SU/Cornell Notes

      Before I arrived in college I never really had a specific way of studying. Depending upon what class it was I would study the material in different ways. However, once I got to Syracuse and I started receiving the course material for the semester I was very overwhelmed. I wasn't sure how I should study for all my different classes.
     As my first college exam approached I sort of just allowed myself to study the way I thought was effective. Although, this way did leave me with a B+ it wasn't until I started taking CLS-105 that I understood the true way of preparing my notes for a test.
     I have enjoyed experimenting a couple of the note taking strategies over the past couple of weeks. Yet, when it came to writing a blog I decided to choose my favorite and apply it to two of my courses. SU/Cornell notes has really proved to be the most useful strategy for me.
     The reason why I like SU/Cornell notes the best is because how organized my ideas are. There is a specific place for me to record everything I hear in the lecture and then for me to later annotate and put the information into my own words. As I have previously mentioned in my exam prep blog, I always need to have more information then necessary and this strategy allows me to do this.
     The first course I used the SU/Cornell notes in was my PRL-206 class. This course is very much based on the notes we receive in class. Although my professor does post the power points on blackboard. During my faculty interview assignment she stressed the importance of not only taking down whats on the power points but in addition any other points she elaborates on. This strategy allows me to take down as much information during the class period as possible and then go back and rewrite the most important points and key words. Then after you do that leave it for a couple of days. This allows for the information to soak in your system and a few days later revisit it and summarize everything you remember. This is a helpful tactic for me in that I am constantly revisiting my notes and not allowing the information to be forgotten.

     The second course I choose to use the SU/Cornell notes in was my SOC-101 class. The reason I choose to use this course was because the entire class period is based on the notes we take. My entire grade for the semester is based on 2 tests, 2 projects, and 6 responses. That means in order to do well on any of these three assignments I must have sufficient notes to pull information from. Therefore, similar to my PRL class throughout the class period I take down as much notes as possible this includes both the power point information and the topics my teacher elaborates on. After the class I annotate the notes and write down key words and terms in my own words. This helps me to conceptualize the concepts that might seem a little daunting when explained in "textbook" language. I am happy that I discovered this strategy and plan to use it in this course for the rest of the semester.

     I have really enjoyed using this strategy. I believe that it will help me in the future when I am preparing for exams in that it will cut down the amount of time it takes me to create a study guide. All my ideas will now be organized and allow me to dive right into exam prep. In addition, a lot of the information that will be on the exam will now be just review because this note taking strategy forced me to revisit my notes at least 2 times before I actually have to study it for a test. The only downside to this strategy is that it doesn't allow you to create possible exam questions which is a crucial component to succeeding on an exam. I look forward to using SU/Cornell notes in the future and I know that it will ultimately help me be more successful.