Ever since I began my theological studies, I took copious notes. My classmates would often ask for a copy heading into the exams. I was even studious enough—paranoid perhaps—to jot down what exams included after I finished sitting them, just in case I had to rewrite. But you’d be wrong if you thought I had it all together and had mastered the art of note-taking. In fact, I’ve made a number of mistakes.
My hope is that you’ll see where I went wrong and learn to avoid them.
This article covers 10 mistakes theological students make when taking notes. I know. I made them. My hope is that you will see where I went wrong and learn, as I did, to avoid these common mistakes. These points will be useful to more than just Bible college students—if you find yourself in another field, or even if you’re still in school or university, there’s something for you to learn.
1. Not Taking Notes at All
In one of my classes, I wrote the lecturer’s opening question: “When was the date of the conquest of Canaan?” I managed to sum up the next 45 minutes of class with the pithy: “See textbook for answer.” I’m sure if you’ve taken your own notes, you have your own gems to unearth. However, it’s possible to do even worse.
The worst notes you’ll ever take are the ones that don’t exist.
The worst notes you’ll ever take are the ones that don’t exist. Sure, you might not be the most gifted note-taker. You might not have the most succinct outline; the best arguments; or even manage to cover everything that was said. Don’t let that stop you. Put something down. At least my aforementioned note told me where to find the answer to my lecturer’s question. Theological studies are a real blessing from God. You must accept and enjoy that gift to the best of your abilities. Put to paper what you have learned, so that when the time comes, you’ll be able to bring treasure out of your store-room.
2. Writing Every Single Word
Throughout my undergrad degree, I used a laptop for my notes. Now, there are plenty of articles that make the case for handwritten notes. But perhaps the best reason to do so is that those who handwrite their notes can’t get every word. This means they have to process and summarise as they listen. I didn’t do this in the beginning, but by the end of my final year of undergrad, I rarely recorded word-for-word notes. And I was better for it. No matter how you take notes, taking the time to focus on what’s most important and summarising as you go lets you get a head start on thinking everything through and helps you to better remember what you’ve learned.
This doesn’t mean that you have to guess at what’s most important.
You need to ask what the lecturer is trying to communicate.
When “panning” for gold, treasure-seekers would toss up dirt just under the surface of a river over a pan. Due to its weight, the gold would sink and land in the pan, while the lighter dirt would be carried off by the current. In the same way, you can pick out the “heaviest” and most important topics in advance. All courses are communication, and you need to ask what the lecturer is trying to communicate. A well-designed course will state these goals in study guide. Keep these in mind as you listen to the lectures. Focus on putting to paper what clearly contributes to the aims of the course. If the syllabus doesn’t help you, look at the concepts covered in the assignments and what will be on the final exam (there is usually some advance warning as to what to expect during the course).
3. Leaving Out My Own Questions and Comments
This mistake relates to the next two. When I started taking notes, I simply included what was covered in class. I didn’t include my own thoughts. Later, when I studied for exams, or referred to my notes in ministry, I realised that I should’ve included my own thoughts and comments.
It’s valuable to see what questions lingered.
It’s valuable to be able to get an idea of what I was thinking at the time I took those notes, as it lets me see how my thought has developed, changing and reinforcing different viewpoints. It’s also valuable to see what questions lingered for me after class. These can be helpful later on when you least expect it. When I was asked to lecture Homiletics (preaching), I turned to my notes from my own studies. And it was really helpful to see what unanswered questions lingered, now I had a chance to try and fill those gaps for my own students.
4. Skipping the Recommendations
An error related to the previous one was skipping the opportunity to note recommended readings. A lecturer’s function is in part to take a number of different sources and chew the cud for their students. Out of a wide selection of different voices, they synthesise and produce a—hopefully—clear presentation for you to further digest. This means that there’s a larger meal out there, and lecturers often make recommendations for you to explore in your own time.
There’s a larger meal out there.
I had one lecturer who used to call these recommendations and larger meals “gee-whiz” facts, and while they were interesting, they usually didn’t make it into my notes. I wish I’d taken more of them down. There have been several times since then when I needed the gee-whiz facts close at hand; or in certain pastoral situations, wished I had just a few more resources available to me. While you’re at college, jot the recommendations down. Even if you won’t get to them today or use them in your assignments (a good idea), you’ll stand yourself in good stead for future life and ministry.
