Note Taking Pro!

In all of my classes, I am really infamous for taking notes.  Whenever someone misses class, I am usually the one that they ask for makeup notes.  I am known for my notes full of color!  Everyone always asks me what kind of pens I use; in fact, at my high school, I started a colorful pen note-taking trend!  I figured that because of all of this, I would give advice for how I take notes, (especially because I am weird in that I love taking notes). 

1.  Use an outline style.  Since most of my professors use PowerPoint slides for class, I use an outline format for my notes.  I use the name of the slide for the Roman numeral, and then the secondary information by the letters and numbers.  This format also can be used for classes that do not use PowerPoints.  Simply use the topic or the main idea of your notes as the Roman numeral and all other secondary information for the letters and numbers.  When the teacher changes subjects, simply change the point on your outline.  I’m sure all of you have seen an outline before, but if you haven’t, there are pictures online.

2.  Use different colors.  These colors can be used in a variety of ways.  You can use a black pen to take all of your notes, and then use highlighters for different main points (yellow for important vocabulary, blue for things that are definitely going to be on the exam, etc.).  You can also take your notes in black pen and then write main points in different colors (my favorite pens to use are the Papermate Flair pens).  It has been researched that colors help stimulate your memory, and you will correlate a certain color with a certain point.

3.  Do not use any type of technology!  I know that a lot of people today use a laptop or tablet to take notes in class.  I know that it is faster to type notes than to write them out, but technology to me can be distracting and I do not recommend using it to takes notes, especially if you can connect to your school’s WiFi.  You could be tempted to go on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites during class when you should be paying attention in class.  This is why a lot of teacher’s do not allow technology in class.   

I hope that this article gave you some advice on how to take notes effectively for class.  You do not have to follow everything that I have said to a “T”; if you already have an effective way to take notes then by all means, continue to use that.  I am simply sharing how I have taken notes over the years.  If a computer is better for you than hand-written notes, keep using it.  If you feel silly for using multiple colors and that is the only reason you won’t use them, don’t worry what others say.  At the end of the day, you will get the good grade and they will come to you for advice on how to take notes.