When it comes to the set of tools that you’ll need to succeed as a student, being good at taking notes is one of the most important. Being able to jot down quick, clean, useful notes is a valuable life skill. If you’re looking for some tips on how to write more effective and memorable notes, read on as we break down some of our favorite note-taking strategies.
Handwrite Your Notes
It can be tempting to type out your notes as you learn but you’re much better off using a pen and paper. Get a journal or notepad- something that’s easy to organize and flip through- and write down what you need to know as you go. The reason why it’s better to do this the old-fashioned way is that physically writing things has a proven impact on memory retention. Physical handwriting involves more bodily effort, stimulating interconnected parts of the brain that are responsible for sensory processing and memory. In other words: you’re more likely to remember something by jotting it down than typing it out.
Get Symbolic
One thing that can kill your momentum when you’re taking notes is trying to be word-for-word accurate. It’s okay to abbreviate! Paraphrase away! Using shorthand techniques like abbreviations, symbols in place of words, or literal shorthand can save you time. The added benefit of using symbols and abbreviations is that it engages the more abstract-focused parts of your brain. Your brain has to look at the symbols you sketched out and decode them. That added bit of effort- of transforming figurative/symbolic forms into plain language- helps hone your cognitive and memory skills.
Coloring: Not Just For Kids!
Speaking of stimulating your brain through visual cues: colors can be a great way to make your notes pop in your memory. Research has shown that associating information through specific colors can improve memory retention. You can use colors to label types of information as you go. For example: if there’s a concept you have a hard time grasping, underline/highlight those lines in red. Information that you need to look up and research further could be rendered in a yellow or blue. Or perhaps you’ve read a fun fact that you want to explore in your own time once this class is over? Highlighting it in a bright green could help you recall it later. Putting a color directory in front of your notebook and forming these color associations will make it easier for you to scan through your notes and immediately pick out important information to focus and follow up on.
Be an Active Listener & Reader
It doesn’t matter how well you can take notes if you don’t know what notes to take. The key to taking good notes is recognizing important information when you come across it. You won’t be able to do that if you don’t pay close attention to the texts you’re reading or the classes you’re attending. You need to be an active listener and reader. Since you’re probably not going to write down EVERYTHING you’re learning, you need to be attentive so you understand the context around the notes you’re taking. There’s a lot of connective tissue in your learning material that will never get written down: that stuff needs to live in your head. This is why you should resist the urge to daydream or scroll through your phone while you’re trying to learn. Every minute of focused attention counts in your favor.
Talk It Out
Physically writing something down helps etch it firmly into your memory; saying it out loud seals the deal. Research has shown that reading something out loud helps improve your ability to memorize that material. If you want to remember something, say it to yourself. Over and over and over again. The repetition and verbal declaration work together to make the information “stick” in your head.
Review And Revise And Revise Some More
Your notes aren’t a static document. They aren’t etched in stone. You should look at your school notes as a living document, one going through endless permutations. Don’t be afraid to shorten and revise your notes. Review your notes often; resist the urge to file them away somewhere after you jot them down. Reread and reflect on the material. Write down anything fresh or unusual that comes to mind. If you wrote down questions in your notes you no longer need answers for, erase them. As your understanding of the material deepens, rewrite your notes to reflect that newfound mastery.
Article by Austin Brietta
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