Any upper-years have tips as to how to approach assigned readings?

I know we take notes in lectures, and it's recommended we also take notes of our readings, but I want it to be organised, and am not sure where to start. Should I be doing notes of the readings before the lecture or after?

Take Sociology 1A06 -- there are a lot of readings, as well 2 lectures during the week. How should I go about organising my notes?

How did you guys do it first year? Any advice would be nice

Read the back of the chapter for summary before going to lecture. Take down the main points of the lecture. Read the assigned chapters after the lecture, using your notes from lectures, focus on the materials and concepts that the prof focused on during lectures. Or you can see if you can register as a student in SAS (check your doctor). Once you are in, you can have people take notes for you so that you can fully listen and pay attention during lecture instead of having to write anything down.

I suggest reading the chapters before the lecture. With Sociology 1A06, the readings in New Society are only a few pages so don't let those scare you. I keep my textbook and lecture notes separate and for both I only write down information I didn't already know or things that are necessary for context. I average one double sided sheet per 20 pages of textbook or one hour of lecture.

I strongly recommend reading the book 'What Smart Students Know' by Cal Newport. The notetaking and study methods outlined in there are incredibly valuable and it shouldn't take more than a few days to get through in addition to your course readings.