is especially true of college students, they have
little success, as any college instructor will testify. Students, as a
rule, do not realize that there is any skill involved in taking notes.
Not until examination time arrives and they try vainly to labor through
a maze of scribbling, do they realize that there must be some system in
note-taking. A careful examination of note-taking shows that there are
rules or principles, which, when followed, have much to do with
increasing ability in study.

One criterion that should guide in the preparation of notes is the use
to which they will be put. If this is kept in mind, many blunders will
be saved. Notes may be used in three ways: as material for directing
each day's study, for cramming, and for permanent, professional use.
Thus a note-book may be a thing of far-reaching value. Notes you take
now as a student may be valuable years hence in professional life.
Recognition of this will help you in the preparation of your notes and
will determine many times how they should be prepared.

The chief situations in college which require note-taking are lectures,
library reading and laboratory work. Accordingly the subject will be
considered under these three heads.

LECTURE NOTES.--When taking notes on a lecture, there are two extremes
that present themselves, to take exceedingly full notes or to take
almost no notes. One can err in either direction. True, on first
thought, entire stenographic reports of lectures appear desirable, but
second thought will show that they may be dispensed with, not only
without loss, but with much gain. The most obvious objection is that
too much time would be consumed in transcribing short-hand notes.
Another is that much of the material in a lecture is undesirable for
permanent possession. The instructor repeats much for the sake of
emphasis; he multiplies illustrations, not important in themselves, but
important for the sake of stressing his point. You do not need these
illustrations in written form, however, for once the point is made you
rarely need to depend upon the illustrations for its retention. A still
more cogent objection is that if you occupy your attention with the
task of copying the lecture verbatim, you do not have time to think,
but become merely an automatic recording machine. Experienced
stenographers say that they form the habit of recording so
automatically that they fail utterly to comprehend the meaning of what
is said. You