These are efficient note-taking methods that anyone can pick up and use to take better notes.
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Albert Einstein“Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work.”
When you’re first learning a new concept, you’re taking in further information that has to go through the process of memorization.
The human brain, however, is inefficient at remembering things.
Within 24 hours of leaving class, your brain will have forgotten more than half of what it remembered at the end of the class.
This phenomenon is described by the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, which perfectly illustrates the need for note-taking.
Compare the right-side green line with the left-side red line.
Someone who takes notes and reviews them three times (green line) remembers nearly everything after a week. On the other hand, a person who doesn’t review their notes at all (red line) forgets everything within a week.
Don’t be the red line – make sure you’re one of the green lines instead! To do so, you’ll need to learn how to take effective, visually interesting, and/or aesthetical notes.
To help you do so, these are the best note-taking methods:
Best for: Most subjects except science classes such as physics or math
Difficulty level: Medium
The outline method of note-taking uses indentation to store information in a clear hierarchy. When applicable, the outline method is one of the most efficient note-taking formats as it creates meticulously well-organized notes. The method can also be used in both deductive and inductive order.
Outlined notes are some of the easiest to review, as it’s one of the few systems that allow you to see space relationships between topics. However, the method is not always suitable for taking notes during a live lecture, and outlining requires a clear lesson structure.
Best for: Recording main concepts & forming study questions
Difficulty level: Easy
The Cornell note-taking method, developed over half a century ago, is a tried-and-true strategy for taking effective notes. It uses two top columns (the “cue” and “note” columns), together with a single bottom row (the summary section), to record notes.
The method is versatile, usable for most subjects, and one of the simplest yet most effective note-taking methods. By mastering the Cornell system, you’ll always have at least one solid note-taking skill under your belt. The Cornell system is one of the most popular note-taking strategies in the world for a good reason.
The Cornell method is a variant of the split-page note-taking method (also known as the two-column method). Try the split-page method if you are finding the Cornell method a bit too restrictive but you like the basic approach of cues or keywords combined with more detailed notes.
Best for: Digital note-taking with a stylus pen
Difficulty level: Easy
The boxing method of note-taking uses boxes to visually separate topics within a page. While the boxing method was designed for digital devices, it’s a technique that can be easily adapted to handwritten notes.
Using the boxing strategy results in notes that are visually pleasing and easy to review. The method also takes full advantage of digital-only features such as lassoing, resizing, and moving notes after writing. Together with mind mapping, it’s one of the most effective note-taking strategies for visual learners.
Best for: Recording facts and statistics
Difficulty level: Hard
The charting method of note-taking, also known as “matrix note-taking,” uses charts to classify information within rows and columns. While the method is not usable for many subjects, it is a remarkable tool under the right circumstances. This method is best used with subjects with factual or statistical information that can be categorized into tables.
On the other hand, it’s not suitable for note-taking during live lectures, very detailed topics, and subjects where the space relationships between content are essential. It’s also not well-suited for subjects that have many equation-based problems.
Best for: Analyzing visual connections between key ideas and concepts
Difficulty level: Hard
The mapping method of note-taking, also known as “concept mapping,” connects different thoughts, ideas, concepts, and facts through visualization. Both Leonardo Da Vinci’s and Albert Einstein’s notebooks reportedly contained mapping-style notes that connected drawings to words and notes.
The mapping method starts with a central topic in the middle of the page before branching into smaller subtopics, supporting topics, and more minor details. The method provides a one-of-a-kind graphical overview of lecture content that is irreplaceable for visual learners.
Mapping is best used in content-rich college classes where the information is structured. However, taking notes in a live class with this method is very rarely possible due to its time-consuming nature.
Best for: Quick, unstructured note-taking
Difficulty level: Very easy
The sentence method of note-taking uses sentences separated by lines to quickly transcribe as much information as possible from the information source. It requires quick handwriting or typing skills to be used effectively, and it’s likely the most commonly used note-taking method due to its simplicity.
Using the sentence method results in oversized notes that are notoriously difficult to review afterward. However, the sentence method can sometimes be the only viable choice for fast-paced, unstructured lessons you’re unprepared for. It’s often a good idea to rewrite notes taken with the sentence method after class.
Try not to rely on this method when you have a choice, but keep it as a backup plan when you can’t use an alternative note-taking strategy.
