Taking notes takes up almost every hour of every day for most students, or so it seems. Mark May, assistant director for academic advising and learning assistance, has come up with a way to help students take better notes so they can get better grades.

Tonight at 5:30 in the 1895 Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, May will facilitate the third part of the Surthriver Series, “The Note-Taking Challenge.”

May said he will begin the workshop by giving each students a seven page handout. But he said not to get scared: he doesn’t plan on getting through the whole handout.

“I won’t be able to cover all I want, but I will try and focus on parts of the handout,” May said. To try to focus in on what the student’s need to gain from the workshop, May said he will ask the students what their strengths and weaknesses are in the area of taking notes.

May said then he will go over some lecture styles and note-taking formats for particular lecture styles. He will also give students some strategies to use while studying from notes, May said.

“We’ll be watching a video and simulating a note-taking section,” May said. “Then we’ll take some form of a test and see how each person’s notes served them.”

May said he realized that to most students this workshop would not sound like a barrel of laughs, but he hoped students would realize the benefits that would come out of attending the workshop.

The Surthriver Series workshops are designed after the television show Survivor, and many of the workshops will consist of challenges like the ones seen on the show, May said. “The workshops are designed to be both funny and educational,” May said previously. “Depending on what night you’re there you may find a camera in your face, pictures of exotic locations and people asking you what you think about teammates and opponents.”

Raffle tickets will be awarded for attendance or winning a particular challenge. The prizes include gift certificates for things like food and movie passes and free bowling games and an Alpha Treatment from The Razorz Edge. The prizes will be raffled off Thursday evening after the last workshop in the Surthriver Series. Winners do not have to be present to win, May said.

For reservations to the workshops, call May at 581-6696.