Notetaking is the art of putting concepts and ideas to pen and paper (or with screen and keyboard) to look back at later. Depending on what exactly you are hoping to get from your notes, there may be multiple ways you can go about notetaking. With the countless ways of going about it, finding the best note-taking technique for yourself can sometimes become very confusing — but it doesn’t have to be.
Written by Khadija Farooq
First, let’s attack the whole digital vs handwritten conundrum.
Digital notes are definitely more convenient. They take less time to make, need virtually no paper or pens, can be easily shared, and are legible; however, they are not quite as effective for the actual process of learning. Handwritten notes engage more senses and are a far more active way of learning. It’s also usually easier on the eyes with considerably less computer glare to deal with.
When it comes to the actual formatting of notes, one size definitely does not fit all. Certain note-taking strategies may work really well for some courses or, even chapters, but not so well for others. For example, it may not be as effective using a mind map approach for a math-heavy course, but it would be amazing for a concept-heavy course with lots of connections between ideas. Don’t be afraid of changing it up. There is no hard and fast rule for note-taking: only what works for you and what doesn’t.
Here are a few of my own favourite note-taking systems:
The Outline Method:
The outline method is one of the simpler methods that most people are familiar with, and is especially simple to format online. You write everything with points and subpoints underneath, a little like this:
The Outline Method
Quick & efficient
Lots of text
Can be overwhelming when time comes to review notes
The Cornell Method:
This technique consists of dividing up your notes into three compartments: (1) a section for your in-class notes, (2) a section for the main points and possible test questions, and (3) a summary section. The sections don’t have to be filled out at the same time. In fact, returning to the summary section a few hours after the filling the in-class notes may be beneficial for your learning process. While you could attempt to format this online, its much easier to fill by hand.
I tried this method for a while before realizing virtual school hardly had any in-class sessions. Instead, I used the in-class section for notes from the modules and textbook. This just goes to show how one size doesn’t fit all.
The Mind Map Method:
I love this technique because of how easily I can see connections between concepts. For this method, you start with the central concept in the middle and draw nodes coming out of it to smaller sub-concepts. You can go further and draw more nodes out of the sub-concepts for smaller details. Again, this is usually easier done by hand, but there are several online programs which could assist you in the mapping task.
Bullet Journalling:
This is a fantastic notetaking technique for visual learners. You can personalize these notes all you want and can use a combination of the methods spoken about above to visually represent your thought process in an aesthetic manner.
It may be the most time-consuming, but effective bullet journaling notes can also be very attractive. Also, since you are doing more than just copying information, you have the potential to learn much more actively.
Conclusion
Let’s be honest. Writing notes isn’t always the funnest thing to do, but identifying the best note-taking method for yourself may allow you to be more successful in school.
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