Chaos to Clarity: Learning from Your Notes

While it is an intuitive method, note-taking should not be simply transcribing the lecturer’s remarks. There should be an organisational mechanism helping you sort through the numerous ideas and doctrines relayed to you in those two hours. With exam season fast approaching, below is a list of tips I’ve gathered and relied upon over the course of my degree that have helped me better prepare for assessments in the long run.

1. Organisation is Key

The best way to keep track of key principles, case law, and legislation is to organise them in a system that works for you. There are many ways to do this, and your method should reflect your learning style.

One effective approach is colour-coding to distinguish remarks from textbooks, case law, workshops, and lectures. Another useful tool is a table or chart, especially for case summaries. For example, you could create a separate document with a three-column table listing the case name, the principle it establishes or affirms, and a brief summary of the facts.

Regularly consolidating your lecture notes and organising them into your preferred structure will help you stay consistent in your learning and will make it easier to identify gaps in your understanding early on.

2. Topics vs Lectures

A simple and common tip is to separate your notes by topic, not by lecture number. Doing so will keep your content consolidated and organised into a singular document, as opposed to having to navigate multiple tabs during revision or an open-book exam.

3. The Abundance of Case Law

When preparing for problem questions, make sure you note the leading case that establishes the rule, the cases that confirm or develop it, the legal test (where one exists), and any authorities that create exceptions. Organising your notes this way will help you recall and apply the relevant principles much faster in an exam.

4. Learning Outcomes

Lectures usually open with a list of learning outcomes that show you exactly what you should understand by the end of the topic. When revising, try drafting answers to these outcomesfrom memory without referring to your notes. It’s a simple way to test whether you truly understand the material, not just recognise it on the page.

5. Additional Tip

Make use of office hours to discuss your essay structure with your professors. While problem questions usually follow a clear IRAC-style framework, essays can be far more nuanced. Talking through your planned structure, approach, and choice of academic sources, within reason, will give you a clearer understanding of what a strong essay looks like for that particular course.

As always, best of luck!