Five Best Ways to Take Notes so that You can Actually Remember the Information
In class and in meetings, note-taking is important. It sounds easy, but can be pretty hard.
Think of all the times youâve looked back on your notes only to find theyâre filled with incomprehensible nonsense scribbled in the margins and a bunch of totally disconnected ideas!
You can learn to take better notes and there are a number of proven methods you can try out. There's no 'One Size Fits All'- so find the one that works for you.
The Outlining Method
Hereâs what you need to know:
The most general information should be aligned along the left side of your paper, with more specific groups of facts indented underneath.
As youâre listening in class or a meeting, pay attention to general ideas. Write those along the left side of your paper, with room underneath for supporting and related facts. Go back through and add the specifics under the general headers, indenting them somewhat to the right.
Thanks to the left-aligning and indenting, youâll be able to broadly review the major points before diving into the specifics underneath.
The Cornell Method
Youâll need to leave space along the left side of your paper, so mark out about two inches on the left and leave about six inches to the right for your notes. During your meeting, jot down information in that six-inch area as you hear it. After class or when your meeting ends, go through what you wrote down and complete any missing phrases or add additional information you didnât have time to put in there. To the best of your ability, sort the information into relevant topics, separating key ideas with a few blank lines.
Finally, go back to that two-inch section. Use it to label those groups of notes with a cue or general idea. You should be able to cover up the six-inch section, look at the cues on the left, and remember what information is hidden on the right.
The Mapping Method
This note-taking method is more of a graphic representation of the content youâre learning. Youâll write a key theme in the middle of your paper, then draw branches off of it. So if, for instance, youâre studying world history, you might write âWorld War IIâ in the center of the paper, then branch âcauses,â âcountries involved,â and âlasting impactâ off of it. You then expand your first set of branches, so âcountriesâ would develop two new branches: Allied Powers and Axis Powers.
Youâre not putting much detail into this and it will look pretty messy by the time youâre done, but if youâre more of a visual and participatory learner, this is a great option for you. Itâs hard to know how much space youâll need in advance, so donât be afraid to redo your map more neatly when your meeting is over.
The Charting Method
This is best employed when youâre dealing with multiple topicsâuse it to compare two ideas or break idea one down into multiple parts, like pros and cons.
Divide your page into two (or more) columns and label each column to match what youâre hearing, whether that involves a comparison or a breakdown. Whenever you hear a pertinent fact related to one of your labels, stick it into the appropriate column.
The SQ4R Method
This one is only for when youâre reading, but can really help you retain what you read so you can participate in meetings or class afterward. The acronym breaks down like this:
Survey: Taking three to five minutes to skim your reading, writing down major headings, subheadings, topics, and points (like you would with the outlining method)
Questions: Write down any questions you have about the content after briefly surveying it
Read: Actually read the text, bit by bit, and keep an eye out for the answers to the questions you just wrote down
Recite: After each chunk of text, write down the major ideas, keywords, and concepts, plus any answers to your questions
Relate: Consider whether you can relate to anything you just read in a personal way or if it reminds you of anything in your life, which will help you remember it
Review: Reread your notes when youâre done, which will help you retain what you wrote down
Other things to keep in mind
When youâre done note-taking, no matter which method you used, add some information to the top margin, like the date and any key concepts, so when youâre flipping through your notes later on, you have an easier time finding the pertinent pages. Donât let your note-taking distract you entirely from the conversation happening around you, eitherâlistening to the speaker or your group is more important than writing everything down perfectly, and youâll retain more information if you actively participate in any resulting discussion.
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