LibGuides: Managing study: Note Taking

Why take notes and three good note taking methods

Taking notes: Crash course study skills #1 by CrashCourse

The pen is mightier than the keyboard by Oppenheimer & Mueller (2014) Oppenheimer, D. M., & Mueller, P. A. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159-1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581

Writing notes in your own words engages your brain. This helps with learning and remembering new information.

The Cornell Method

If you watched the CrashCourse video above, this should look familiar. This is how you can split your page up to take notes using the Cornell Method

Write your lecture notes
Write your cues. This include main ideas, keywords, and prompts to help you study.
After the lecture, or during your study time, summarise your notes.

Be creative with your note taking

Use colour. Draw diagrams and pictures. Use flowcharts. Your notes don't have to be in sentences or paragraphs.

Make them useful for you!

Image credit: Jada (2020)

Effective and efficient note taking

7 note-taking secrets of the top 1% of students by Cajun Koi Academy

Don't just copy the lecture slides

When taking notes in class, we tend to write down everything that is on the lecture slides. While this may be useful for some people, it isn't the smartest way to take notes during your lectures. Why write down the notes that are on the slides when they have already been written down for you. Instead, focus on writing down what the lecturer says in relation to the points already written on the slides.

Try this:

Print the lecture slides before class. OR if you're tech savvy, open the slides on your tablet or laptop.
As the lecturer talks through the slides, directly writing the additional information that the they share on the slides right next to the notes.
- Capture extra details they share
- Capture examples that they provide
- Highlight or underline the key points
- Put a star or ! next to the point that they say are "very important"

Doing this allows you to use your time more effectively, capture more information, and helps to keep all of your notes together.

Do you have a good strategy to share?

If you have a good note taking strategy that you would like to share with other students, email LSS and we may be able to add it to this guide.

Note taking apps

If you want more than Microsoft Word, try a note taking app. There are lots of different apps that you can use to take and mange your notes, including:

Do a Google search to find one that works for you. But, pay attention to the cost. Find one that is FREE.

Managing study: Note Taking