Note Taking 101

Hate note taking? I used to hate note taking until I learned two very effective note taking strategies that helped me to take better and more useful notes. If you hate note taking then chances are you are not taking notes in a way that is resourceful and helpful for your courses. As college students it is very important that we take good notes because if we do not then we will have a harder time learning course information which will result in the loss of valuable study time. Furthermore since spring break is quickly approaching it is imperative that students take good notes because several courses have exams the week after spring break so the better your notes are the more organized you will be for that exam.

This week we learned about numerous note taking strategies which included the 1 Plus 3 notes, Plug in notes, To Do notes and the SU/Cornell notes. During the week I used all of these different note taking strategies, the two that I liked the most were the To Do notes and the SU/Cornell notes.

Before I used these notetaking strategies I never took the time to write my own notes in any of my courses. I would just study and read the lecture notes that my professor's provided. My old method left me unfocused and bored with the topics. After learning these two different techniques I am now more alert and intereseted in my topics and my courses.

The first note taking strategy that I am going to discuss in the To Do notes. On March 21st, the monday after spring break my second essay for WRT 205 is due. I chose to use this method for my WRT 205 paper because this method works best for courses like WRT that are essay or project related. You can make To Do notes too by drawing a square then draw a vertical line half way down the middle of the square. Then on the right side of the square draw a horizontal line half way done. Now you have created To Do Notes. Below is a picture of my To Do notes. You can title each column however you want to based on the assignment. I used Directions, Sources and Reminders as my headers.


To Do Notes for WRT 205

I created this table by listening to the directions for my paper in class then I wrote what my professor said under directions, then I wrote down the sources that my professor said we could use in the essay under sources and under reminders I wrote down a few things that my professor expects to see in my essay as well as what we are not allowed to use in the essay. Then after class I reviewed these notes so that I knew exactly what I need to do for this essay assignment. A few days later I wrote a five page draft of my essay and I again reviewed my To Do Notes to make sure that I had I had included every thing in my essay according to these notes.

The week after spring break I have my second exam in CHE 116 so I decided to use the SU/Cornell notes to help me prepare for this exam. To make these notes you take a piece of lined paper or computer paper first draw a horizontal line two inches down the paper then you draw a vertical line three inches from the left side of the paper now you have SU/Cornell notes. Below is a picture of my SU/Cornell notes.


SU/Cornell Notes for CHE 116

On the right hand side of the paper I wrote notes in class as my professor taught. Then after class in the left column I wrote key concepts so that I would be able to remember the information. After I did this I also wrote a summary of the notes at the top of the page. I then reviewed my notes so that the concepts would stay fresh. The SU/Cornell notes forces you to review your notes multiple times and it also helps with anticipating test questions.

Both of these methods are great for visual learners. Since I am a visual learner I need to see things in front of me to learn. I can not rely on just listening to a professor speaking because I am not an audio learner. Another benefit of these techniques is that the information in the boxes are in chunks. Visual learners learn information through chunks so these boxes made it a lot easier for me to remember course information.

One thing that I liked about both of the methods is that they were easy to make. I could either draw it on a piece of paper or I could make it on my laptop which was very convenient for me especially if I was in a class like WRT 205 where I am not allowed to bring my laptop. In addition, I liked how the SU/Cornell notes were adaptable and can be used for a wide range of courses besides my chemistry course. For example SU/Cornell notes can also be used from taking notes from a textbook instead of from lecture notes like I did it. A drawback to the SU/Cornell notes is that you have to summarize your class notes after class. I am not good and do not enjoy summarizing information which is why I consider this to be a drawback of the method. To Do Notes were great for WRt 205 because these notes were easy for me to use and kept me organized which is very important when writing an essay. One disadvantage of the To Do notes is that they can not be used for courses like CHE 106 or MAT 285 which are exam based courses.

Try not to look at note taking as a chore instead think of it as a way to actively engage in your couse. I guarantee the To Do Notes and the SU/Cornell Note-Taking System will not only help you learn the information in all of your courses, these strategies will also allow you to save time with both studying and exam preparation. Now that I know how to take better notes I know that there is no exam or paper that I can not handle and I can truly say I am prepared for anything that my courses throw at me.