Note taking at university can take many forms – you can use a pen and paper, tablet or laptop. I recommend you try as many formats as possible, but you must understand why you’re taking notes (and it’s not to scribble down every work the lecturer says).
Apple Notes The stock Notes app that comes with Mac OS itself, is actually not that bad. It comes with basic note taking functionalities like formatting, lists, checkboxes, drag and dropping pictures/files. While it doesn’t offer anything out of the box, where Apple Notes shines is how fast it is to open and get started with a new note. Learn a process to take notes in law school more effectively, using the method pioneered at Cornell University over 50 years ago. Newsletter Sign-Up: http://. Evernote lets students take notes across multiple devices. They can create and organize notebooks for different subjects, using lists, text, images, sounds and other media. Evernote’s interface is simple, which may be helpful for kids who are easily distracted. This lesson will walk you through things to consider before setting 'foot' (physically or virtually!) in a law school doctrinal classroom. You'll learn about how to listen for and capture the most important information, how to maximize your note-taking efficiency by using symbols and shorthand, and the various software options available for taking notes.
It can be pretty easy for new students to get hung up on what to do for their first few lectures – this is a (relatively) quick post on the whys and hows of note taking.
Contents
Why take lecture notes?
The reason for taking notes will depend on how organised you are.
- Fill in the gaps in your knowledge – If you are completely on top of your reading, then your lecture notes will be dot-point reminders of what you need to go back and reread when the class is over (that is, what you didn’t completely understand when reading it the first time round). This will help you consolidate your knowledge and clarify any issues you may have.
- To do the minimum required – Unfortunately, we all find ourselves at this point somewhere along the way! If you’re behind in your reading, then lecture notes are to record any case or cases that the lecturer focused on so that you can add these to the top of your reading list. You don’t want to be in this situation for very long, but when you don’t have enough time to do everything, you should at least read and understand the main cases and concepts.
It’s also very important to remember what lecture notes are not meant for, which is writing down every last word the lecturer says! More on this below.
Effective note taking (plus an example)
You will quickly notice that everyone has their own unique way of taking lecture notes. However, some ways are far more effective and useful than others.
It’s easy as a new student to make the mistake of writing frantically, to the point that you have copied every last word the lecturer has uttered. This is a big mistake, because you are focusing so hard on writing that you don’t have any time to really think about what the lecturer is saying (and in particular, what the lecturer is placing emphasis on).
When you decide to take notes, you should only write down brief notes to job your memory when you come back to them.
For example, you might have finished your readings for contract law, but when you cover the Masters v Cameron case in class, you realise you didn’t fully understand the three classes of contracts. It’s easy at this point to step into auto-mode and start writing everything down, but stop and think about it; you already know you missed a critical point, so whatever you do, you will be reviewing the case after class. Give all your attention to the lecturer and make sure you understand what he or she is saying.
Law School Note Taking Software Mac Os
All you need to write down is:
- Masters v Cameron
- three classes
- 1 – parties reach finality of terms, but will restate later
- 2 – complete agreement, but conditional on execution
- 3 – no bargain unless execution
- also fourth class – another case – Baulkham Hills
That’s it – this could take 10 or 15 minutes for the lecturer to explain, but these are the key points. If you leave the lecture with a half page or full page of notes then you have been inefficient (and probably have a pretty sore hand). I know that it feels like a great safety net, but its not necessary.
At this point I should say that in law (and I’m sure in many other disciplines), your original lecture notes will never make it into any open book exam. They will be messy, unorganised, and incomplete, and you will have almost no time to navigate them in a time pressured exam. And besides, the preparation of your exam notes will require you to start from scratch anyway (I’ll be writing a post on this soon).
It’s all about learning, and as you get more experience in lectures, your notes will shrink. Consider this a (very) good thing because it means that you have learnt what the important parts of a lecture are, and that you are filtering out all the fluff.
