Despite what some people may think, sleeping is not the best thing to do in a lecture. If you take notes you will have a better base to revise from and you can remember things that you need to look up later.

You need to get an organizational system in place. Buy notebooks for each subject and write the date in the top left, lecturer in the top right and the main topic of discussion in the middle. Use this for all your lecture notes as this will help keep you organized.

Next you need to work out a short hand writing technique. Writing everything out will just waste time and you will miss key facts. Instead of writing “and” you could use a “+” sign. When you do work out a code you need to keep to it.

Don’t use your notes that you take as you final ones. If you re write the notes when you get back to your room, not only will it give you a neater copy (with no shorthand) it will also reinforce what you have learnt.

If you rule off a section of each page at the top (say 5 – 10 lines on lined paper) then you have a “jot” section. Here you have a space to write definitions or questions that you need to read up on.

The most important thing you need to remember when taking notes is that consistency counts.