It's worth remembering that most lecturers also give indirect signals to indicate what's important. They either pause or speak slowly or speak loudly or use a greater range of intonation, or they employ a combination of these devices, when they say something important.

Conversely, their sentences are delivered quickly, softly, within a narrow range of intonation and with short or infrequent pauses when they are saying something which is incidental. It is of course, helpful for the students to be aware of this and for him to focus his attention accordingly.

Having sorted out the main points, however, the student still has to write them down. And he has to do this quickly and clearly. This is, in fact, the third basic skill he must learn to develop.

In order to write at speed, most students find it helps to abbreviate. They also try to select only those words which give maximum information. These are usually nouns, but sometimes verbs or adjectives.

Writing only one point on each line also helps the student to understand his notes when he comes to read them later.