How to Take Notes

Complete the assigned reading before class. Teachers provide reading materials to familiarize you with the topics to be discussed in class. If you finish the reading beforehand, you will already know many of the general details. This allows you to focus on noting down the most essential concepts.

• Additionally, before class, don’t forget to review your notes from the previous session. This will help you recall where you left off and any necessary information for the upcoming class.

Find study materials and lecture outlines online. If your teacher provides outlines, PowerPoint slides, or even basic summaries for the next class, make use of them. Think of them as the framework of a house, which you will later complete and decorate with your notes.

• It’s easy to fall into the habit of simply printing the outline or slides and skipping note-taking during class or jotting down a few quick notes here and there on the printed material. However, using these materials to build your own notes is far more effective. It’s the best way to process information, which is ultimately the purpose of note-taking.

Consider the pros and cons of typing notes during class. Many students feel more comfortable typing than writing by hand. However, there are reasons to consider using the traditional and reliable pen-and-paper method. Some studies suggest that students who write notes by hand understand and retain information better. With a laptop, it’s easy to fall into the trap of passively transcribing everything you hear instead of actively identifying the most important information to record. Writing by hand can help you focus better.

• On the other hand, using a laptop or other electronic device makes formatting, saving, editing, sharing, and reviewing notes (without worrying about messy handwriting) much easier.
• There are numerous note-taking tools for laptops, such as Microsoft Word’s “notebook layout,” software that syncs lecture recordings with your notes, programs that organize notes and allow you to merge documents from various sources and formats like emails or PDFs, and collaborative note-taking platforms that let you work on notes with others in real-time. These can be lifesavers or distractions. Only you can determine what works best for you.
• Some instructors and schools prohibit laptop use in class. Therefore, don’t underestimate the importance of knowing how to take notes by hand.

Sit near the front of the room. Choose a spot in the classroom where you are less likely to be distracted. This will help you focus and take better notes. Find a place where you can see and hear the instructor clearly. You should also have a good view of the board. Arrive a little early to secure your seat.

• If you find yourself distracted by the noise of other students, the hum of the air conditioner, or the glare from the projector screen, discreetly move to another seat if possible. If not, do your best during that class and find a better spot next time.

Ensure you have enough supplies for note-taking. If you’re writing by hand, bring extra pens, pencils, and paper. If you’re using a laptop or other electronic device, make sure it’s fully charged and ready to go when class starts.

• Some people prefer using loose sheets of paper so they can spread them out on a desk or floor while studying. Others find notebooks to be more organized.

Date and label your notes with the lecture topic. Make sure your notes are clearly marked for easy reference later. Write the date and lecture topic at the top of each page.

• If you have multiple pages of notes, don’t forget to number them. This will make it easier to keep your notes in order.

Consider formatting options for your notes. The neater and more organized your notes are from the start, the easier they will be to understand, edit, and study later. Using an outline format is a great choice, especially if the lecture is well-structured and presented as such. In this format, you write headings for each section, followed by bullet points for main ideas and sub-bullets for supporting details. This is far better than writing everything in a flat, unstructured manner.

• Keep in mind that instructors don’t always present main points and supporting details in a clear structure. Be prepared to reorganize your notes after class.

Focus on summarizing rather than transcribing the lecture. To take better notes, you need to be an “active listener.” This means not just writing down everything you hear but paying attention to the lecture and identifying the most essential points.

• For example, instead of spending time writing every detail about Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy actions, focus on understanding the key concepts of his overall foreign policy and identifying examples that illustrate them. This way, you’re already starting the process of learning and understanding (or, in other words, absorbing knowledge).
• The necessity of this active engagement is one reason many experts discourage recording lectures.
• If you’re determined to record a lecture or have a valid reason to do so, always ask for your professor’s permission first. Lectures are considered the intellectual property of the professor, and some schools have specific policies regarding recording.

Listen carefully to the introduction. Don’t waste time warming up your note-taking at the start of class. Be ready from the beginning.

• Lectures often begin by diving straight into the main points or at least hinting at the “clues” about what’s coming next. Listening carefully to the introductory content will help you organize and identify the most important parts of the lecture.
• Don’t get distracted by latecomers or those who aren’t ready to take notes.

Write down everything written on the board. Every instructor organizes their lecture into some form of outline, even if it’s not explicitly clear or strictly followed during the lecture. Information on slides or the board provides a reliable guide for structuring your notes.

Learn to recognize your instructor’s cues and hints. They use verbal expressions, hand gestures, and other subtle hints to emphasize important parts of the lecture. Start observing these expressions and gestures to identify key information.

