by Eric Rauchway

The Washington Post had a nice summary yesterday of a new book on how to get good grades in college. Most of it strikes me as right enough, and well-intentioned, especially the advice to to take your own notes in lecture and to consult your professor in office hours. I note it does not say you should complete all the reading, but you know, you should, and take good notes on it, too. Of course, saying that you can get a good grade by doing your homework and going to class is a bit like saying that the best way to lose weight is "eat less and exercise more"--true, but not exactly satisfying to the consumer. So by way of adding a little to this advice, here is my own adaptation of the Cornell system for lecture note-taking (it's an explanation of the Cornell system in the form of the Cornell system) and here is Timothy Burke's advice on how to take notes on reading in college.