Text Book and Lecture Notes

To organize complete and accurate notes from textbooks and lectures, a learner must recognize the clues to main ideas and details. Once main ideas and details have been identified, notes can be organized in a manner that promotes and not hinders learning.

IN TEXTBOOKS

Pay attention to the following: 

• Bold print
• Italics
• Chapter title
• Sub-headings
• Numbered items
• Graphs, Charts, and Diagrams
• Colored or highlighted words and phrases
• Lettered items 
• Numbered items
• Chapter summaries
• Chapter questions
• Listing or outline of the main ideas in the chapter

IN LECTURES

• Topics to be covered that are listed on the board or overhead
• Main ideas and details placed on the chalkboard
• Verbal listing of topics to be covered
• Clue words such as: "First........... "Next........"Furthermore...... "The first step.... "Last............. "Then............. "More importantly....."In contrast..... “Another .......
• Information that is repeated
• Gestures such as pointing, especially at ideas on the board
• Concepts in lecture AND in the textbook
• Instructor may tell you something is important
• Raising or lowering of voice pitch/loudness
• Instructor speaks faster or slower
• Topics covered in handouts
• The amount of time spent on an idea or concept: more time means more importance
• Ideas covered on overhead projections
• Questions an instructor asks in class