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In a lecture, the hard part is keeping up. In a seminar, the hard part is knowing what to write at all. There are no slides and no outline. Twelve people talk about a reading, the conversation loops back on itself, and the professor mostly asks questions. You can leave with an empty page, or with three pages of quotes from classmates that make no sense a week later.
Seminar notes have a different job from lecture notes. They aren't a record of facts. They're a record of an argument: what question the class was working on, what positions came up, and what you think. That's what you'll need for the paper, the exam essay and next week's discussion.
What seminar notes are for
Before you change how you write, it helps to know how the notes get used:
- Papers. Many seminar essays grow out of something said in discussion. A good note is often the first line of a thesis.
- Essay exams. The questions a professor keeps asking in class are a strong hint about what they'll ask on the exam.
- Participation. Notes taken before and during class give you something specific to say.
- The next session. Discussions build on each other. Last week's open question is often this week's starting point.
Before class: prepare your entry points
The best seminar notes start the night before, with the reading.
- Write two or three claims or questions you could bring up. Not "I liked it," but "Why does the author drop the second argument halfway through?"
- Note page numbers. When someone says "near the end of chapter 3," you want to be able to find it. When you speak, pointing to a page makes your point stronger.
- Mark one passage you didn't understand. Asking about it is a perfectly good contribution, and often the most useful one.
Put these at the top of the page you'll use in class, so you can glance at them during the discussion. If you need a system for the reading itself, see how to take notes from a textbook chapter; the same read-then-write approach works for articles and books.
During class: map the conversation
Don't try to capture every comment. Aim for a map you can follow later.
- Write the question at the top. Every discussion has one, even if nobody says it outright. When the professor asks "So what does the author mean by freedom here?", that's your heading. When the question changes, start a new heading.
- Note positions, not speeches. One line per idea: "Freedom = absence of rules (M)" and below it "No, freedom needs rules to exist (J), p. 42." Initials are enough to remember who said what.
- Use arrows for disagreement and connection. An arrow from one idea to another says "responds to." A cross-out or ≠ says "disagrees."
- Copy the professor's questions word for word. Those are the ones worth having exactly. They often frame the paper and exam prompts.
- Write down the page numbers people cite. You'll want those passages later.
Keep your own ideas visible
Your reactions are the most valuable thing on the page, and they get lost among everyone else's. Give them their own space:
- Use a second color for your own thoughts, or
- Draw a line down the page and keep the conversation on the left and your reactions on the right, or
- Put a symbol like a star or "ME" next to them.
When you look back while writing a paper, you can find your ideas in seconds.
Take notes without disappearing
Heavy note-taking can turn into hiding. If you're writing nonstop, you're not talking, and seminars usually grade participation. Some habits that help:
- Write a few words before you speak. Jot the point you want to make, then raise your hand. It keeps you from losing it while you wait your turn.
- Put the pen down for the first few minutes of a new topic and just listen. Write once the shape of the discussion is clear.
- Look up when people talk. Notes in a discussion are fragments. That's fine.
Right after class: a five-minute write-up
Discussion notes fade faster than lecture notes because they're so fragmented. Before you leave the building, or within the hour, add a short block at the bottom of the page:
- The question the class was working on.
- The main positions, in one line each.
- What was left unresolved.
- What you think now, in a sentence or two.
That last line is the start of most good seminar papers. How to review your notes after class has more on making the habit stick.
Recording a discussion
Recording is more sensitive in a seminar than in a lecture, because it captures your classmates as well as the professor, and people often share personal views. Policies vary by school, professor and location, so check the syllabus and ask first. Many professors who allow lecture recording ask students to pause during discussion. If you have accommodations that include recording, your school's disability services office can explain how that works in a discussion class. More in is it OK to record lectures?
Seminar notes on iPad with Scribba
Here's how the approach above fits in Scribba:
- Reading and discussion side by side. Import the reading as a PDF into the class notebook, then add a blank page after it for the discussion. Or open a notebook in its own window with Split View, so the reading sits beside your notes and you can find "page 42" while someone is still talking. Keep last week's notes open as a tab.
- Your ideas in their own color. Scribba keeps 3 to 6 favorite colors, so switching to "my ideas" color is one tap.
- Sticky notes for paper ideas. When a thought might become a thesis, put it on a sticky note so it stands out from the page. You can move, resize and recolor it later.
- Bookmark each session. Give each discussion page a named bookmark in the page sidebar, like "Week 6: Freedom." Bookmarks build the notebook's table of contents.
- Search before you write the paper. Scribba searches your handwriting and PDF text, so you can find every page where an author's name or a key term came up. See how to search handwriting on iPad.
For more on reading-heavy classes, see English literature notes on iPad.
Frequently asked questions
Should I write down what my classmates say?
Write their ideas briefly, with initials if it helps, but not their exact words. The exceptions are a comment that changes the direction of the discussion and the professor's own questions, which are worth copying exactly.
What if the discussion goes in circles?
Write that down too. A note like "back to the first question, still no agreement" tells you the issue is genuinely hard, which makes it a good paper topic.
Is it OK to bring notes to say in class?
Yes. Writing two or three points beforehand is one of the easiest ways to take part, especially if speaking up doesn't come naturally to you.