Note-taking is a foundational skill for every student. It can be transformative in terms of learning and understanding the information taught in the lectures. Although many people do not know how to make notes effectively. This is an inefficiency that can affect learning and retention in different ways. In this blog, we are going to look at some of the effective ways to make notes and improve your understanding of a topic.
Many people believe that effective note making is writing down everything the speaker says. This is fundamentally the wrong way of taking notes. This may lead to passive understanding, but this does not help with your active learning. And passive note-taking may drain your attention. As a result, your notes may become unorganised and feel overwhelming when you revisit them. By practicing the effective way of note making, you will start intentional thinking and strategic retention of the information.
Here are the 8 effective ways of note making that will help you stand out from the other students.
#1 Use the Cornell Method for Organised Review
The Cornell Method is arguably the most structured and celebrated note making technique. This technique divides your page into four distinguished sections, which helps to structure your data and summarise your findings.
How the Cornell Method Works
In the left margin, the area is kept reserved for keywords, questions, prompts, and main ideas, which are extracted after the lecture is finished. The right area is kept for notes that are taken during the class. Students can use bullet points or short abbreviations here. A short summary area is kept at the bottom of the page to summarise the entire page’s content in two or three sentences. Students should do this immediately after taking the notes. Finally, the top area is reserved for the topic header and the date of the lecture.
#2 Mind Maps Can Change the Way You Learn
Mind Mapping is a revolutionary approach to making better notes. This is an amazing approach for visual learners and effective to learn conceptual topics. Mind maps can help you understand hierarchy and relationships all at once, which can be understood quickly by just looking at them.
How To Create an Effective Mind Map
The central topic is put in the middle of the blank page. From the central topic, the sub-topics are branched out. Use color coding for different themes, which makes the entire map much more engaging and meaningful for the students. This is a great visualization technique that can transform complex ideas into simple and memorable diagrams.
#3 Prioritise Keywords and Symbols Over Full Sentences
To enhance your note-making speed, you need to start using abbreviated forms, signs, and symbols. Sentences can be redundant and may take much time to write and incorporate. Use of ampersand (&), arrows, contracted forms, and signs will save your time and also help you by forcing your brain to process the information. Thus, the core ideas of the topic stick with you for a longer period. You can follow this technique even if you prefer note making online during virtual classes.
#4 Emphasise Review and Rework
Your notes will be of no use if you are not going to look back at them again. The journey of true learning begins when you look back at your text while reviewing. Neurological studies suggest that reviewing information within a day dramatically slows the forgetting curve.
Therefore, after every lecture, students are recommended to review their notes for ten minutes. Focus on the key ideas spoken during the lecture and highlight if you have missed any of the areas. Furthermore, you can rephrase the confusing points. This way, you are actively interacting with your notes, which can help you retain this information by solidifying the memory. This is a crucial way to understand how to make good notes and use these notes effectively to improve your learning.
In fact, this practice will also help you if you choose to enlist a professional assignment writing service for your tasks. With impeccable notes, you will be able to provide the service with detailed information that will, in turn, go into writing a flawless assignment.
#5 Use the Outline Method for Hierarchical Information
When you are focusing on a structured topic, such as a timeline history lecture, you can use the outline method, which will give you clarity. In this system, you can number your notes using roman numerals, capital letters, which will keep the main ideas structured and sub-points uncluttered.
Here is a sample of the structured outline method
This is an effective method that is quick, clean, and immediately reveals the relationships between the core concepts. Thus, it has become a great technique for how to make notes in a decluttered way.
#6 Use Color-Coding For Better Recall
Many people use color coding just for decoration, but it is a powerful way of memorizing the information in the notes. By maintaining a consistent color-coding, a secondary organization system can be formed, which can help you to scan a page and instantly identify different categories of information.
- Red: Definitions, formulas, or things you must memorise.
- Green: Examples or supporting evidence.
- Blue: Names, dates, or historical facts.
- Yellow or Orange: Questions for the instructor or areas of confusion.
This is a great tip on making notes, which can make them more visually appealing and easy to remember.
#7 Take Help of Digital Tools for Online Note Making
In the academic world, digitalisation has also contributed a lot. Therefore, note making online has also been integrated, and students are also appreciating it. Tools like Notion, Evernote, or OneNote offer powerful features that physical notebooks may not offer.
Unlike physical notebooks, online note making tools offer better searchability, integration, and synchronisation of the notes. Students can find and attach other files to their notes whenever applicable. Furthermore, they can access their notes seamlessly from all of their devices, like smartphones and computers. Furthermore, digital tools for note making offer enhanced flexibility where students can sort and search for specific sections of notes. Thus, the digital way of note-making has been offering prolonged benefits.
#8 Create Dedicated “Master Concept” Page
No matter which method you choose, the last section of every note you make should be a ‘master concept’ page where you categorise the most important ideas taught from the entire lecture. This page will give you the bigger picture and help you evaluate your learning. Plus, it will help you to review how much of the information you can successfully retain. This acts as a final synthesis step in the process.
Final Thoughts
Effective note making techniques are all about creating a stronger foundation for learning. The material you create will help you summarise your learning and help you understand how much you actively retain of the entire module. You will not start making notes just around, but you have to stay consistent with your method. Follow these tips on making notes, and look at what is working for you.
Use a Structured Way of Note Making for Better Learning!
Looking to study more efficiently? Use these note making tips to dive deeper into the learning!
Turn your notes into high-quality assignments, or get expert assistance to help get better grades.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should only include enough detail will help you memorise. Therefore, focus on main ideas, keywords, and supporting evidence.
Instead of discarding them, organise your notes by topic and date and file them digitally or physically. The notes are the key to understanding the topics that you study.
Yes, absolutely. By mastering different ways of note making, you can apply what is better for the particular subject that you are studying.
Passive learning is when you underline and mark everything without properly processing the information. It can hinder your understanding of specific areas, and make it more difficult during revision stages.
