Obsidian for students: lectures to exams.
Short answer: one note per lecture, written in your own words; a ten-minute pass the same day; each idea you would defend in an exam as its own linked note; and a weekly review as your revision rhythm. I study law, and this is how I do it.
The problem with student notes
Most student notes are transcripts. They feel productive during the lecture and are useless in May, because nothing was decided, linked or tested. The work that makes notes useful happens after the lecture, and it is short if you do it the same day.
Five steps from lecture to exam
- One note per lecture. Before class, write the course, the date and what you expect the lecture to answer.
- Your words, not the slides'. If you cannot say it in your own words, write it as a question with
Q:. - The ten-minute pass, the same day. Write the three things that matter for the exam and the questions you still have. This is where most of the learning happens.
- Exam ideas as linked notes. Each idea you would defend in an exam gets its own note, titled as a claim: "Consent can be implied by conduct", not "Consent". Link it to the cases or concepts it relies on.
- Revise on a weekly rhythm. In your weekly review, reread last week's lecture notes and answer their open questions. After a month, turn them into exam answers.
Free template
Lecture note for ObsidianBefore, during and after sections, plus a revision checklist. Plain Markdown.
How to organise courses
A course with an end date (a semester module) is a project. Something you keep up across years (your degree, a language) is an area. Lecture notes and readings are your material; your summaries are literature notes; the claims you would defend are permanent notes. That way, a single idea can connect two courses, which is exactly what essays and exams reward.
The learning happens in the ten minutes after the lecture, not during it.
Questions
Is Obsidian good for students?
Yes, if you use it on a computer and want notes you own. Its strength is linking: ideas from different courses connect, which helps with essays and exams. Its weakness is setup time, so start with a simple structure and one lecture template.
How do I take lecture notes in Obsidian?
Create one note per lecture from a template, write in your own words during the lecture, and spend ten minutes the same day writing the three points that matter for the exam and your open questions.
Should I use Obsidian or Notion for school?
Obsidian suits students who want local files, linked thinking and offline work. Notion suits students who need sharing with classmates, databases and a strong phone app. Many students use Obsidian for thinking and something else for group work.
How Sylvics does it
Sylvics gives each course a home, turns sources into literature and permanent notes, and makes the weekly review your revision rhythm. It is built by a law student and runs on a computer, not a phone. See knowledge notes on the tour or apply for the closed beta.