Lectures and Note-Taking

In Australian universities lectures are never the only source of formation about a course; nor are they a sufficient source on their own. So trying to take down immensely detailed notes in lectures not necessarily a good strategy for study. In some courses, as in Science, first-year lectures follow the sequence of a textbook or work manual; they expand, explain an develop the text. For such courses you are expected to buy a: w relevant textbooks, as prescribed by the lecturer, and read relevant section before each lecture.

Then you do not need to detailed notes and any additional explanations or examples which help to throw ­light on the text. In other courses the lectures may be a way . of teaching a process, rather than Imparting content. For example, in Law the lecture may be a practical demonstration of the way to read and analyse a case, or in Forestry how to measure timber f rom a stand of trees, In other courses, such as Biochemistry his tory, the lectures may raise a variety of different theories about .

Structures or conflicting interpretations of an historical event ­such cases one major objective of the lecturer is to direct range of books and articles in which You can follow some of controversies in more detail. In lectures of this type you need ten attentively making notes on important ideas and key references which you must work on later in your own time. So there is taking which is effective for all situations. As always, you must adjust your strategy to each new situation.

As local students become more experienced and more confident in their studies, they adapt their responses to lectures in their own purposes. If the lectures are central to the coverage and understanding of the material in the course, then they plan to them regularly. If they miss a lecture, they try to borrow note­ a friend or, if the lecture has been recorded on tape, they arrange listen to the tape in the audio-visual centre or wherever it a available for students to use.

In some courses a student may decided to skip a lecture if he is under pressure to complete an assignment. Missing a lecture is much more common than missing a tutorial lab session, and it is more common in courses where the cop the lectures is at least partly available in a textbook or soma source, such as notes provided by the lecturer himself. In may lectures the experienced student takes only a couple of pages of notes in the whole hour. These may consist merely of phrases or words to remind him of the points the lecturer has raised.His

their own purposes

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