Institute of Communications Studies – Study Skills

LECTURES
what they are for and what to do with them
WHAT USE ARE LECTURES?

1) A good lecture/lecturer can be an inspiration to study.

2) A lecture is an opportunity to access an expert in the field.
3) A lecture is one method of transmitting/receiving a very concentrated
form of information.
4) In a lecture you will experience the use of the language of your
discipline - You will be gaining familiarity with that language and the
skill of utilising it.
5) Lectures are live and (if you make the effort) can be interactive.
6) Lectures are an effective guide to further study, providing ‘signposts’
to guide you through the course.
7) Examinations are set on the assumption that you have attended them.

What should the student do in a lecture? Usually this question boils down
to an issue about how to retain all the useful information being offered.

HOW DO I RETAIN THE INFORMATION?

The simple answer is to ‘make notes’ but how? And what for?

1) BEFORE THE LECTURE – prepare

• Read the module guide and ask yourself why this lecture’s topic is part
of this module’s syllabus?
• Check past essay questions/exam papers: what aspects of this
topic/issue are examined and how?
• Do some preliminary reading.
• Think: what do you already know about this topic? What would you like
to know? How are you going to use the information?

2) DURING THE LECTURE - an active learning approach to note making

Listen actively:

• Note keywords, make connections.

• Note questions you may want to ask (then and there in the lecture,
later in seminars or in your reading).
• Note names, dates, details of reading or sources you will want to refer
to later.

(n.b. the skill of listening, selecting, writing and listening again takes time
- but can only be developed with lots of practice. Start with your first
lecture.)

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL HAND-OUTS GIVEN BEFORE, DURING &
AFTER THE LECTURE.

3) AFTER THE LECTURE - using those notes

It is received wisdom that 98% of information we are told is lost within

three weeks unless that information is used.

• As soon as possible after the lecture rewrite your notes into a shorter,
neater version (possibly patterned) notes
• Try to write down the key points and connections from memory
(Always recheck after this exercise. There is no point remembering
information which is incorrect)
• Compare your notes with other students.
• Discuss the lecture with fellow students and the lecturer (why not?)

Do you agree with what you were told? If not, why not - what is your
evidence base for your agreement or disagreement?

• Engage in some follow up activity - link the lecture with other

information or other topics. Do some follow up reading - but make sure
it is active reading :why are you reading? Which sources will supply the
information you need?
• Organise your notes. This process itself helps you to retain the
information - it also means you can find and utilise your hard earned
knowledge at a later date (e.g. for exam revision)

THE MECHANICS OF NOTE MAKING

There are as many ways of making notes as there are students. No one
method is right. But see our Guide to Note-Making for some handy
advice.
Authored: Graham Roberts 1998