Note taking during lectures

[Sugarcoat]

I have been considering wether to take notes using my computer or to write by hand

By hand:

Pros:

You can write uncommon signs/symbols (for example in chemistry) that can be hard to know how to write on computer. Draw arrows between sentences, add color etc.

Apparently it helps memorization when you have to physically write something 

If you wanna use your computer, you’ll have less tabs that you have to switch between and move around , because you have your notes separate from the computer.

Cons:

Takes longer. 
Messier. Not as pretty. 
Harder to edit.
 

Computer:

Pros:

Faster to write, faster to edit. Cleaner.

You have everything in one place so it’s less stuff to keep track off

Cons:

Hard to write certain odd symbols unless you have a lot of technical skill. 
 

Maybe not as good in making you remember as when you write by hand 

• Other thoughts about notetaking:

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to write. Today I mostly wrote down key words/points, but the thing is, key words are already present in the PowerPoint that the lecturer shows (that is accessible to students later too). So it feels unnecessary to only write key phrases.

The best thing would be to write down things that are NOT present in PowerPoint, but that the lecturer says.

But if you do only that; you will have notes that are just a bunch of random facts without context, so it might be hard to understand. So it’s like you must write the key phrases first to create context.

But it’s hard because if you write too much you can’t keep up with what’s being said

So you have to pick and choose wisely

hmmmm…

Does anyone have smart tips on note taking? What do you think is best method? Personally I think when one studies alone outside of lectures it can be good to write notes on paper to practice memorizing (because then you have a lot of time to write) but when you’re listening to a lecture you wanna be quick so it’s better on computer. 
 

 

[Innerview]

I like to write by hand because when I look back at my notes i can remember writing exact entrees much easier than if I typed them. Helps me study more.

[Vali2003]

@Sugarcoat  Do you mostly have technical classes, where you solve stuff like math problems?  

In that case, your number one priority should be to note down the given problem and the solution. However, if the problems are given on the slides and you have access to them, then no need to write it down. Second priority would be to note down wherever you get confused. You can go to the professor after class and ask them about those sections and fill in your notes.

In classical lectures where the professor reads from his slides more or less, it's useless to copy the slides. As you say, you can access them later anyways. However, not doing anything is really unproductive because you drift into monkey mind so easily.

The best thing to do is to summarize the key insight from each slide in your own words, in one sentence. Don't look at the slide while writing. It has to be from memory. This forces you to stay present during the lecture and go over what you just learned. When you go through this process, you discover what you understand poorly. The things you understand well, will stick to your brain. You're basically already studying during the lecture, while staying really active. Your understanding will be so much better this way, and studying for the exam at the end of the semester will be much less effort. It really pays off and going to class becomes a lot more fun, because you feel smarter and more competent than before. 

What degree are you pursuing?

 

 

 

 

[Vali2003]

@Sugarcoat Ah, in terms of by hand vs. laptop. For me, laptop is much better because I can write faster, it's less painful for my hands, and it's easier to organize the notes. But I see how it would be difficult to do it for chemistry. My suggestions is, to research if there's a computer program for chemistry stuff so you can have the benefits of a laptop, while still being able to do all the proper symbols etc. 

[AION]

I use my laptop because I need to rearrange my notes. 

[Sugarcoat]

On 2025-08-28 at 3:00 PM, Innerview said:

I like to write by hand because when I look back at my notes i can remember writing exact entrees much easier than if I typed them. Helps me study more.

That’s the biggest benefit of writing on paper I think

[Sugarcoat]

On 2025-08-28 at 5:31 PM, Vali2003 said:

@Sugarcoat  Do you mostly have technical classes, where you solve stuff like math problems?  

No. Only a little math in chemistry

On 2025-08-28 at 5:31 PM, Vali2003 said:

@Sugarcoat  

In that case, your number one priority should be to note down the given problem and the solution. However, if the problems are given on the slides and you have access to them, then no need to write it down. Second priority would be to note down wherever you get confused. You can go to the professor after class and ask them about those sections and fill in your notes.

