If you are in law school, you have probably already felt overwhelmed by the amount of material that you are required to learn and memorize. The subject matter is quite difficult at times, and requires your full dedication and brain power.

The better the notes that you take during lectures, the better you will do on your tests. Seems logical, right?

However, there is a right and a wrong way to take notes while you are listening. Knowing exactly what you are doing will help you immensely both in the present, as well as in the future.

To begin with, choose the method you are going to use at the beginning of your schooling, and stick to that. There are now lots of options for you to choose from, including everything from software programs to the good old paper and pen method.

Try some out early on in the semester, but decide quickly which one suits your learning style best, and then keep going with it. Look for reviews on different methods, and go with what makes sense to you.

Next, whether you do the classic case brief or something more free-flowing, use a different color or entirely different pages to separate class notes from your personal ones. As the semester wears on, you should see the two increasingly converging.

If not, you are probably not picking up important concepts and what your professors wants you to focus on. This is great time to sit down with your professors and see what you can do to improve.

Be sure to write down important concepts, rules of law, and lines of reasoning. These things may be difficult to pinpoint at first, but you will get better at this as time goes on.

Make sure that you note any recurring themes in the lectures of your teachers. Does he or she bring public policy into every discussion?

Does they painstakingly parse words of statutes? When you find these themes, pay special attention and take particularly copious notes as to how the professor's reasoning is flowing.

This will greatly help you prepare for your exams in classes-something that everyone should be concerned with. After all, a test can make or break you.

Be sure to review your notes after class, to make sure you understand what you have taken down. If something is unclear either conceptually or factually, now is the time to clear it up either with your classmates in a study group, or with the professor.

The sooner you review them, the better you will be able to remember what they all meant. Cement them in your mind right away.

Next, it can be tempting to transcribe lectures if you have the typing ability, but you will be losing valuable time in which you should be engaging with the material and group discussion. This, after all, is where learning takes place, not simply from memorizing and regurgitating rules and laws.

Do not bother taking notes on the comments that other students make. Yes, they are smart and some may even be right, but unless your professor puts her explicit seal of approval on a student's contribution to the discussion, it is most likely not worth a spot in your written memory.

You will not be tested on your fellow law students' opinions, so there is no sense in recording them for posterity. Unless, or course, something is particularly hilarious, and you want to tell your roommate about it later-by all mean, record away.

Do not waste time writing down facts of the case. All the facts you need to discuss a case will be in your casebook.

If particular facts are important, highlight, underline, or circle them in your textbook with a note in the margins to remind you why they are important. This is logical, and will help you stay organized.

Whatever you do, do not just get notes from a classmate, and skip taking your own important records. Everyone processes information differently, so you are always going to be the best person to record information for your future study sessions.

It is great to compare what each of you took down, but your own papers should always be your primary source for studying. This is why commercial outlines and those prepared by previous students are not always the most helpful either.

If you apply these tips, you may see an improvement in your grades. Begin to be more methodical and organized today.