The Cornell Notes method
Law School Note Taking Software Mac Pro
The Cornell Notes System will come up a lot if you search for note taking tips in Google. Seriously, no law student I know would have time to invest in this – there is simply too much reading to get through to even consider following this method (just reading the Wikipedia page makes my head hurt).
Hey, if you have time after the mountain of reading to do this, then all power to you. Personally, I would focus on noting down enough information so that you can simply remember what case is being discussed, read it after class, and then using any extra time you have during the semester to prepare your exam script.
So… pen, tablet or laptop?
I have read so much advice on this topic where people just go completely overboard. You must do this, you can never do that! It’s ridiculous. Just pick one and see how it goes. Don’t like it? Then swap over and see what happens.
Use whatever option is easiest right now. Consider how fast you can write or type, whether you want to carry a laptop around, whether your tablet has a detachable keyboard (or whether you can actually use the onscreen keyboard effectively). Cost is another factor.
My note taking technique changed a number of times throughout the degree. I started with a pen and paper notebook. I can still recall how sore my hand was after an hour of solid writing after those first few lectures!
I moved onto a laptop, and instead of actually listening to what important cases and concepts the lecturers were focusing on, I sat there and tried to transcribe the every word that was spoken.
When I figured out that I didn’t need to take so many notes I moved back to a pen, and at times, a laptop when I could be bothered carrying it.
Honestly, at the end of the semester you will be preparing for the exams by using the notes you took when studying, not from your lectures. You’re own lecture notes will only play a small part in your exam preparation.
Note taking software
You will find reviews of different software and apps in a simple Google search.
I’m pretty boring, so I just used Microsoft Word for taking lecture notes (or notepad if I couldn’t be bothered waiting for my ancient laptop to load Word). It’s easy and almost any PC has it installed. Mac users can just use the equivalent (which may very well be Word).
In my opinion, the type of software doesn’t particularly matter, so there is no need to go out and pay money for any software package.
One last thing…
We all fall behind with weekly readings every now and again. Just remember, don’t go back to writing everything down. It only feels like you are being productive.
The best thing you can do is write down what the lecturer was emphasising and then make sure those cases and concepts are at the top of your reading list. When you find time to tackle them, at that point, you will do all the learning.
And as always, if you try these tips and hate it, keep experimenting – everyone is different, and you just need to figure out what works best for you.
Good luck!
Taking notes on a Mac is as simple as opening Notes and starting to type. But the best way to take notes actually depends on your own personal habits and workflow.
Some people are better with sticky notes that stay on your screen all the time, or an app that syncs seamlessly with Calendar and Reminders — like NotePlan. If your notes tend to turn into blog posts, an app like MarsEdit can keep them organized until they’re ready to publish. And if your main focus is writing itself, it doesn’t get better than Ulysses.
Setapp is packed with useful apps that might fit your unique way of note-taking better than a one-size-fits-all solution like Apple’s own Notes. With over 200 apps to choose from — and a free trial — you’re bound to find the best app for jotting down your thoughts. Here are our favorites.
Best note-taking apps for Mac
Get the most out of your notes - with a huge set of top Mac apps in one pack!
Create sticky notes with Unclutter
Unclutter is perfect for capturing the smallest germ of an idea, since it works as both a sticky notes app and a clipboard manager. Because it’s always open, you can write down an idea the second you have it. Unclutter’s notes are sticky because they never go away, and the interface is even better than default sticky notes on the desktop since Unclutter doesn’t clutter up the view when you’re working in other apps.
To access Unclutter, you can just mouse to the top of your screen and scroll down (or choose your own key command), and its three-pane layout appears, with sections labeled Clipboard, Files, and Notes.
In Clipboard, you’ll see a list of everything you’ve copied to your Mac’s clipboard, ready to re-copy and paste whenever and wherever you need. You can star favorite items to keep them accessible here forever.
Files is a handy place to drop files you need an easy access to, like things you’re working on right now.