 

Noting when you get confused is important if you didn’t find a moment to ask directly by raising hand 

 

On 2025-08-28 at 5:31 PM, Vali2003 said:

@Sugarcoat  

In classical lectures where the professor reads from his slides more or less, it's useless to copy the slides. As you say, you can access them later anyways. However, not doing anything is really unproductive because you drift into monkey mind so easily.

Yes. Writing at least something, forces you to think about the info you are writing down. So it helps focus in that way

Its then a matter of what you write down, preferably facts that aren’t on the slides

 

On 2025-08-28 at 5:31 PM, Vali2003 said:

@Sugarcoat  

The best thing to do is to summarize the key insight from each slide in your own words, in one sentence. Don't look at the slide while writing. It has to be from memory. This forces you to stay present during the lecture and go over what you just learned. When you go through this process, you discover what you understand poorly. The things you understand well, will stick to your brain. You're basically already studying during the lecture, while staying really active. Your understanding will be so much better this way, and studying for the exam at the end of the semester will be much less effort. It really pays off and going to class becomes a lot more fun, because you feel smarter and more competent than before.

What degree are you pursuing?

That’s a good tip! Writing shortly makes it so you don’t loose ability to listen too much, while still retaining the most important info 

I’m gonna study nutrition (I start on Monday officially)

 

[Sugarcoat]

On 2025-08-28 at 5:35 PM, Vali2003 said:

@Sugarcoat Ah, in terms of by hand vs. laptop. For me, laptop is much better because I can write faster, it's less painful for my hands, and it's easier to organize the notes. But I see how it would be difficult to do it for chemistry. My suggestions is, to research if there's a computer program for chemistry stuff so you can have the benefits of a laptop, while still being able to do all the proper symbols etc. 

That’s so smart I didn’t think of that!

[Sugarcoat]

On 2025-08-28 at 6:12 PM, AION said:

I use my laptop because I need to rearrange my notes. 

In that case it’s a good choice 

[Sucuk Ekmek]

Pen and paper for me. I have my own symbolic language, so I can keep up and ask questions etc... My lectures were theoretical, I don't know your context but for back and forth discussions, I find computer unreliable also heavy.

My system is not advanced like this but to get the idea this is the core of it.

 

 

[EdgeGod900]

If you want the mobility of computers, but the tactile feeling of a physical item, you need to invest in a scanner/printer and a shredder. Scan your notes(then turn into pdf), and shred em when you need to move to a  different apartment, and then print them again once you need em.

 

Here's my personal note taking style btw:

I freestyle: where I write/draw the way my mind interconnects and visualizes my understanding of the subject matter. Hard to give an example of this

I also tend create headers that are phrased as contemplative questions;

For example, when I took a "Food Handling" course, one of my headers was "Why should I care about handling food safely?," and part of what I wrote underneath was, "Because even tho this is a dream, I don't want to hurt other people."

Another example, with Calculus: "Why do we use two points to approximate the slope of a curve at a point,?" "because two points makes a line, and lines are a way to model calculus in a way we can intuitively understand. There could be an unknown method of modeling calculus,  but lines are something that most humans can get onboard with, and acts as a standard way of commutincating calculus among people."

And then even for the formulas themselves I ask why they're like that, and then I write it down. Sometimes I might even look at the proof, and ask why the proof for that formula is the way it is. But be mindful, the biggest issue I had was I get stuck in this rabbithole of asking why, that I forget I still have 4 other courses I need to study for, and dont got the time to get to the root; in that case, I write down in my notes: "for the sake of this course's constraints I can only go this deep into this matter and just leave my understanding at this depth for now."

 

Edited September 4 by EdgeGod900

[Human Mint]

I use a graphic tablet to take notes in my computer. I use Xournal++ wich is open source and lets you draw over PDFs, before I used One Note from windows but doesn't support pdf files as well as Xournal. No other program (all the paid ones like Acrobat) can do this simple task. If you buy a tactil laptop with pencil then better, but costs more. Graphic tablets are quite cheap and it's like drawing on paper plus the tools of drawing softwares for pc.

Edited September 7 by Human Mint