Study Strategies Taking Notes in Class What your instructor says in class almost always represents the most important material in any course. It is this material that you will need to master in order to succeed on homework and exams, and in order to apply the course lessons to your other academic work and to your life beyond college. Therefore, taking effective class notes is essential. Use the strategies below to help you create class notes that will be useful days, weeks, and months later. • Take a seat in the classroom where you can see and hear the instructor clearly. • Review any assigned materials and your notes from the previous class. This will help warm up your mind for the lessons to come. • Turn off your cell phone! • Bring to class a writing tool that works for you. For math classes, you will usually want to use a pencil. Remember to bring more than one, or at least a pencil sharpener! • Plan to write your notes in a loose-leaf notepad, taking notes on only one side of the page. This will allow you to spread your notes out in front of you when you study. • Listen actively. Concentrate on what your instructor is saying, and try to make sense of it. • Don’t attempt to write down everything. Instead, focus on identifying and writing down the key concepts, formulas, and insights. • Ask questions! Asking questions also helps ensure that you are engaged with what you’re hearing. • As the class is wrapping up, look over your notes. Be sure that you can read them and that they refl ect what has been covered. (Use the emPOWERme on page 298 to evaluate your notes in more detail.) • If there is a concept you didn’t understand, feel free to talk to your instructor about it after class. If he or she doesn’t have time to discuss it then, visit during offi ce hours. • As soon as the class is fi nished, read over your notes. This critical step helps transfer the information you’ve just learned into long-term memory. • If you were “lost” during class, consider getting extra help in your school’s math lab or from a math tutor. 242 CHAPTER 4 Linear Equations and Inequalities in Two Variables www.mhhe.com/messersmith
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