10 STEPS TO EARNING AWESOME GRADES (series) (LOG-4)

(WHILE STUDYING LESS)

Step 2 - Take More Effective Notes   

Your notes are your method of taking the information that you’re exposed to and recording it in a form that makes sense to you. When you do this, you learn more effectively. Also, you keep margins nearby for spontaneous drawings of those weird “S” things -or elaborately drawn out Mario levels if you’re me.  

In this step, I’ll teach you what I know about taking better notes -notes that focus on learning rather than simply recording, that cut down on the processing you have to do after class, and that enable you to study more efficiently.  

Writing Notes Smartly

Four Excellent Note-Taking Methods 

There are many ways of taking notes, one of which is dipping your entire head in ink and slamming it on your  notebook, then making mental associations between what you’re learning in class and specific features of the resulting picture, which probably looks like a rejected Rorschach test card at this point.

 

Outline Notes taken in Clusters

The Outline Method

 

Aside from just mindlessly writing your notes out in paragraph form, the Outline Method is probably the simplest note-taking method that you could use. To use it, you just create bullet lists out of the lecture material or book you’re reading. 

• Main ideas are at the top level 
• Supporting details become nested 
• Eventually  you  build  an  organized,  hierarchical  outline  of  the material 
• This is pretty Easy and clean format 

I have a habit of reading a book for at least 15 minutes a day, and whenever I finish a chapter, I immediately go over to One Note and type out some notes on. 

While some of the other methods I’ll be going over offer certain benefits for learning, I find that this method is perfect for recording a concise picture of the entire book without losing any important details. Also, if you prefer to take your notes on a computer, the Outline Method is one of the easiest to use. 

The only problem with the Outline Method lies in how easily it lends itself to mindless note-taking -that is, simply recording the lecture material without really thinking about it or trying to put it in your own words. I’ve definitely been guilty in the past of sitting in certain classes and trying to note down every detail the professor says without really putting in the mental effort to learn. 

The Cornel method 

 

I’d be surprised if you’ve never heard of this system before, though you may not know exactly how to use it. The Cornell Method was invented by Walter Pauk -the man who wrote the excellent textbook "How to Study in College" and is designed to cut down on the amount of time you need to spend processing your notes after class before you can properly study them.  

To take notes in the Cornell style, you divide your paper into three sections:

 

Cornel Note-Taking System

1. The Cue Column 
2. The Note-taking Column 
3. The Summary  Column  

The Note-taking column will be the most familiar to you, as it just contains the notes you take during class. You can use any style you want, though in  most cases people will use the Outline Method.  

As you take your notes, you’ll use the Cue column to formulate questions based on main ideas and important details from the Note-taking column. Once class is over, you should immediately write a small summary of what was presented in the Summary column.  

By doing this, you’re processing your notes for efficient study while you’re still in class. When it comes time to actually study them, you’ll find that you’re already halfway to creating a great study guide, as you’ve already  written  down questions. You should also have a clearer understanding of the material already, since you took the time to summarize it. 

Mind-Map Notes -Awesome & Graphical Clear Look

Mind-Map Method 

Mind mapping is a fantastic method for creating a tree of connected ideas, and I find that creating mind maps  helps me to better flesh out ideas I want to write about. They’re a great way to visualize a lot of information. 

To create a mind map, start with a single “umbrella” term in the middle of your page. Then, start branching out from it by drawing lines and writing down words that flesh out that main idea. Mind maps are very visual, so you should experiment with using different colours, drawing pictures next to your terms, and doing other things that help you understand and remember the information more clearly.  

You don’t have to use paper for your mind maps, either. While I prefer doing it that way, there are plenty of apps that let you make mind maps on your computer; my favorite is One Note and other alternatives, which is a free web app that has a lot of convenient keyboard shortcuts for creating your maps. For me, mind maps are best used when I’m trying to get a clear picture of all the details underneath a certain topic. I’m not so fond of using them when taking notes during classes, since I often like to create  diagrams,  write down more detailed blocks that don’t always fit nicely into map nodes, etc.  

But what if you want to integrate small mind maps into  your notes? Can you create a hybrid system? Yes you can, and it’s... 

 

Flow-Method 

Your brain stores information in a messy web of tangled facts, ideas, memories, and references. The structured hierarchy of Outline-style or Mind Mapped notes doesn’t exactly represent how that content lives in your head. 

Enter the Flow Method of taking notes. This method was created by Scott Young, a writer who is best known for going through a self-directed version of MIT’s entire computer science curriculum  in just one year. Scott takes in information using a technique he called holistic learning. This technique emphasizes learning in a style that mirrors your brain -creating interconnected webs of information (or “constructs”), visualizing things, and avoiding rote memorization.  

The Flow Method is one of the cornerstones of holistic learning. Most  other note-taking systems are based on hierarchy -as I illustrated in the section on the Outline Method, you put main terms at the top and nest related details directly under them. Mind maps are similar; the main term goes in  the middle, and details branch out from there.  Conversely, Flow notes are meant to be an on-paper  representation of your mental picture of a subject. When you take notes in   this way, you’re transcribing them in a completely original way instead of simply copying down what’s presented in lecture. It’s very difficult to become a mindless-copying zombie when you’re taking Flow notes, which is something that can’t be said for the Outline Method.  

“Flow-based note-taking is a creative process, not a recording process. Instead of just writing down what the professor argues, you’re also going to come up with your own ideas, examples, and connections.” -Scott Young 

The main goal of Flow-based note-taking is to help you learn the material once. By taking notes in this way, you should be able to actually integrate new facts into your existing body of knowledge the first time you process them, rather than having to go back later to study them a second time. So, how do you take Flow-Based Notes? Here are the basics:  

• Connect terms and ideas with arrows 
• Deliberately write things down in your own words 
• Create backlinks -They link ideas back to related terms and details mentioned earlier in the lecture 

This style of note-taking is probably the hardest to perfect, as it’s very personal and requires you to think about your notes in a very different way than you’re probably used to. If it’s a style you want to pick-up, give it a good few tries before writing it off.  

Also, recognize that Flow-based note-taking isn’t  perfect for every subject; as Scott Young emphasizes, it’s best for subjects where the ideas are easily connected to other ideas. For very detail-dense classes where the material doesn’t easily form a dense web of connections, a more hierarchical system will probably help you capture all the information you’ll  need to study more effectively. 

Mixing Technologies -Working with Both

Paper Notebooks vs. Laptops 

Besides your  note-taking system itself, another choice  you have to make when taking notes is whether to use plain old paper or a computer. Each method has its benefits and drawbacks.  

Taking notes on your computer will typically be much faster than writing them out by hand, and you won’t have to deal with hand cramps. Paper, however, is much better for drawing diagrams and pictures -and for math notes, it’s the clear winner.  

But usually My Choice is to mix both the technologies, and working with both wherever required or necessarily.

"Referring to a research trial, students who took their notes longhand wrote on average of 173 words compared to computer note takers who wrote 310. Students who typed their notes were also more likely to take down notes word-for-word.” 

Continue to read the study guide, new blogs are added everyday.
Keep up! the Grade Line && Best of Luck!