Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Be prepared
• Method 2 of 3: Make the most optimal notes
• Method 3 of 3: Review your notes
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Whether you want to be successful in school or be at the top of your professional career, taking good notes is a valuable skill for retaining, recalling, repeating and remembering information. If you follow the simple steps and tips below, you will not only learn how to take notes, but also how to take notes that help you apply knowledge and retain learning material.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Be prepared

1. Gather materials to take notes. That will probably sound simple and obvious, but it is important that you have all your materials in order and ready for the start of any class, meeting, or lecture.
   • If you are taking notes with pen and paper, make sure you have a notepad with enough blank A4 pages. It is also useful to have two of each color pen. If you're using a laptop, make sure it's fully charged or sit close to a power outlet so you can power your laptop.
   • If you wear glasses, make sure you have them with you in case the teacher / speaker notes down important information on a black or whiteboard. If you bring your glasses, make sure you also have a cleaning cloth with you so that you can clean your glasses if necessary. Also remember to sit down where you can see and hear the speaker well.
2. Be prepared. Before going to a class, lecture, or meeting, make sure you have read your notes from last time. This will refresh your memory and you can continue from where you left off last time.
   • If you have been advised to read a few things in preparation for the next lecture, make sure you have done so. This will help you better understand the topics, concepts, and ideas that your teacher / speaker may be presenting.In addition, it might be a good idea to summarize the piece, article, or chapter you needed to read in advance. Write your summary on one side of a sheet so you can post your new notes on the other side.
   • Remember the old saying, "By failing in preparing, you prepare to fail."
3. Listen actively. Many people make the mistake of literally copying everything they hear while taking notes without actually understanding what was said.
   • So this is wrong. If you don't make an effort to understand the subject during the lecture, important learning moments will pass you by.
   • Therefore, the first time you hear the material, you should try to absorb as much of the material as possible. If you do that, you won't have to do much to refresh your memory and you will be less confused if you have to look back at the material later.
4. Make notes on paper. Although taking notes is often easier on your laptop, a study conducted at Princeton University found that people who take notes with pen and paper have a better grip on the material.
   • Presumably this is due to the fact that laptop users tend to copy everything they hear word for word without actually processing what has been said.
5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you run into something you don't understand, don't just write it down indiscriminately and then tell yourself you'll worry about it later - rather ask the teacher / speaker for clarification right away.
   • Think about it - if you don't understand something now, looking back at it will make you look even more confused later.
   • Also, don't be afraid to ask the teacher / speaker to repeat something - especially if you feel like they've said something important.

