What you should and should NOT do
Introduction
Whenever a teacher goes through a topic or exams are near, only one thing comes to our mind. Grind note-taking. First, I'll introduce the benefits of note-taking, after which I will address common mistakes made by students, and offering solutions and having more effective notes for revision. Read on.
Is type worth the hype?
Let's address the elephant in the room, should I write or type notes? Write it down would be my advice. This ties in to my first point, do not be a scribe. We all have a habit of copying down the notes, maybe even the same ones multiple times, because we think it will help us retain the information by getting familiar with it. Even if you do not write your notes word-to-word with your textbook, I am sure many of you refer to your textbooks/teachers while taking the notes. Because I used to do it. You want to avoid this at all costs, because you are just transcribing the information without processing it.
Research by Princeton and UCLA has shown that rereading handwritten notes triggers memories of PROCESSING that information, and I vouch that I have experienced this. You remember your thought process of how you understood the information and wrote it in your own unique way, which is why it is so effective later on. Handwriting notes also stimulate more parts of the brain, unlike typing it out, leading to stronger neural pathways being formed.
The importance of understanding the information
Now do this simple test, after you've written your notes using the techniques you have always used, recall for me every single thing you just wrote down. Do you even understand what you've written? The point is, you have to make sure you fully understand the information before you write it down, notebooks are NOT there to help you understand topics, notebooks are for writing down what you HAVE understood for later reference. While typing notes is much easier and faster than writing it down, its convenience will tempt you to take notes without even understanding them, because we think more notes=better retaining. That's wrong, sorry to disappoint you. That said, to take notes, writing it on a notebook, or digitally on tablets using styluses, that's up to you.
So what CAN we do?
First, understand the material. Torture your teachers with questions till you understand. Ask your friends, and don't worry, most of them would try their best to help and wouldn't look down on you. Search up You-tube videos for help (Khan Academy and Organic Chemistry Tutor are a life-saver). Use active recall to ensure you can retain the information.
1) You want to make sure your notes are structured. A con of writing notes is scribbling it down at available spaces, leading to legibility issues. If you are unsure with structure, this one time refer to the textbook and observe how the content is arranged. By physical position? By importance? By complexity? Look at the sub-headings of a textbook to gain ideas.
2) Write from memory. After you've actively recalled the information, write down the information down in words you feel convey the statement best. Only after you've written it, refer back to the textbook and look for mistakes to correct the notes. Let it reinforce the forgotten information.
3) Write the information in bullet points. This helps you keep your notes short and concise, avoiding irrelevant jargon. It is also easier to recall shorter, denser pieces of information during exam periods. Use the Cornell method(from the picture above).
4) Add figures and pictures. If you can't draw it out, you can print it out and stick it on your notebook. These figures make the notes easier to understand, because naming parts for an organ example would be very hard unless you have a picture right next to it. Label your diagram with pieces of information, personalize it. This is a MUST-DO.
Pro tip: Have a print-out of the periodic table in your notebook.
5) For subjects like Physics and Chemistry, add in tedious example questions/FAQs. This will help you test your knowledge of the notes, and expose you to applying those concepts. When the teacher goes through a difficult example next time, WRITE IT DOWN.
6) AVOID perfectionism. This is not a sketchbook, its a note. You do not want to spend hours perfecting your handwriting font, or making it look neat. DO however highlight your notes when needed, but keep it in moderation.
7) Take notes over a consistent basis, throughout evenly spaced periods of time. DO NOT cram them right before exams, because this would lead to scribing the information as said before. Do remember taking notes for all subjects is hard, so prioritize the difficult subjects first.
8) Try mind-mapping. For die-hard digital note-takers, this is much better than your standard word document. You are able to visually remember the flow of information, because mind-maps are organized, fluid, and interconnected. The material feed of each other. Also visually pleasing since you can add online pictures and have net fonts. i would recommend Mindomo (free version). Example below(my notes).
Example of good note taking (my notes this year):
Example of bad note taking (also mine, last year):
I hope the above said information helped you with note-taking, easing the toll on exam revision. Please leave any opinions you have about this article below, or any improvements you would like to see on Student's Spot. Help a buddy out by subscribing, and sharing this to those who need this, if you think this is helpful.
Signing out, Arshath.
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