• Identify main ideas by recognizing signal words and phrases that indicate something is important or worth noting. Instructors won’t announce every important idea or example, but they will use cues to convey their points. Skilled speakers do this, and you should expect to pick up on these cues. Examples include:
  • There are three reasons why...
  • First... second... third...
  • The importance of this is...
  • The impact of this is...
  • From this, we can see that...
• You should also learn to recognize other clues. When presenting a main idea, instructors may speak slower or louder, repeat a word or phrase, pause longer before continuing (perhaps to take a drink), use more pronounced hand gestures, stop pacing, and/or make more direct eye contact with the audience.

Develop your own shorthand system. Shorthand involves using shortcuts to avoid writing every word, allowing you to take notes faster—a crucial skill during lectures. However, avoid using professional shorthand systems, as they require extensive training. Instead, create your own system of abbreviations, symbols, and shortcuts. Even if no one else understands it, you’ll know what you mean.

• Use abbreviations and omit non-essential words to take notes efficiently. Focus on recording key words needed to grasp the idea. Skip words like "is" and "the," which don’t add meaning. Create symbols to speed up writing, such as arrows to indicate increase/decrease or cause-and-effect relationships, and abbreviations for frequently repeated terms (e.g., IR for international relations).
• Rephrase everything except formulas, specific definitions, or content likely to be quoted verbatim in exams.
• Underline, circle, star, highlight, or use similar marks for key examples, definitions, or other important content. Develop a marking system for different types of information.
• Try drawing diagrams or illustrations for concepts you can’t quickly express or understand. For example, sketch a pie chart to roughly represent the relative strength of political parties in a specific election instead of writing detailed information.

Write clearly. Ensure your letters and words are spaced well and legible enough for you to read later. Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to decipher your own notes, especially during biology exam prep.

Leave space for later edits and additions. Don’t cram as much as possible onto each page. Leave plenty of blank space so you can comfortably revise and annotate later. This approach also makes your notes easier to read and process.

Pay attention to the lecture’s conclusion. It’s easy to lose focus as the clock ticks toward the end of class. Other students might start packing up or whispering about lunch plans. However, the conclusion is just as important as the introduction in providing an overview and highlighting key concepts and themes.

• If the lecture ends with a summary, focus intently on it. Use it to check the structure of your notes. If your notes seem disorganized, jot down the main points mentioned in the summary. This will help you revise your notes later.

Ask questions. During class or at the end of the lecture, make sure to ask questions about anything unclear. When other students ask questions, note both the question and the instructor’s response. This additional information might also answer your own questions.

• If you’re worried about slowing down the class with your questions (or annoying classmates who are already halfway out the door), approach the professor after class. You’ll likely find other students doing the same, and you can listen to or reference discussions related to their questions.
• You can also bring a list of questions to the professor during office hours.

Review your notes as soon as possible. Do this within 24 hours after the class ends. By then, you may have forgotten 80% of the lecture content. Build on what you’ve just learned rather than relearning everything from scratch.

Edit, don’t just rewrite. Treat your in-class notes as a draft and your edits as the finalized version. Create a new set of notes. This is especially helpful if your notes are disorganized, messy, or hard to read. Don’t just copy them verbatim. Turn this into an active editing process.

• Use the structural and conceptual cues you picked up during the lecture to reorganize your notes.
• Supplement poorly recorded sections with content from the textbook.

Highlight key parts of the lecture. While editing your notes, take the time to mark or underline important sections. Use highlighters or colored pens to color-code recurring concepts. Highlighted notes are invaluable when preparing for exams, as they allow you to quickly and effectively recall the essential content of each lesson.

Get notes for missed classes. If you can’t attend class due to illness or other reasons, don’t forget to borrow and copy notes from a classmate. Also, discuss the material with your instructor to ensure you understand the content.

• Don’t rely on paid note-taking services. Most universities have policies against these types of notes. Remember, using purchased notes isn’t “active learning,” which helps you understand and retain the material.
• If you have a physical or similar disability that makes note-taking difficult, talk to your professors and the student support services about available options. There are likely many resources for you, such as specialized tutoring, note-taking assistance, permission to record lectures, or additional tutoring.

Divide the page into three sections. The Cornell method involves first noting key ideas and then developing questions from those notes. Split the page by drawing a vertical line about 8 cm from the left margin. Extend this line almost to the bottom of the page, leaving about 5 cm at the end.

• For laptop users, there are programs that can format your word processor to follow the Cornell method.

Write down the main ideas of the lecture. In the largest section of the divided page, record the main points of the lecture as you listen. Leave enough space for later edits.

• Include examples, diagrams, graphs, and other content discussed in class.

Create questions for yourself after class. The left section of the page is used to generate questions based on your notes. These questions can help clarify ideas, definitions, and more. Review your notes within one to two days to ensure better information retention.

• You can develop potential test questions from this material. What do you think the instructor might ask on an exam?
• When reviewing your notes or preparing for a test, cover the right side of the page and see if you can answer the questions on the left.

Summarize your lecture notes at the bottom of the page. Use the footer section to create a summary of the notes on that page. This will help you recall the key points from that part of the lesson.