Method 2 of 3: Make the most optimal notes

1. Focus on keywords and concepts. The most important change you can make to improve your note-taking skills is to focus exclusively on writing down keywords and concepts.
   • Recognize the most relevant information. Write down individual words or clauses most related to the current topic and most relevant - things like: dates, names, theories, definitions - only the most important details should be included. Eliminate all less important words and details - if you want to see those things you can read them back in your textbook.
   • Think about what information you have want preserve. Why are you attending the lecture? Why are you attending a seminar? Why did your employer send you to a conference? Even though your first instinct is to literally try to write down what you hear or see, remember that you are taking notes to learn from it - Writing a novella is not the intention.
   • Prioritize "new" information. Don't waste your time writing down information you already know - this is a waste of time and useless. Focus more on writing down new information that you don't know about yet - you'll learn the most from your notes.
2. Use the "question, answer, proof method." This is a very effective way of taking notes, as it forces you to delve deeper into the material as you write. It also forces you to describe the subject in your own words. It has been proven that this way of describing information makes it easier for students to understand and remember the material better.
   • Rather than copying all the information sentence by sentence, listen carefully to what the speaker is saying and try to understand what is being said. When you have done that, write your notes down so that they are a series of questions that have entered you through the material. Then give the answers to your own questions.
   • For example, if the question was, "What is Shakespeare's central theme." Romeo and Juliet? ". The answer could be something like "It's more than a tragic love story." Romeo and Juliet is about the consequences of having a grudge and envy towards others. "
   • Then, under this answer, you can give your substantiation in the form of evidence by referring to specific examples in the story. This strategy allows you to write down all relevant information in a concise and easy-to-read manner.
3. Use shorthand or speed writing. The average student writes about 1/3 word per second, while the average speaker speaks 2/3 word per second. That is why it may be more convenient to develop your own quick writing system, so that you can write even more efficiently and you can avoid falling behind.
   • Try replacing words such as "should" with "zdn", "could" with "knn" and "with" with "m /". Use a "+" to indicate the word "and". Also try to abbreviate long words that often recur during a course or lecture - for example, instead of writing down the word 'popular sovereignty' 25 times during the time period of a history course, you better use the abbreviation 'vlksvrntt' .
   • Of course, with your own scripture it is very important that you can decode your own script again later - if you think you might have trouble with that, try writing a key on the cover of your notes. You can also check everything again and complete the incomplete words after the lesson.
   • If the speaker is still going too fast for you even though you are writing in speed writing, consider bringing a recording device with you to the next lesson - this will allow you to listen to what was said a second time and supplement your notes.
4. Make your notes look good. You will reluctantly want to review and study your notes if they are carelessly, disorganized and difficult to read, so it's important that your notes look nice and tidy! Here are some tips to make your notes more visually appealing:
   • Always start on a new page. You will find your notes easier to read if you start on a new blank page for each lesson or topic. Put the date in the top right corner and only write on one side per page. Especially if you write with pens that release a lot of ink.
   • Make sure your handwriting is legible. It would have been a waste of your time if you couldn't read your notes later on! No matter how fast you write, make sure your handwriting is small, neat, and legible and, if possible, avoid using cursive handwriting.
   • Use wide margins. Draw a margin with a pen and ruler on each page so that you have a wide margin on the left. This prevents the page from looking too busy and gives you the space to write down additional information when reviewing your notes.
   • Use symbols and diagrams. Things like arrows, dots and boxes / squares, diagrams, tables, and other visual aids are often great ways to relate and remember important concepts, especially if you are someone who can better remember things through visualization.
5. Include colors in your notes. Many people find that adding colors to notes makes the information easier to read and therefore helps you retain what it says.
   • This is because colors stimulate the creative part of your brain, making your notes appear more interesting and therefore easier to remember. The use of colors helps you to link colors in your memory with the material, making it easier to remember the content of your notes.
   • Try using different colored pens for different parts of your notes - for example, you can write questions with a red pen, definitions with a blue pen, and conclusions with a green pen.
   • You can also use a highlighter to highlight important terms, dates, and definitions. Just be careful not to overdo it - you shouldn't see marking your notes as actually learning from your notes.
6. Also take notes from your textbook. After a lesson or lecture, you may want to supplement your notes with information from your textbook. Taking notes using your textbook is another great skill to have.
   • Review the material ahead of time: Before you immediately want to start reading a new piece of text, it is better to go through the material roughly, so that you know a little about what it is about. Read each introduction, introduction and conclusion, headings, subheadings, and the first and last sentences of each paragraph. Also look at tables, pictures or diagrams.
   • Read the text actively and thoroughly: Now go back to the beginning of the text and read it thoroughly from beginning to end. When you are done with a paragraph, go back and highlight the keywords, facts, concepts, or important quotes. Also look for visual cues in your textbook - things like bold or italic words, as well as the use of color or bullets, as they are often used to highlight very important points.
   • Take notes: Once you've read the text thoroughly, go back to the beginning and then make notes of the information you've highlighted. Try not to copy entire sentences - that's simply a waste of time - and describe your notes in your own words whenever possible.

