Text 9
M: Can I talk to you for a minute, Professor Smith?
W: Sure, David． What can I do for you?
M： I didn' t get a copy down all the terms you mentioned in today' s lec-ture, and I know they were important．
W: Do you remember what parts of the lecture you have trouble with?
M: Er, not really．
W: Mmm, can I take a look at your notes?
M: Sure．
W: Mmm, interesting．
M: What?
W: David, just by looking through your notes from today and from last week' s classes I can tell that you' ve been missing a lot of the important information for my lectures． Your notes arc rather incomplete．
M: What' s wrong? I thought I took good notes．
W: Mmm, not exactly． I think your note-taking skill needs some improve-ment．
M: Oh．
W: What I suggest is that you copy down the key points that I put on the board at the start of each class． That way you can follow along and keep up with the main ideas of the lecture．
M: OK．
W: Second, use the key points to help you fill in the details that develop each main point． Don' t worry about writing down everything I say word for word． It looks you were trying to do that． Focus on under-standing the organization of the lecture, that will help you find the most important information you should write down．
M : All right． Thanks, Professor Smith．
W: Oh, and one more thing, you might find it useful to shorten word than use special marks, that can save you a lot of time．