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Hi all,

Just wondering what the consensus opinion is on hand writing notes in class. I keep seeing people talk about typing their notes, which is obviously important when outlining, but I figured that the typed notes are important for out of class work. So, i guess the question is: is typing notes in class the gospel?

Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

Not at all. Some old-school professors actually ban laptops in the classroom. Again, you probably want a typed outline for aesthetic and writer's-cramp-related reasons, but you're fine writing by hand in class.

cavalier1138 wrote:

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

Not at all. Some old-school professors actually ban laptops in the classroom. Again, you probably want a typed outline for aesthetic and writer's-cramp-related reasons, but you're fine writing by hand in class.

I hand write all my notes and have done alright so far.

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

You're not entering a parallel universe, do whatever works for you.

I handwrote and did fine. I think it encouraged me to be selective in what I wrote down, which worked well for how I outline and study.

+1 for handwriting notes. Forces you to quickly digest the information since you have time to write only the important details. The few times I took notes by laptop, I found that I wasn't really absorbing any of the material. I was just on autopilot, typing whatever the professor was saying.

Plus, it gives you a reason to type the notes into an outline. And easier to draw diagrams.

But really, do what works best for you. Don't be afraid to experiment for a week or so.

cavalier1138 wrote:

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

Not at all. Some old-school professors actually ban laptops in the classroom. Again, you probably want a typed outline for aesthetic and writer's-cramp-related reasons, but you're fine writing by hand in class.

Right, so the outline then takes the form of class notes + reading notes + whats in the supplements?

Just trying to gauge my study / work ethic. I guess it boils down to me wanting to know how to hit the ground running on day 1. I dont want to be scrambling trying to figure out how to outline before its too late, and I happen to think that outlining throughout the semester is probably the best way for me to stay on top of class.

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

GOODWORKSTE wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Taking notes whichever way is most effective for you is the "gospel".

You should probably type your outline, because handwriting something like that is masochistic. But if you retain information better when writing by hand (and there's a not-insignificant amount of research suggesting that is true for a lot of people), then do that.

Over my college career I have experimented with note-taking methods, and I have found that I did much much better in the classes that I wrote notes by hand. I am just worried that I will be setting myself up for failure by doing so in law school.

Not at all. Some old-school professors actually ban laptops in the classroom. Again, you probably want a typed outline for aesthetic and writer's-cramp-related reasons, but you're fine writing by hand in class.

Right, so the outline then takes the form of class notes + reading notes + whats in the supplements?

Just trying to gauge my study / work ethic. I guess it boils down to me wanting to know how to hit the ground running on day 1. I dont want to be scrambling trying to figure out how to outline before its too late, and I happen to think that outlining throughout the semester is probably the best way for me to stay on top of class.

Outlining is exactly what it sounds like, categorizing the law within a given subject area to gain a better understanding and assist you in spotting legal issues. Luckily, the course will likely already be structured in that way to give you a framework for your outline. Don't overthink what you're doing. Presumably you've already figured out how to study. Law school adds the additional burden of how to teach yourself and fill in gaps in your understanding (or gaps in how you're being taught).

How are you gonna go on twitter if you're handwriting your notes?

GOODWORKSTE wrote: Right, so the outline then takes the form of class notes + reading notes + whats in the supplements?

Just trying to gauge my study / work ethic. I guess it boils down to me wanting to know how to hit the ground running on day 1. I dont want to be scrambling trying to figure out how to outline before its too late, and I happen to think that outlining throughout the semester is probably the best way for me to stay on top of class.

One thing I would add to the other poster's description of outlining is that you do not want to start outlining on day 1. You have the right sentiment, but it's the wrong approach. You will not be able to identify what needs to go in your outline on day 1 of class. I ended up starting my outlines about 4-6 weeks in to the semester. I feel like the best marker is the moment when you feel like you can identify a group of concepts you've learned in class as a discrete unit. But if you start outlining right away, you'll just end up having to go back and fix it later.

cavalier1138 wrote:

GOODWORKSTE wrote: Right, so the outline then takes the form of class notes + reading notes + whats in the supplements?

Just trying to gauge my study / work ethic. I guess it boils down to me wanting to know how to hit the ground running on day 1. I dont want to be scrambling trying to figure out how to outline before its too late, and I happen to think that outlining throughout the semester is probably the best way for me to stay on top of class.

One thing I would add to the other poster's description of outlining is that you do not want to start outlining on day 1. You have the right sentiment, but it's the wrong approach. You will not be able to identify what needs to go in your outline on day 1 of class. I ended up starting my outlines about 4-6 weeks in to the semester. I feel like the best marker is the moment when you feel like you can identify a group of concepts you've learned in class as a discrete unit. But if you start outlining right away, you'll just end up having to go back and fix it later.

+1. It's not necessary to wait until studying starts in earnest, but trying to outline beginning on day 1 is not going to be very helpful. Plus, if you do handwrite, you'll probably already be condensing an hour or so of class into a few paragraphs of salient-seeming points, so it won't be too labor intensive to go back and do those from the beginning.

mjb447 wrote:I handwrote and did fine. I think it encouraged me to be selective in what I wrote down, which worked well for how I outline and study.

This was all true for me.

Also, don't outline early in your first semester of 1L. You're not going to know what you're doing. Truthfully, I don't outline until a few days before the exam. But that way of doing things may not work for most people. Do what you think will work for you.(but do wait a couple months before you start outlining as a first-semester 1L)

thanks all to the advice!

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