College-level note-taking tips

Taking good notes is a crucial part of the learning process and is essential if you want to get good grades in a class. After all, you’ll need to reference these notes to study for exams or write term papers. Aside from getting good grades, you’re probably paying a lot of money for these classes, so taking great notes will help you get your money’s worth. Follow these tips to take organized, effective notes in college.

Choose your note-taking medium

In college, students take notes by hand using pen and paper or on their laptops. Both note-taking mediums have different pros and cons, and one method may work better for you than the other.

All your ideas in one place

Keep your thoughts, content, and lists handy with OneNote

Learn more

When you take notes by hand, you’re less likely to have distractions. Computers get all kinds of notifications that can distract you from taking good notes. Plus, there is evidence that taking notes by hand can help students understand and remember the material better than they would if they typed their notes.¹ It is believed that notetaking by hand uses different types of cognitive processing that help the brain engage with and retain the content.

However, typing notes allows some students to take even more notes since most people can type faster than they write. Typing can be especially helpful for those with messy handwriting. Another benefit to typing your notes is that you can easily search for keywords in them should you need to reference something specific in the future. Plus, digital notes can easily be backed up in a cloud, whereas if you lose a notebook, your notes will be gone for good.

Students may also find it beneficial to handwrite their notes in class, then take the time after class to type up their notes so that they have a digital copy. This is a great way to review your notes as well.

Keep it short and sweet

Writing down everything your professor says will be tiring. Plus, you don’t need any extra fluff when you’re trying to study your notes. Instead, only take notes on the important points that your professor shares.

It can also be helpful to use abbreviations in your notes to keep them shorter and save you time. For example, instead of writing “without” in your notes, just write w/o instead. You can also create your own abbreviations to save time—for example, if you are taking a history class about Julius Caesar, you can just abbreviate his name as JC in your notes.

Keep your notes organized

Searching through your notes can waste precious time if you are studying for an exam or trying to write a paper. Taking the steps to keep your notes organized will save you time and stress in the future.

If you’re writing your notes by hand, have a notebook for each class, or use a binder with dividers for each class. You may want to consider using colorful pens to take notes to break up different points or topics. For example, if you are taking an English course, you could use blue pens to write out widely accepted interpretations of a book and use green pens to take notes on your professor’s interpretations of a book. Highlighters can also be useful to draw attention to important information or key points.

For those who prefer to take digital notes, explore notetaking apps like OneNote that will keep your notes organized. Many students have access to OneNote through their college. If you have a tablet, OneNote allows you to draw or write your thoughts using your stylus or finger. You can also add tags to your notes to make it easier to categorize your notes.

Limit distractions

If you’re distracted by your phone or the internet, you won’t be taking the notes you need to succeed in a course. Consider turning off your phone or setting it to Do Not Disturb. If you’re typing on your laptop, notifications become even harder to ignore. Your laptop may have a Do Not Disturb setting as well, which you should turn on before class begins. Close out your email or any text messaging apps on your computer to avoid temptation.

If getting distracted is a big issue for you, consider sitting in the front of the class. It’s harder to daydream when your professor is right in front of you, and most students feel more self-conscious about pulling their phones out when the professor is right there.

Review your notes

There’s no point in taking notes if you’re never going to review them! Reviewing your notes at the end of each day or week will help you build long-term memory, making it easier to recall information when it’s time for an exam.

Taking better notes will make learning and studying easier. Now that you know the secrets to good notetaking, you’ll be prepared for your next lecture.

---