The following chart identifies common note-taking problems and suggests possible solutions.
Problem | Solution |
| "My mind wanders and I get bored." | Sit in the front of the room. Be certain to preview assignments. Silently pose questions you expect to be answered in the lecture. |
| "The instructor talks too fast." | Develop a shorthand system; use abbreviations. Leave blanks and fill them in later. |
| "The lecturer rambles." | Preview correlating text assignments to determine organizing principles. Reorganize your notes after the lecture. |
| "Some ideas don’t seem to fit anywhere." | Record them in the margin or in parentheses within your notes for reassessment later during editing. |
| "Everything seems important." or "Nothing seems important." | You have not identified key concepts and may lack necessary background knowledge. You do not understand the topic. Preview related text assignments. |
| "I can’t spell all the new technical terms." | Record them phonetically, the way they sound; fill in correct spellings during editing. |
| "The instructor uses terms without defining them." | Record terms as used; leave space to record definitions later; consult text glossary or dictionary. |
| "The instructor reads directly from text." | Mark passages in text; write instructor’s comments in the margin. Record page references in your notes. |