Unclutter’s Notes pane is a text field where you can type out notes and also drag text and links into. You can keep one long-running note to yourself or create multiple notes and view them in a list — the Search field searches the full text of all of your notes, so you can always find what you’re looking for. All panes are easy to resize to give yourself more room.
Unclutter is easy to fit into your workflow since it’s always there, and the search field helps you find things later. Dropbox integration even syncs your Unclutter files and notes across multiple Macs. When you want to turn your thoughts into something more edited, you can choose another note-taking app from Setapp.
NotePlan for tasks + calendar + notes
If you’re looking for a productivity app that can change the way you work, NotePlan is your best choice. It combines notes, powerful markdown, Calendar, a handy spot for to-dos with progress tracking, Reminders, and so much more. In the recent update, NotePlan added bi-directional links so you can create links across all your notes. Also, it supports fast CloudKit sync that allows you to transfer and backup content safely across devices.
It’s fair to say that NotePlan replaces macOS apps like Notes, Reminders, and Calendar completely. Even more, it gives you the power of such popular tools like Bear, Evernote, and Notion — in a single interface and for a lower price.
For instance, Bear has great Markdown but doesn’t link with Calendar. Notion has a lovely interface but you can’t use it for recurring reminders. Evernote with its premium features is just too expensive for many folks. So NotePlan really fills the void here. Try NotePlan Mac and iOS app for 7 days free with Setapp.
MarsEdit and Strike for blogging
MarsEdit makes it easy to create content, cleverly edit what you write, and integrate with WordPress as well as other blog publishing services right from the app. Besides giving you a place to write in Markdown or Rich and Plain text, MarsEdit lets you build and format robust blog posts, complete with links, images, and other media. You can add tags and schedule your posts to go live anytime.
MarsEdit even makes it easy to gather links and media to blog about. It has a Safari extension that lets you save URLs and start blogging instantly once you find something worth writing about.
If you’re looking for a writing tool that allows to collaborate on a doc, you should go with Strike. This effortless text editor lets up to 10 people to work on the same content in real time.
Improve your writing with Ulysses
Ulysses is a writing app with outstanding organizational features, so you can move from notes to an outline to a full manuscript. In fact, Ulysses is a popular app for Mac users participating in NaNoWriMo, a month-long exercise that encourages people to write a novel. It has all kinds of features to get you to write more, from flexible themes to eliminate distractions, to writing goals that count words written.
You can use Ulysses to post to a WordPress blog, export Word documents, or even format an entire ebook. But at the most fundamental level, it’s a great note-taking app because you never have to save anything, and your writing can sync between multiple Macs and iOS devices via iCloud or Dropbox. Your notes can contain images, keywords, and PDFs. The search function is incredibly thorough; for example, you can find keywords in notes created before a certain date, in case you want to see how your thoughts about something have evolved over time.
Take study notes with Studies
While other note-taking apps are flexible enough to handle work and personal topics side-by-side, Studies is created especially for those in academic settings. It’s designed to take your notes and turn them into study notes, which are basically flashcards on steroids.
Instead of a traditional two-sided flashcard for memorizing terms, the study notes in Studies can have as many “sides” as you need. They can contain text, images, videos, even audio. This makes them flexible enough that you can create study notes for any subject, from accounting to zoology. You can share study notes with classmates or even download pre-written note sets from Quizlet.
Then, you can use Studies to quiz yourself. The app can set up a schedule for you, based on prepping for an exam or just learning the material as quickly as you can. It chooses notes to study every day, and the cards you got wrong will re-appear more frequently in future sessions, so you can get it right.
Setapp puts all the best note-taking apps together
All these note-taking apps are available in Setapp, so you have access to them for your ideal workflow. You could start an idea as a sticky note in Uncluttered, paste it into NotePlan, where you flesh out the idea a little more. Then, maybe you want to turn that note into a full-featured blog post for the world to read. Ulysses and MarsEdit got your back there, too.
It’s all up to you, and Setapp lets you focus on the work, instead of finding the right apps, buying them, and then buying them again for updates. Just consider subscribing once and get everything you need in one place.