Note Taking Strategies
How this resource helps:
Provides an overview of note-taking formats and strategies to improve retention and aid in reviewing information.
Taking notes, reviewing them, and synthesizing information positively affects your learning process. Research has shown that taking notes actively can make you more likely to remember information and can help you perform better on exams. Note-taking and synthesizing notes will help you gather notes from various sources (lectures, texts etc.). It can help you keep course materials more organized in an easy to comprehend manner that will make exam preparation easier. This document outlines some strategies to help you get the most out of your notes.
At-a-Glance Tips:
- Hand writing notes–as opposed to typing notes on a laptop or tablet–can increase learning by forcing your mind to synthesis information during lectures.
- Don’t try to write word-for-word what the lecturer/instructor is saying. You will miss important information if you are too busy trying to “transcribe” the lecture.
- Write notes in a way that you will use.
- Become friends with someone in your class and swap notes to gain another perspective.