I can hardly ever remember taking notes in high school. Besides a few select AP courses, notes simply weren’t critical to my academic success. I imagine the same is true for many of my fellow honors freshman, who have managed to perform well without developing this important skill. But circumstances change, and we now find ourselves in a demanding intellectual environment. It’s time to adapt, and that means becoming effective note-takers.
Perhaps you are of the opinion that this subject doesn’t warrant much discussion, much less an entire blog post. After all, note-taking is just copying what a teacher says, right? Unfortunately, there is a lot more nuance to this topic than there may seem. While you can still thrive by transcribing everything you see on a chalkboard, you are wasting time and effort by failing to adopt more efficient practices. So I implore you to read on, and consider implementing the following techniques into your regular note-taking.
Keep your notes organized. This should go without saying, but in the rush of trying to include all prudent information given by your instructor, it’s easy to abandon certain organizational habits. Remember that you can (and should) always adjust your notes after class to make touch-ups and refinements, making them easier to understand in the future. I recommend using note-taking apps specifically for their organizational features. My favorite, Evernote, permits users to create digital notebooks that contain all notes for a particular class, and attach tags to files so that they are easy to relocate later. And best of all, apps like Evernote are free, so there’s no harm in trying them.
Prioritize information. Since entering college, I have taken more notes than ever before in my academic career. My initial strategy was to type everything my teacher wrote down, but it soon became clear that not everything was of equal significance. Worse, all my time spent typing prevented me from actually engaging with the information; I was merely going through the motions. So, save yourself the trouble and compress your notes to whatever size works for you. Your writing doesn’t need to be complete sentences—or even resemble sentences—as long as they effectively convey all significant information to you. This is ultimately a matter of personal preference, so I encourage students to experiment with different note-taking styles and discern what they find most appealing.
Revisit your notes as soon as possible. I’m likely echoing your professors, but for good reason. Your notes don’t do you much good if you write them down only to be reviewed during exam week. If you recurse through your notes the same day you wrote them, you will be in the optimal state of mind to make crucial edits to your notes, increasing their clarity for when you have long forgotten the information. I dismissed this advice when I first received it, and now that I have begun the process of honing my note-taking skills, I can wholeheartedly endorse this strategy to my fellow Blue Hens.
This is in no manner a comprehensive list of note-taking strategies, nor can I guarantee these methods will work for everyone. However, it is imperative that we, as honors students, begin being more conscious of skills that we can improve upon, especially those so fundamental to the learning process. So, I encourage readers to consider the points stated above and decide for themselves how to change their approach to note-taking for the better.
