Sometimes, my students make me laugh.
Not long ago, I was teaching a TOEFL preparation class, and I asked my students to listen to a lecture and take notes.
I pressed PLAY on the CD player…and immediately they all began writing so quickly, I couldn’t see their hands! Their pens moved so fast, they began fanning the room!
I stopped the activity. “No! No! No!” I cried. “Don’t try to write down EVERY word!” They all looked up, confused.
Then I told them what I am going to tell you now:
The key to good note-taking isn’t writing MORE notes, it’s writing more EFFECTIVE notes.