Notetaking Graphic Organizer for Lectures
July 08, 2026
Posted by STLCC in Reading Resources
Taking good notes is essential to success in college, but the truth is that many students don’t consistently take notes because they don’t have a system that works. Once you’ve reviewed this handout on Notetaking Strategies and thought about how you learn, then it’s time to think about your plan for actively listening in class and taking useful notes.
This guide covers the steps for taking good notes during class and provides a template you can use to organize what you hear.
Steps for Good Notes
- List the date, class and topic at the top.
- Listen for clues in lectures, such as “examples” or “evidence,” and record details.
- See our list of sample clues below.
- Listen for the main or implied idea in the lecture, which instructors usually repeat often. If you’re unsure, ask yourself what the lecture was about.
- Listen for and record supporting details, which instructors usually share following transition words that give the listener clues about the details.
- Listen for and record key words and important vocabulary and their definitions.
- Get creative with your notes and use colored pens, sticky notes and highlighters to emphasize details.
- Always note anything from the lecture that you don’t understand. Then look it up later or ask for clarification and fill in the gaps in your notes.
- Include references to required reading if the instructor points them out.
- Summarize lectures in your own words. This helps you engage with what you learn, confirms comprehension and helps you retain the knowledge. If you can’t use your own words, you have not mastered your understanding of the material.
- Leave enough white space to add information later. By skipping lines and leaving white space between lecture key points, you can add additional clarifying notes later.
Clues to Listen and Look for During Lectures
Listen for instructors’ clues to help you take notes. They will often announce the lecture topic and repeat it several times to help you identify the main or implied idea. They will also give you clues to help identify supporting details and key terminology you’ll need to know.
The following chart gives examples of typical clues and what to include in your notes.
| Listening Clues | What to Note |
|---|---|
| Today we will cover... Let’s review what we learned... Let’s summarize... |
Main or implied idea |
| Let’s look at some examples... Here are some case studies supporting... This source shows... Let’s review this evidence and discuss... For instance... |
Supporting details |
| An important term to remember... You’ll want to know what ... means. Let’s discuss ... ... is important because... |
Key terminology and vocabulary |
| First, second, third... For example... Now let’s look at other views... To summarize... In conclusion... |
Transitions in the lecture |
| You’re required to know this... You will be tested on this... Write this down... |
Test content |
| You can find this listed... This is due... Important dates to remember... Essay/project requirements or rubrics... |
Class announcements |
Lecture Notetaking Template
Date: ____________________ Class Lecture: ____________________ Topic: ____________________
Lecture Topic
Listen for clues for the main idea, usually shared at the beginning and end.
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Lecture Details
Listen for examples, evidence and sources.
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Text References
List when the lecture ties back to the text.
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Lecture Key Terms
Listen for vocabulary and subject-specific terminology.
____________________________________________________________
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Test and Project Clues
Listen for due dates, details and other important information.
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Organize Information With Charts
Create charts from what you learned during the lecture to help organize information in your notes. Graph paper can help with this. Here’s an example, but you can label the columns any way you want.
Summarize Your Notes
Use your own words to summarize the main points from the lecture.
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____________________________________________________________
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