A Book

Class sizes in your first year at university may be very large. Basic courses such as about evolution or anatomy might be relevant for very large numbers of students and so these will be taught simultaneously rather than lecturers giving repeat performances to medics, biologists, ecologists and so on. Students will be coming to the university from a huge range of countries, and with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences (as well as abilities in English and the sciences) and will have potentially done very different things in the field to that to. The end result of the class needs to be that everyone has been taught the same basic information to the same standard.

This means that classes can be very difficult for some and very easy for others. Some students might find themselves repeating things they did at school, while others are totally new to everything, and for the instructor there will a certain amount of work and information to get through in a set amount of time. Students rarely appreciate this issue and this causes friction, but it is impossible for a lecturer to go through material at a rate and in a style that will suit everyone of 30+ students, let alone a class of 200. Many will find it easy and slow, just as many will find it too fast and too difficult. 

The key to lectures is to take notes. While many lecturers will provide the slides they have used, and there may be recordings of the lecture online, it is still critical to take notes. You will need to distill what is being said into a few choice words and sentences that you can easily learn from later. Don't try and copy down everything that is on the screen or every word that is said, but enough for you to reconstruct the material later on.

As soon as possible after your lectures, sit down and write up your notes. Write them up more neatly or type them up so they are legible. Fill in any gaps. Then start reading up on other interlinked areas and add extra detail and information to your notes. Link to other lectures or sources that relate to what you have covered in the class and build up the information. Don't leave it for days or weeks, you will forget key issues and it will make things much harder. 

Pay importance to the stated aims and objectives of a given course or session. Be aware of what it is you are trying, or expected, to learn and bear this in mind when writing up notes or researching around the subject. These core points and issues will help keep you focused. That said, you will benefit (in general and in your marks) from reading around and outside the subject. Don't stick narrowly to only these points and expect to be able to get top marks.