4 Steps to Taking Notes Efficiently

The difference between taking notes and making notes is that you take notes in class, usually with a teacher speaking and you make notes from a source like a textbook, article or worksheet. It can be hard to take notes in class when your teacher is speaking at the speed of light, so here are some tips on how you can take good notes, efficiently:

1. Abbreviate: When you are using the same words over and over again, there is no point in spelling it out completely each time. Trust your future self to know what the word means. If you're afraid that you won't understand the abbreviation in that context, create a small legend listing all the new short forms you'll be using. For example, this semester, in Chemistry and Biology, we have been talking a lot about intermolecular forces. That phrase is 20 letters long. My teachers would be done with two sentences by the time I wrote that down. Instead, I write i. m. f. and know that it's referring to intermolecular forces.

2. Use symbols: Use arrows, asterisks and bullet points to write in point form. This tricks your mind into believing that full sentences aren't a priority; that the task is to make short, straightforward points. You can use arrows to extend a point. Ex: I have written 'My name is Aarushi'. I will extend an arrow from Aarushi and write 'in Gr. 12'. Because of this, most of my sheets look like mind maps. And it's helpful because only important information makes it into my work.

3. Listen to your teacher: Sometimes writing everything your teacher says, and more, is super important. But, sometimes, it isn't. And you should pay attention to what they are saying to differ between what's important and what isn't. What my Sociology teacher tells us to do is, if the teacher is teaching with the aid of a PPT, write as far as the teacher has already mentioned and no further. Wait for their explanation of that part and when they move one, so do you. This gives you the chance to neatly add on the teacher's own pointers. If you write everything on the slide without leaving room for additional information, you will have to make room somewhere else and your notes will end up looking disorganized.

4. Write only what you need to: My hand has cramped plenty of times from trying to copy everything on the board. But, sometimes, I end up copying things I've already been taught. The key to taking notes is to be mindful of what you're writing. It's easy to zone out and absentmindedly write everything in front of you. But if you want to keep up with your teachers, teach yourself to write just the key terms or explanations in point forms while they are speaking. If your teacher is explaining to you that a hypotonic solution is one where the concentration of solute is lower on the inside and higher on the outside, you should be writing "Hypotonic: in=[L] solute; out=[H] solute". Continuing, she'll say that the object with lower solute concentration swells up because the solvent flows into it, you will write "solvent into object -> swells up".

Pay attention to everything your teachers say because most of my teachers don't make their tests based on the textbook. They make it based on the notes they give us in class. Make sure you understand what you are writing because there is no point in mastering taking notes when they make no sense to you when it's time for a test.

I truly hope this helps you take better notes in class. Let me know if you have any other ways of taking quick and easy points by emailing me on rueshi25@gmail.com. -Aarushi