Note-taking Strategies

Note-taking is a valuable skill most of us learn as students and take with us into every
meeting room, boardroom, and industry conference throughout our lives. The quality of
your notes greatly affects your ability to study and retain information. Naturally, finding the
perfect note-taking method may seem like a lifelong and highly personal pursuit. But there
are proven and effective best practices for note-taking that will help you retain information
better.

The best way to take notes depends on your learning style, the type of content, and the
amount of time you have. Ultimately, the best note-taking method for you is the one that
will encourage you to learn and retain information as effectively and efficiently as possible.

In this guide to note-taking methods, we’ll cover the best note-taking strategies and how to
apply them. Effective note taking is one of the keys to succeeding in school, colleges and
organizations. Individuals should devote a considerable amount of time reviewing
information. It is very difficult to remember specific details–event major concepts–from
classroom lectures without good notes.
how it can improve understanding

• Ensures you are actively listening

• Requires you to think about what you are writing

• Helps you make connections between topics

• Serves as quality review material

 Strategies for taking good lecture notes

Take well-organized notes in outline form

This will help you to identify the main ideas. Start large, work down to details.

Take notes in complete thoughts, but abbreviate, and simplify

Don’t try to write the lecture word for word. You will fall behind and miss something
important.

Separate and label the notes

Start a new set of notes for each day, clearly separated from the day before; it makes your
notes easier to study.

Make your notes easy to read

It’s easier to study your notes if you can read them.

Be an aggressive note taker

Sit where you can hear and see the professor without straining. Stay alert.

Start taking notes when the professor starts talking

Don’t wait for a big thought to strike you. You could easily become distracted and miss the
big thought.

Isolate and learn the specialized vocabulary

Write down and highlight difficult or new words. Write definitions, or look them up later.

Separate facts from opinion and add your own ideas

Note what is fact and what is the professor’s opinion. Add your own thoughts; write notes
directly to yourself.

Develop your own set of symbols.

Use them to identify or emphasize various items in your notes.
Use circles, underlines, or other symbols that will be meaningful to you.

Include pictures, diagrams and other visuals

Copying diagrams or other visuals helps you to understand concepts later. We tend to think
in terms of pictures.

Take notes on discussion

Take notes when meeting with your tutor. Use notes you’ve taken in lecture to generate
discussion with your tutor group.

Minimize distractions
Effective note takers avoid classroom distractions. This can include sitting in spots with
fewer distractions and not signing up for classes with friends that you might want to talk
with during lectures. Some students will even sit in spots where it is difficult to constantly
glance at the clock.

Organize your notes

Notes organized by date, class, and subject make it easier to locate specific lecture details. It
is also a good idea to keep information from different dates and classes separated or to
begin each class with a new piece of paper.

Use abbreviations and symbols

Since teachers usually cover a lot of information during each lecture, it can be hard to write
down everything important they say. This is why we recommend using symbols and that you
abbreviate long words and use short phrases in your notes when possible. Many students
use the following symbols and abbreviations while taking notes: & (and), w/o (without), eg
(for example), ie (that is). When utilizing abbreviations, create a key of your most commonly
used abbreviations, so you will not forget what they are.

Over time, various methods of taking notes have been developed. These systems were
designed to help students take effective notes without too much trouble. After learning the
method, students can more effectively follow along in class and take notes as they go. These
approaches are designed to reduce the time and attention students need to devote to
taking effective notes, leaving them able to focus on the lecture.
Take, for instance, the outline method. The outline method reduces the time that students
need to devote to writing out notes by simplifying notes into single sentences divided into
subheadings. The top heading includes the main topic, the second heading is the sub topic,
and the third heading includes a supporting fact. So, students might write “World War II” as
the main heading, “America entered the war because of Japan” as the subtopic, and “Japan
bombed Pearl Harbor” as the supporting fact. Simply by limiting the number of notes taken
to core ideas, students can devote more time to listening. Because this approach limits how
much information is captured, it may not be suitable for information dense discussions, such
as science or mathematics lectures.

However, because it is supposed to be used to capture a lot of information, it’s not well
suited for use during lectures. It draws too much attention away from listening. However,
it’s ideally suited for independent study, when students are taking notes on their own time.