19 Feb 2015

term one's lecture notes turned into revision notes

Firstly, happy Chinese new year to you all! I hope you all have an amazing year of good health and see an advancement in your careers and study.

Now, onto the blog post itself. Term one had a few lectures that were ridiculous. Ridiculous in the sense that they had an extraordinary amount of content in for a one hour lecture and were almost as deep as the sea when it came to how much we were expected to know about a relatively small subject.

To try and combat any feeling of fear ('OMG how am I going to know all this by exams!?'), I decided to write out these lecture notes onto an A4 piece of paper each. Sometimes, I would fail and I would need two sheets (I blame the lecturer more than myself for that - just look how small my handwriting is!) but it meant that I had everything on a page or two, rather than on a lecture handout that had six slides to each page and still managed to span ten sides of A4.


Whilst writing out the lecture notes, I try and add in some colour (hello Zebra Mildliners, Muji gel pens and Pilot Juice gels!) whilst also keeping it as minimalistic as possible. Headers were underlined with the thin nib of the Zebra Mildliners and sub-headings were written or underlined in coloured gel ink.

Doing this ensures that the content I have to learn doesn't look so daunting - I lose interest quickly when flicking through pages and pages of lecture slides that aren't handwritten so this ensures that my eyes stay on the page and actually take things in. Usually, I end up making flashcards with these notes but only on the content that I am struggling to take in rather than everything on the page. I also transfer the more difficult bits onto a post-it note as that is another way to break down the material further.

23 comments

  1. I would love to take a peek at your notes on immunodeficiency and on childhood cancer. One of my hobbies is now reading my pathology reports the doctors send me. Not because I'm afraid of getting sick again but just out of nerdy curiosity. ;)

    I've been getting immunoglobulin therapy and it's been fun researching what that is and then explaining it to my mom. (The moment I said "protein" she immediately jumped on the "you're not eating enough" train. Not that kind of protein, Mom!)

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    1. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to share these notes due to copyright issues and also rules from my medschool :( It's good to hear you're interested in your path reports though - doctors who have taught me always say how great it is when patients know more than them about their condition :) Might end up asking you for advice as immunodeficiency and childhood cancers are tough topics to learn about scientifically and I can only imagine how much harder they will be to come across in real life.

      Haha - totally know what you mean about explaining things! x

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  2. These are probably the prettiest notes I have ever seen! I have tried multiple ways of taking notes, with color coding and different indent systems and symbols and it always ends up a jumbled mess. But this is downright beautiful. :D

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    1. Thanks Jessica! I think it does take some trial and error to find a way that works for you :) And it doesn't matter if you think it's a mess; one person's mess is another person's neat! x

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  3. These are very neat revision notes! I'm currently trying to make mine for A-level exams and will definitely take your tip at trying to get everything on one A4 page!
    Olivia x
    sunshineinadress.blogspot.com

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  4. Your notes are really pretty! I wish I had neat hand writing, but I don't no matter how hard I try. I think my notes are okay when I try really, really, really hard;)
    ~Emily

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    1. Thanks Emily! I bet your notes look fine :) I always wish I could write neatly in cursive but I always come back to printing because it just looks neater this way x

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  5. Wow I wish I could've made such beautiful notes at college, but hopefully I can when I get into uni :) Your blog is so motivational!

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    1. Thanks Abby! Good luck with your uni applications and it's never too early to start honing your note taking techniques :) x

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  6. So... pretty! and organizated!
    Your blog is so.. woo

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  7. How do you write like that? I try to write neat but it ends up sloppy. Do you write slowly, or fast? I also love your blog -- so inspiring!

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    1. It's just how I've always written - I can't really explain haha! I write at a moderate pace :)

      Thanks! x

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  8. I always found that handwriting lecture notes helped me learn the content. I thought I just couldn't study straight off typed notes or text books, but I think that writing out the content probably helps stick it in your mind. Good luck.

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    1. Agree - handwriting helps me absorb things easier :) I can't stand typed notes as my eyes just get too used to it for some reason. Thanks for the luck (definitely need it hehe) x

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  9. Your organization and studiousness is such an inspiration!! I've nominated you for a Liebster Award :)

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    1. Thank you lovely! And thank you for the Liebster Award :) x

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  10. Just wondering, when do you write these notes? After lecture or over the weekend?

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    1. Hi! I write them out as soon as I can after the lecture x

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  11. After you finish writing up your notes how do you go abouts at studying them? Do you read them over and over again?
    Also, when you go to lectures do you take notes in like a separate notebook so you can afford to be messy then re-write them afterwards? :D

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  12. After you finish writing up all of your notes, how do you go abouts at studying them? Do you read them over and over again, especially when there are lots of concepts for that subject?
    Also, during lecture do you take notes in a separate notebook so you can be messy then re-write it into a neater version after?

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    1. I rewrite them but not as neat when re-reading them and convert the concepts I struggle with onto flashcards. I also do practice questions :)

      During lectures, I use a notebook where notes can be messy with arrows everywhere and squiggles, etc and then re-write them after. Hope this helps! x

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