So, in my Genetics class, we are allowed to bring hand-written notes for mid-terms/exams. However, we are not allowed to bring any typed notes in during test taking. And, so to me it really didn’t make sense to type up notes during class, but to write them. However, I have this computer program that is set up like a regular notebook and will record lectures as I type along. I thought this be really useful especially with your Q/E/C method. But, I thought it would also be a waste of time, since then I would have to go back and re-write them, so I could have them during my mid-terms. In addition, my professor uses power points, but doesn’t post them until after the lecture. And on top of that, the mid-terms are not short answer or multiple choice but are solely based on our problem sets and practice problems. Do you have any suggestions about how to conquer this issues? Thanks so much, I really enjoyed your article!!

I’m an Anthropology major, and most of my professors present reams of data with very few breaks - deliberately not forming many questions so that we are forced to make our own analysis.

Your challenge is to come up with your own questions and conclusions in real time. This is tough. But it’s something you get better at with practice. Typically, you might start by copying down summaries of the evidence the professor is presenting until you get a sense of a question it is answering. Next time you get a moment you scroll up and add that question. When you get a sense of a conclusion you throw that in too. This approach usually requires that you take advantage of every pause and digression to clean-up what you have. It also requires some time after lecture to do a final clean (though this time reduces as you get better.) I would say it might take a couple weeks of practice before your notes start to get reasonable, but it does come. And the good news is that it certainly keeps you active during class.

As a senior humanities major at a liberal arts school, I haven’t taken an in-class test or final in two years. In most of my classes, I could choose to not write a single thing down and still do well, but taking notes does give me fodder for papers and helps me think through the ideas brought up in discussion

I’ve taken a lot of these types of courses. I found that what worked was doing careful Q/E/C style notes on the readings and lecture discussions that related to topics I might tackle in the major paper(s) due in the class. For the rest, I usually wouldn’t bother investing the time…