How to Take Effective Notes

3 Methods of Note-Taking

Note-taking is personal. What works for other people may not work for you. What works in one class, may not work for another class. Experiment with different styles of note taking and see what works. How do you know it works? Do you remember more? Do your notes help you revise? Do they help you learn?

Here are a few tried and true styles of note-taking to try.

Outlining

OUTLINING METHOD

Major Topics

• Subtopics go here
• You can have as many as you like
  • You can create further indentations to further organize.
  • Good place for key terms
    • Always add examples
    • Include visuals, too!
      • Drawings
      • Quick mind maps connecting topics
      • Including visuals boosts learning and retention!
• Advantages
  • Organized
  • Easy to find key points later
  • Can be adapted to include color and more visuals
  • Good for linear lecturers and textbook notes
• Disadvantages
  • Can be confusing if the lecture is not linear and moves between topics
  • Not every brain thinks this way/likes this
• Special considerations
  • Leave enough space to add more notes if something comes up later.
  • Develop adaptations (special place for vocabulary/questions/summaries)
  • Don't just copy a PPT!
  • Don't try to write down everything! Be selective.

Cornell Notes

Developed in the 1950s, This method uses the space on the paper to distinguish Notes, Cues, and Summary.

Notes Section

• where you actually write the notes from the class or reading
• can include visuals

can include elements of outlining method

Cues Section

• where you write your questions and make connections among topic
• do this ASAP after you take the notes

Questions, connections, and reflections go here!

Summary Section

• write a couple of short sentences that summarize the lesson or reading
• do ASAP after you take the notes

Summarizing helps consolidate learning!

Example of Cornell Notes Format

For more detailed information about Cornell Notes. See this PDF from Cornell University.

Mind Mapping

Mind-mapping is excellent for

• connecting topics,
• making connections and
• including visual elements.
• It is a non-linear method of note taking that can be done by hand or on digital platforms.
• Great for brainstorming, too!

Image  by Lex McKee vis Flickr