Imagine this: You’re sitting in the hot, humid classroom as the clock ticks on. You’re about to zone out because it’s the last class of the day. Suddenly, your teacher pulls up a PowerPoint presentation and tells you to get your notebooks. You groan. This means it's time to take notes. You’re used to taking the most detailed notes possible, making them colorful, and copying down every word the teacher projects. However, you’re too tired for that at the moment and you can barely hold the pencil in your hand. It doesn’t even help anyways, half the stuff you copy down ends up being irrelevant and feels like a waste of time.
If this is you, don’t feel embarrassed. Hundreds and thousands of middle and high schoolers have been in your shoes before, including myself. It’s not easy to just change the way you take your notes, but there are easier and less time-consuming methods to go about it. These methods have been scientifically proven to help you retain information better and when the time comes to prepare for the test, you’ll be glad you did this.
The Cornell Method
The Cornell method is one of the most popular methods among college students because they have a lot of information and too little time.
Here is what you do:
Divide your paper. Make a small margin around 2 or 2 ½ inches on the left and leave the rest of the paper by itself. Then make another box around 2 inches wide on the bottom.
Use the left side as a “topics” or “cues” area. Write down all of the important keywords, phrases, and topics in that box to come back to when preparing for an assessment. You can also write any questions you may have about the subject in this box for the future.
Use the biggest box on the right side for note-taking. Write every significant piece of information in that box.
Lastly, use the bottom box to summarize all of the notes you took in the right-hand column. Reduce all of your information and leave out anything that might feel excessive or unimportant.
Advantages:
Already organized in a logical manner
Systematic
Helps you retain information
Encourages the student to be an active listener during class.
One of the best ways to prepare for an assessment.
Disadvantages:
The notes section could get messy/disorganized.
Outlining
The outlining method is one of the most common and easy methods to use. Many students already use it without even knowing and it focuses on breaking down information in an easy manner. This is a good method to use for science classes.
Here is what you do:
Write the main topic of the class/lecture at the top of the page.
Write subheadings (main topics within the main topic) underneath.
Write important/significant information relating to the subheading underneath.
Write what the important information means and how it relates back to the main topic under the significant information.
Advantages:
Highlights the relationships between the main topic and the subheadings.
Organized in a chronological manner, making it thorough.
Does not require much editing time.
Easy to take all of the subheadings and important information, and turn it into a mock test to prepare for any tests/quizzes.
Disadvantages:
Cannot be used if the class has a faster pace.
Long
Requires a lot of thought
Hard to keep up with the organization this method requires
Mapping
Mapping is a great way to take notes for visual learners. This is especially great to use for times when teachers tell you to take notes off of a PowerPoint/Slides presentation. It is thorough and helps students take comprehensive notes.
Here is what you do:
Write the main topic of the class/lecture at the top of the page.
Create branches for the subtopics that keep stemming off of one another (like a tree)
Write significant information relating to each subtopic directly under each subheading.
Advantages:
Gives you a great visual
Easy to edit
Easy to break apart into separate sections when you are creating test prep material such as flashcards
Encourages the student to think deeply about the subject matter
Helps you retain information well.
Efficient
Disadvantages:
Strong concentration is required
Often has to be used in conjunction with other methods
Difficult to distinguish between significant information and just facts
Can get overwhelming for complex subjects
Boxing Method
This method is very similar to the mapping method in the sense that it is a highly visual way of taking notes. It is like a combination of the outlining and mapping method.
Here is what you do:
Write the main topic of the class/lecture at the top of the page.
Write every subheading spaced out from each other.
Create a box for every subheading.
Write all significant information for every subheading in the boxes.
Advantages:
Good for digital note-taking
Easy to review and edit
Aesthetic/Eye-Pleasing
Provides good visual
Easy to reduce notes if necessary without rewriting
Disadvantages:
Requires strong concentration
Not good for fast-paced classes
Easy to get distracted while trying to make it eye-pleasing
Requires the class to be structured
These note-taking methods will help you engage and participate in the class better and you’ll be happy you did this when tests start coming around and you need material to study. Overall, these methods are quicker, more comprehensive, and more efficient. In the end, the result matters more than the aesthetic.
However, every class and student is different, so these methods might not work for everyone. These are the note-taking methods I suggest for different types of students:
College Student: Too much information and too little time
Cornell Method. It is quick, efficient, and covers lots of material.
Aesthetic/Organized Student: Neat, tidy, likes their notes to be pretty
Boxing Method. Eye pleasing, yet comprehensive.
Creative Student: Visual Learner and/or participant in a class with many diagrams/charts
Mapping Method. Allows the student to be creative and copy down charts/diagrams in an organized manner.
Comprehensive Student: Wants ALL of the information possible in their notes
Outlining Method. Systematic and thorough. A win-win situation.
I hope you think of these techniques the next time you're in class and find yourself groaning about taking notes. Remember, note-taking is what you make it. It can be fast, simple, and efficient. Or, it can be long, hard, boring, and irrelevant. You make the choice.
References
Common Note-Taking Methods- University of Tennessee Chatanooga
Note-Taking Systems-California Polytechnic State University
Best Note-Taking Methods for College Students and Serious Note Takers-Good Notes
The Best Note-Taking Methods- Blog Box
Beginners Guide to Outlining Method:
Boxing Method of Note-Taking Pros and Cons- E Student
The Mapping Method of Note-Taking Pros and Cons- E Student
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