5. Ignoring the Input of Others
The third mistake of this kind is to leave out your classmates’ input. Perhaps it’s clear by now, but in my note-taking my focus was solely on the content delivered by the lecturer. So I didn’t think too much about learning from my classmates’ in-class comments. I didn’t even jot down what my lecturers said in lecture breaks, unless they said “this will be on the final exam”. This was because I figured it wasn’t really part of the main event, even though I certainly contributed more than my fair share to class discussion. I should’ve paid attention to the wisdom of those around me; instead, I missed out on some comments of real value.
I should’ve paid attention to the wisdom of those around me.
Now, don’t be too anxious about capturing every word—as we’ve already seen. But keep an open ear for helpful comments in class and in the breaks. To be sure, it’s unlikely that the material covered by your classmates’ comments will be on the final exam. But notes are for more than just passing exams, and there’s real wisdom to be gained from your fellow students. When you hear something worthwhile, jot it down.
6. Not Marking Where Notes Came From
It took me four years to realise the obvious: you should number each page of your notes, indicating which lecture they’re from and which class you took them in. So the first page of notes from your first class of church history might have at the bottom: 1/1/CH101. You can work out your own system; that’s just how I did it. This will make your notes easily accessible later on. Learn from my errors. Take a moment to mark where your notes come from.
7. Storing Notes Badly
The bulk of my college notes are a messy mountain of pages; it’s only those that I’ve made more easily accessible that I’ve returned to again and again. There are two main options I’d recommend.
- Store your notes in notebooks or flip files sorted by course that you can keep on a shelf without having to dig through every note you’ve ever taken
- Digitise your paper notes. The college printer/scanner will often let you send them as pdf files to your email address. If your notes are already digital, be sure to file them neatly, and to back them up. A backup is more than just a copy: it is a copy in another place. Lastly, be sure not to keep all your notes in one Google Drive only to accidentally delete them or forget the password. I’ve heard some scary stories.
8. Treating Notes as Purely Academic
This mistake is about the nature of notes themselves. There’s a lovely word: ephemera. Among other things, ephemera refers to small slips of paper designed to be used for a short time. This is a good description as to how I initially approached note-taking. It was only after having studied for some time that I had an epiphany: the purpose of theological education is to prepare oneself for life and ministry. Therefore, my notes should be an enduring resource.
Notes should be an enduring resource.
Simply put, notes are multi-purpose. They do help you to study for exams. They’re there to assist you with your assignments. But they are also reference tools that you can return to, again and again. Long after graduation, you might find yourself looking to your notes to help you find resources for a sermon or study, or you might recall the content you studied because you put it to paper. As you write, don’t view your notes as a purely academic exercise—consider their other uses.
9. Neglecting Practical Applications
The previous mistake is concerned with how you approach note-taking—input—so this mistake is concerned with how you use them: output. I’m sure you’ll agree that by their very nature, notes tend to be content-heavy and quite thin on practical application. To get the most benefit out of them in your long term life and ministry, you need to put your notes to work and apply the lessons within.
Put your notes to work and apply the lessons within.
In my personal experience, this is easiest to do with notes taken in courses that have a practical bent. Obviously. A good example would be a preaching class. Perhaps you take notes on a process of sermon preparation that you come back repeatedly—those notes have found a new life and have become useful to you in the long term. You’ll need creativity to find practical applications in your other notes, but it’s worthwhile. Could you use the insights to help you in your present ministry? Maybe you could use them to help you teach or disciple others around you. Could you read them devotionally? Put your mind—and your notes—to work.
10. Stopping After College
This is one mistake I’m grateful to have mostly avoided. And it’s a mistake that’s easy to fix. For many, note-taking ends with college. But it doesn’t have to. It shouldn’t. After your studies are complete, particularly if you’re serving in ministry, part of your work is to be a lifelong learner of the Bible, as well as of the people in your care.
In many ways, some of the notes you take after college can be even more valuable than those taken during your studies. The notes you take while serving in ministry have in the background real people, real ministry pressures—and real questions in view. They won’t help you pass an exam. But they will help you to show Christ’s love plainly; to preach the gospel faithfully; and to glorify God as you discover the riches of his grace. Augustine heard “take up and read”. I say to you, “take up and write”.
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