Advice on how to get good grades & note taking
As much this is an advice to others, this is also a reminder to myself. After a not so great semester, I felt like it would be great to aggregate the advice that has helped me, and those that I know will help me if I act on them, and share it with others.
If you enjoy reading pieces like this, do consider subscribing to this newsletter to receive interesting posts like this straight into your inbox. I write about a range of issues from ideas, mental models, book reviews to policy analysis, law and technology etc. It’d be great to have you over!
Law school advice (extrapolatable to other disciplines)
I collected the following from various sources - online websites, professors and from peers. Whenever I’ve abided by this code, I have done pretty well academically. So I thought it would be great to share this with others.
How to make notes
Pay absolute attention in class. Write down what the professor says is important. Also write why it is important.
Whenever the prof says that there is a test/process, write the test/process down with all its steps.
If the professor talks about overarching themes, and case comparisons - write that down.
Note down the leanings and the personal lenses that the prof uses while teaching in order to gauge what they’re more inclined to.
Make notes of: Assigned reading + What you will be tested on + What the professor says in class.
Note down whatever the profs include in the summary of the previous class. They mostly only cover the important stuff.
What should be in your notes?
The black letter law i.e. the statute as it is. (For other disciplines, any rule)
Write down the areas of ambiguity (so that you know both as a student and as a lawyer where the room to maneuver is)
How to apply the law i.e. the interpretations and the examples that help you appreciate the differences between statutes and the way they are interpreted.
Was there a policy consideration that lead to a change? What was the policy consideration? Why did something change, if it did and why didn't something change if it was up for discussion.
Framework for note taking:
Black-letter law
Factual or legal ambiguity
How to apply the law
Policy arguments
Professor obsessions
There is also a popular way to take notes - called the Cornell note taking system. The screen grabs are taken from here.
Things to take note of:
Make a list of questions you want answered in class
The three point note taking system:
a) Read before the class, read the statute, develop an outline
b) Take good notes in class
c) Make outlines consolidating (a) and (b) into an online document for revision
I had written about some insights I developed while learning online, sometime back. You can read the full piece here. Here is the relevant advice.
1. Attend classes regularly (but also skip them strategically) - We've all been through the cycle in which we miss one class and then nothing makes sense to us in later classes. You want to stay away from that because it further disincentives you to attend future classes, and before we know - the whole semester has gone by. However, the more important aspect is to learn how to skip classes effectively. Look at classes as an investment in time and mental energy. As is the case with every investment - you want positive returns, not a zero sum game and surely not negative returns. Look at classes through a cost benefit analysis. And thus skip the classes for which you think what is taught is roughly equal to what you can learn on your own at your own time. Now, to make that judgement (and correct judgement is the most important bit of it) you'll actually have to attend all of your classes for some time. It is very important to look past the guilt of not attending classes, because if it is guilt that is making you stay - you're probably wasting your time being in class and not learning anything.
2. Keep asking questions (it's the teachers job to answer them) - It's pretty much a no brainer. You are in the class to learn, and hesitating to ask questions hurts your ability to learn. It is not important for you to always ask your questions in class (although some of your questions can benefit the class as well). You can always text/email/call your professors. Prefer asking your professors the questions rather than trying to find all the answers yourself (even if you're confident that you can) because professors always bring a different and interesting angle to the conversation which can interest you further. (a funny anecdote: a professor actually admonished me for asking a question while she was speaking because she said that it interrupts her train of thought, and then went on to say "well now I've lost my train of thought").
3. Read material before class (or after - whatever works for you) - The caveat for this advice is to of course try to do this for all classes but if you cannot (or think that you can do without it and score as well) do it for all classes, do it for subjects you care about deeply. Prioritization is very important, both in academics and in life. I've always enjoyed classes far more when I've done the readings before - as it allows me to participate fully in the discussion and also makes me ask better questions.
4. Read outside class (literally and academically) - One of the things I'm most particular about in subjects that I enjoy (I would try to parcel this advice for all subjects but I'd be lying if I said that I did this for all subjects. You will not find some subjects interesting and that's okay. You can't like everything) is to read outside the curriculum on aspects that interest me. Not only does it give a better perspective on what you're studying in class but also fills in the knowledge gap that might be unintentionally left out in the curriculum. Try to read blogs, read articles and watch videos (even though the most effective way in my opinion is to read academic papers). It leaves you richer in your understanding of your subject (or at least will compellingly show you how little you know. I find it very humbling).
5. Talk to your classmates about what you study in class - This is a bit tricky because this advice is based on the idea that knowledge always grows from a conversation between two people interested in something. But, because we aren't with each other - either in classrooms or otherwise it becomes very difficult to talk to your classmates about a lot of things (than would otherwise be possible while taking a stroll or sharing a bowl of Maggi for example). If you find people that are interested in the things you are as well, try to talk to them. This can work well especially for classes because then you can keep a track of readings and assignments and can help each other out. Working alone is a bug rather than a feature most of the times.
I also did a thread on how to take good notes recently.
Adjacently, I have written about the advice I would give my 18 year old self here, my thoughts on futility of attendance requirement here, my attempt at articulating why online education is no good - at all, here, my struggle with becoming independent of marks here, and tackling the question of what constitutes an ideal learning outcome here.
Interested in becoming smarter? Join Asymptotic knowledge.
Cornell notes is one of the most productive note-taking methods to write synopsizes. Using templates of Cornell notes system can even boost the productivity: https://productive.fish/blog/cornell-notes/