Five Tips for Effective Note Taking

Learning to take notes effectively during class lectures and discussions can ultimately cut down on the hours you spend studying and help you to become a better learner. In the same way that good servers in restaurants write down everyone’s orders if they are serving a table of 20, it is essential for students to take good notes to aid their retention of material presented in class. The following five tips will help you discover the best method for taking notes.

1. Develop a system. No single form of note taking works for everyone. Many students find it most effective to organize their notes into an outline, while others like to jot down as much as possible during class and then type up their notes immediately after. Some students prefer color-coding, or creating lists and tables. In the beginning of the semester, experiment with different methods to discover which works best for you, and make it a habit to follow that system for the remainder of the semester.
   
   
2. Keep it short. When taking notes, try to avoid writing long, drawn out sentences or paragraphs. Instead, focus on keeping notes brief and clear. The most important material is often repeated and emphasized by professors. Use concise phrases and bullet points to make sure that you can keep up with the speed of your professor’s lecture.
   
   
3. Highlight important points. Sure, everything your professor says is important, but you need to be able to identify the main points of a lecture before focusing on the smaller details. When studying, circle or highlight important themes or points, and work on understanding those before moving on to peripheral facts and details.
   
   
4. Organize. No matter which system you use to take notes, keeping them neat and organized is essential for studying. Notes that are unreadable or out-of-order will not only make studying more time-consuming, but can also make it more challenging for you to pull out and understand important information. The most organized note-takers often rewrite their original notes after class to ensure that they’ll be able to comprehend what they’ve written in the future. Rewriting notes may seem tedious, but many students find that it helps them to retain the information they have learned in class.
   
   
5. Review. Even the best notes will be useless if you don’t take the time to reread them. Review your notes within 24 hours to better your chances for long-term retention and comprehension. This will also give you an opportunity to look into any questions you may have or fill in any holes you discover in your notes.