Best for: Studying and memorizing complex topics
Difficulty level: Medium
Unlike passively highlighting text or rereading notes, the Blurting Method is truly one of the most efficient ways to understand where you are at in your knowledge and do something about it at the same time.
The blurting method of note-taking is an active recall technique that can be used to help you learn and remember information. Active recall is basically a learning technique that involves testing yourself on the material that you’re trying to learn and has been shown to be a very effective way to make.
The blurting method, at its simplest, is reading a section of text or notes, then closing them and writing down as much of the information as you can remember. This makes your brain work harder to retain the information, making it really hammer the info down into your long-term memory.
Best for: Argumentative subjects (such as history, philosophy, and literature)
Difficulty level: Medium
The Question/Evidence/Conclusion (Q/E/C) method of note-taking is a simple but powerful method for organizing and recording information from lectures. Focused on capturing the big ideas and how they relate to each other, the method is structured around concepts that require arguing and evidence to create a clear and concise summary. Each concept is divided up into three parts: question, evidence, and conclusion.
The Q/E/C is ideally suited for most subjects in the humanities, especially ones that tend to present in an argumentative form, such as history, philosophy, and literature. It is also a very useful method to include in your toolbox for other subjects, including technical ones, where it can be suited for certain classes.
The method is also an excellent way to outline or plan for your essays, as it helps you develop a clear structure and will likely help you identify additional questions and counterarguments along the way that you may need to consider.
Best for: Quickly absorb large volumes of course material in argumentative subjects.
Difficulty level: Hard
A fairly recent addition to the realm of note-taking methods – but one that many academics swear by – is the Morse Code note-taking method, a variant of the Q/E/C method. Not to be confused with Morse Code itself, this note-taking method uses dots and dashes to mark up course literature while you are reading it. Importantly, it enables you to keep reading while taking notes rather than pausing to jot down your notes.
Dots are used to denote the main ideas, and dashes for supporting facts, arguments, and examples. After you have finished reading the entire text, you use your notes in the margin to type up notes and then condense them into a format that is useful for further review.
Best for: Understanding interrelationships between concepts at a higher level
Difficulty level: Hard
While linear note-taking methods (such as the sentence and outline methods) have their place in your toolkit, you will want to complement these with non-linear methods that force you to actively engage with the topic at hand as a whole. Using such methods translate into a better understanding of an area and how its different component parts relate to each other. One of the main non-linear approaches that you should become familiar with is the flow method of note-taking.
It can look similar to the mapping method, but the focus of this method is on the higher-level concepts and ideas and how they relate to each other. Detailed descriptions and paraphernalia have to take a step back. The relationships are indicated using arrows and lines, in whichever way you find useful.
Best for: Active reading to build deeper understanding of texts
Difficulty level: Hard
The REAP method (Read, Encode, Annotate, Ponder) was developed by Marilyn Eanet and Anthony Manzo at the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1976 as a response to what they saw as inadequate teaching methods for developing active reading. The method is designed to help students be able to understand the meaning of texts through reflecting and communicating on their content.
REAP consists of four stages:
This will make you return to a text multiple times, each time from a different vantage point, and let you gradually analyze the text at a higher and higher level.
Best for: Preparing for multiple-choice or other fact-based tests
Difficulty level: Hard
Focused Question Clusters is a method, proposed by Cal Newport, to help students use their textbooks and existing lecture notes to prepare for MCQ-style exams by writing questions and then quizzing themselves.
Focused Question Clusters involve the following main steps:
Although this kind of rapid-fire questions will help most with preparing for multiple-choice style exams, the engagement with the material will also help your brain to make the connections to get a deeper understanding of the topic.
Best for: Quickly marking up a text that you plan to review later on.
Difficulty level: Easy
Highlighting is a popular study technique that involves marking important passages in a text. The overall idea is to highlight important points in a text – common ones are key numbers, dates, names, and other key points – that can then be easily spotted when reviewing the whole material. In its pure form, it does not involve writing any notes, but in practice, it is often combined with other note-taking methods .
This a useful method for students, researchers, and anyone else who needs to go through a lot of material as it allows them to quickly find the information they need later on. Note, however, that while this method is very commonly used, it has been the topic of scientific studies that have found it of questionable value for studying.
