How do you take good notes?
Write notes in your own words instead of copying what the teacher says. Leave gaps so you can add questions and links later. Mark anything you did not understand with a star or a question mark. Then look over your notes within a day, while the lesson is still fresh. That short review is what makes notes stick.
The point of notes is not to record everything. It is to understand. If you copy sentences word for word, your brain switches off and you remember almost nothing. Force yourself to shorten and reword what you hear. When you put an idea in your own words, you have to actually get it first, and that is where the learning happens.
Leave space on the page. A blank margin or a few empty lines means you can come back and add a question, a quick drawing, or a link to something else you learned. Notes that are crammed edge to edge are hard to use later. Cornell-style notes do this on purpose: a wide column for notes, a thin column on the left for questions, and a line or two at the bottom to sum it up in your own words.
Be honest about what you missed. Put a star or a question mark next to anything that did not click. Future you needs to know where the holes are, so you can ask the teacher or look it up before the test. The last step matters most: read your notes again within a day. A five-minute pass while it is fresh beats a long cram the night before.
- 1Don't copy word for word. Shorten each idea and write it in your own words.
- 2Leave a margin or blank lines so you can add questions and links later.
- 3Star or question-mark anything you did not understand.
- 4Try Cornell style: notes on the right, questions on the left, a short summary at the bottom.
- 5Within a day, reread your notes and fill the gaps while it is still fresh.
- 6Cover the notes and try to answer your own questions from memory.