Method 3 of 3: Review your notes

1. Check back to your notes later in the day. Reviewing your notes after class or later the same day will help you hold the information better. You don't have to study them intensively - just spend about 15 to 20 minutes each evening going through your notes.
   • Fill in the blanks. Use the time you review your notes to supplement them with additional information you can remember from class or lecture.
   • Write a summary. Another effective method to better memorize your notes is to summarize the information in your notes at the bottom of the pages.
2. Test yourself. Test your understanding by covering your notes and then trying to explain to yourself what the topic is about - out loud or in your head.
   • Check how many of the important details you can remember. Then read the notes again to refresh the information you didn't mention.
   • Explain the material to a friend. Teaching or explaining the material to someone is a good way to test whether you have fully understood the topic and whether your notes cover the topic extensively enough.
3. Memorize your notes. You will only see the benefit of having well-written notes during the exam periods, so you need to know all the material by heart. If you have consistently gone through your notes for 20 to 30 minutes every night, the abstinence process will be really easy. Here are some popular abstinence techniques you can try:
   • Sentence-by-sentence method: If you need to memorize a piece of text, there is a good technique where you read the first sentence a few times and then say the sentence out loud without looking at the page. Then read the second sentence a few times and then say the first and second sentences out loud without looking at the page. Keep doing this until you can say the entire length of text without looking at the page (s).
   • Story method: In this method, you turn the information you need to remember into a simple story so that you can remember it more easily. For example, if you want to memorize the first three elements of the First Group of the periodic table (hydrogen, helium and lithium), you could use the following story: "(H) arrite and (He) nry were in the (Li) ft." . The story doesn't have to make sense - in fact, the crazier it is, the better.
   • Reminders: Using mnemonics is a good way to remember a list of words in a specific order. An example of a mnemonic is the first letter of each word you have to learn, take it and make a short sentence with it, where each word starts with such a letter. For example, to remember the sequence of the notes "EGBDF" in a musical piece, you can use the reminder "Any good brother does a decent job."
   • For more detailed instructions on popular and effective abstinence techniques, see this article.

Tips

• If the speaker repeats a little more than twice, then it is probably something important and therefore useful if you pay close attention to it.
• Stick to short sentences and periods: remember that these are notes only and should not be a report.
• If you are reading a book for an English Literature course, make sure you have a stack of Post-It on hand, as you will probably not be allowed to write in the book. When taking these notes, make sure to describe on each Post-It how the reader feels when the author uses a particular language. The author always uses imagery and certainly in Shakespeare's plays. Include that in your notes and add a personal response.
• When taking notes, make sure to underline the keywords that may appear on your test.
• Pay close attention to what the speaker is saying and do not let anyone or anything distract you.
• Make sure you have separate notebooks or sections for your courses and that you label them.
• Do not copy every spoken word.
• Write down only the most important things you need to know.
• Write the information in other words. This helps you to understand better.
• If the school permits, use a variety of bright colors of highlighters. That way, your attention is drawn to the highlighted words and you want to look at them. However, do NOT mark everything! You don't want to participate in a coloring contest.
• Use software such as Evernote or Microsoft Office OneNote to organize your notes.
• If your school allows it, you can even record your lectures with different apps.
• Even though computers make it easier to jot down notes, try to write notes on paper. Research has shown that writing your notes with pen and paper has an effective effect on your memory and your ability to recall (it also improves your writing speed).
• Listen carefully to your teacher when he / she is explaining a topic.
• If you don't have all the notes you wanted after class, ask your friends or the teacher for their notes.
• Write neatly so that you don't have problems reading your own handwriting later on.
• If you don't understand a topic, it will help if you write down some examples. This can be very helpful if your teacher lets you use your notes.
• If you can't remember something, write it down over and over until you feel it's helping.

Warnings

• Don't get distracted by people who are not the speaker.
• Make sure you have separate leaves or Post-It’s with you for when needed. In addition, number your pages and mark what relates to each other.
• First ask your teacher if you can use a recording device.

Necessities

• At least two pens or pencils
• An eraser, for pencils that do not have an eraser on top of the pencil.
• Glasses or other aids
• Enough paper
• Highlighters (at least two colors) or colored pens.
• At least one pack of different colors of Post-It’s.
• A folder or folder where you can organize your notes.