The importance of note-taking

Amarillo College has an abundant supply of students determined to reach their goal of graduating, which involves attending class lectures and taking notes given by the professor. "A lot of people expect college to be easy when they first start and often over-estimate themselves, not taking it seriously, so my advice is to take lots of notes if you want to succeed here at AC," said Chenelle Moyer, a psychology major. Instructors often accommodate their classes with bundles of notes with the intention of helping students prepare for tests. "I have attended AC part-time for four years, and throughout that period of time I have learned it is important to take complete, well-written and organized notes for a test," said Christina Duke, a psychology major. "The most effective way to take notes is to categorize, using bullets and laminations." Writing down the information presented by the professor can be used as a study guide for a quiz or test. "No matter how boring the class is, I try not to fall asleep because when the teacher writes something on the board, that indicates to me that it's important and potential test information, so I write it down," said Graham Sample, a general studies major. "I write down information given by the professor if it's something I don't know, might forget or could appear on the test," Moyer said. On occasion, students are unable to take notes for themselves. That doesn't have to be a problem, however, because classmates often will help out and jot down notes for the individual. For some students, even though they are incapable of writing, note-taking still is important to their college career. "Since I'm blind I have someone take notes for me, and often professors submit notes or a study guide for me online," said Jeff Weiss, a general studies major. "I input the notes into my computer, which reads it back to me." Students have their own styles of note-taking, using their own systems that help them learn. "When I go home, I find that re-writing my notes helps me to study and at times re-organize something that is sloppy," said Emmanuel Sanchez, an aerospace engineering major. "By doing this, I soak everything in." Students are opinionated when it comes to advice on how to generate note-taking skills. "My advice is to just do it and study, because that is the main point of taking notes," Weiss said. "Persevere through the class and take notes if you want success."