece of paper and can focus on memorising and applying the content.
This next step depends on the module but I usually use my 'cheat sheet' notes to make flashcards on Anki. I then use Anki throughout the semester to promote active recall. I usually use Anki for the biology and biochemistry modules as they require more memorisation compared to chemistry ( I mainly take physical chemistry) which I find is more maths based.
This is my way of reviewing content before the lecture and after the lecture so it's more likely to stick and I'm less likely to fall behind.
I hope this helps, but do let me know if you have any questions!! 🙂
Fatma.
Remember that writing notes in a lecture is not meant to be a verbatim transcript of what's been said. They are just that - notes. Make a quick note about a key detail to return to, a quick outline of a relevant case study/example the lecturer made, an outline/skeleton of a particular argument, and overall focus on just summarising what you are hearing. You can then go back after the lecture to add in detail with reference to e.g. textbooks, lecture notes/slides made available to you, etc.
Note that live-typing exactly what is being said without engaging your cognitive processes in actually summarising and outlining the material is likely to make your recall of the material worse...! Handwriting notes has been shown to improve recall from lectures, and it's theorised it's because it requires the student to engage higher level cognitive processes because they can't simply verbatim copy everything without engaging with the material.
Note that live-typing exactly what is being said without engaging your cognitive processes in actually summarising and outlining the material is likely to make your recall of the material worse...! Handwriting notes has been shown to improve recall from lectures, and it's theorised it's because it requires the student to engage higher level cognitive processes because they can't simply verbatim copy everything without engaging with the material.
Reply 5
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hi,
I’m a third-year pharmacy student and I understand not being able to keep up during lectures as there is a lot of information. I don’t try to write everything during the lecture. I mainly note down anything the lecturer mentions that isn’t already on the slides, such as explanations or examples. Then I rewrite my notes afterwards when I have time to properly understand the content.
If you enjoy handwriting, using an iPad with an app like GoodNotes works really well as you can keep things digital while still writing by hand, add diagrams, and organise everything more easily. I also like to make flashcards and summary mindmaps at the end of topics.
Hope this helps,
Tayba
Student Rep
Reply 6
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
I really get this…. I was exactly the same and honestly found lectures one of the hardest parts of uni. I love handwriting my notes too, but keeping up in fast-paced lectures felt impossible at first, so you’re definitely not alone.
What helped me most was accepting that lectures aren’t the place to write everything down. I’d go in with one notepad at a time and title each page clearly with the module name, lecture topic and date. Instead of copying the slides, I’d jot down key points from the PowerPoint and then add extra notes based on what the lecturer was actually saying, examples they gave, or anything that helped my understanding. That way I was listening properly rather than just panicking about keeping up.
I also used different pen colours and highlighters to keep things organised. I’d quickly highlight important bits at the end of the lecture rather than during it, so I wasn’t distracted or falling behind. Little things like that made my notes much clearer without slowing me down.
When it came to studying or assignments, this method was a game changer. I’d have the PowerPoint open on my laptop and my handwritten notes next to it, and together they made sense…. the slides gave the structure and my notes filled in the understanding. It also meant I wasn’t starting from scratch when revising.
If lectures are recorded, I’d really recommend using that too, even just re-watching tricky sections at 1.25x speed. And don’t be hard on yourself if some lectures feel like a write-off; sometimes just listening and understanding is more valuable than perfect notes.
You’ll figure out a system that works for you, it just takes a bit of trial and error. Good luck!
Sophie 🙂
Reply 7
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hi @Lettuce272 👋
Hope you are well. That is a common problem for many students trust me! Last year, I used a tablet to do my notes on and while it was useful, I did feel as if it took longer to do the notes. I also tried to handwrite as i like handwriting my notes but it is difficult to keep up. This year, I brought my laptop instead and type up my notes. Now, it is still difficult to keep up with the lecture notes but I prefer to listen in the lecture and make notes at my own pace and then go back to it later and complete the notes.
At Essex, we have a function called listen again which records all lectures, labs and classes and makes it easier for us to listen to the lecture again and make notes in our own time and at our own pace. You could try recording the lecture if you don't have that in your university!
Essex Student Rep- Lavanya 💜
Reply 8
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hey,
Handwriting is a great way to learn, but trying to catch every word in a live lecture is nearly impossible.😂
I usually take notes after the lecture and seminar is done, but during the lectures, I write some brief notes or anything that is important for me to remember to help me with assessments/exams.
Since you have an iPad and a laptop, here is how you can actively manage those fast-paced sessions:
•
Annotate: Instead of starting from a blank page, download the lecture slides onto your iPad before class. Use your stylus to write notes, circles, and arrows directly onto the slides. This lets you focus on what the lecturer is saying rather than rushing to copy what is already on the screen.
•
Use the "Split Screen" Method: If your lecturer provides a recording later, keep your laptop open for the video and use your iPad for the handwriting. This allows you to pause and digest complex Biochem diagrams at your own speed.
•
The 15-Minute Review: After the lecture (or as soon as you can), spend 15 minutes highlighting the most important "must-know" concepts. This helps move the info from your iPad into your long-term memory before the next lecture starts.
•
Voice Memos/Audio Notes: Some iPad note-taking apps allow you to record audio while you write. If you miss a section, you can tap your note later, and it will play back exactly what the lecturer was saying at that moment.
Rachel
(Third Year)
Undegraduate Multimedia Journalism
Reply 9
Original post
by Lettuce272I’ve just finished my first semester of natural sciences ( mix of biochem and chem degree) and have discovered I am hopeless with lectures. I am blessed to have an iPad and laptop, and personally I love handwriting my notes but find it hard to keep up. I was wondering if any current students could share how they keep up with fast and a large number of lectures as this would be greatly appreciated thanks!
Hi there,
The best way I have found to take notes while in a lecture is by highlighting certain things and making some notes rather than just trying to make notes on everything as you go.
What I would do is have a look through the slides before you get to the lecture if they are available, and highlight the things that you haven't heard of before or don't understand at all. This way you know which parts to pay more attention to, as it is hard to pay attention to all of it! Then, when your lecturer is talking about these things, you can pay more attention and try and make notes.
Or, I like to just highlight things as I go. So, if there is something I want to go over, or I have missed, I will highlight it and then I know which bits to go back to in the lecture recording so I don't always have to watch the whole thing back and I can just go over the bits I know I don't understand.
I then like to go back over each lecture after and make sure I understand it all. If there is anything I don't understand, I will then ask in seminars or email my tutor so I know I have notes on everything from the lecture and I understand it all!
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador. 🙂
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