It is common for college students to use a computer to make notes. This may seem useful as you can type more content. In summary, you can use either resource as just writing notes is a helpful step in learning content. Keep in mind that taking notes is not about how much you can write out, but about which style of notes you choose to use. A few will be covered in this guide, but do not be afraid to explore other methods until you find one that best fits your needs.
The Cornell Method is a considerably organized method as it separates your paper into 4 critical segments. It helps you to find the information at a later time when you are ready to use your notes to study.
See the video from Cornell University for more information on how this note-taking system has been used amongst students.
The Cornell Note-Taking System was originally developed by Cornell education professor, Walter Pauk. Prof. Pauk outlined this effective note-taking method in his book, How to Study in College (1).
The outlining method is similar to the Cornell method as it is requires a certain level of organization. This can be a suitable note taking method for most classes. Unless the course is fast paced, this is a suggested and useful note taking tool to try in your classes.
You can think of the outline method like you would when creating bullet points for a paper outline or summary.
This creates structure to your notes and helps you identify main topics when studying later.
You may end up with a paper of notes that looks like this -
This type of note taking is more visual than other methods. It is similar to what you would use when brainstorming for a paper. This note taking method is most useful when you are dealing with a general subject. The Mapping Method allows you to see a visual skeleton of your class content, rather than every detail. This may be useful for courses such as anatomy.
When creating a map, you start with your main topic. Branching out from your main topic are subtopics. Then, you will branch out from subtopics into supporting thoughts or facts. You can elaborate further with details into a new branch. The point is that you are making points that reference back to the main topic.
The Charting Method of note taking is exactly as it sounds - a chart! This could be useful for science based courses or courses that rely on facts. You may want to use this method after class, not during class. Similar to the Mapping method, the Charting Method creates a visual skeleton of your classes. However, your notes may provide more details.
You start with your main topic in the upper left corner. Your subtopics are placed under the main topic. To the left of the main topic, you will label your categories. Your notes should relate to the category and the subtopic.
The sentence method may end up being disorganized at first, but allows you to write down whatever you hear that you believe is necessary. Each thought, idea, or piece of information is written out in a sentence. Every new thought, idea, or piece of information is written on a new line. Ideally, you would want to review the notes you took after class and select what the most relevant pieces of information are and then organize those pieces of information. You could even take it a step further and summarize your class notes for the day.
The Boxing Method is most useful if you are writing your notes digitally, but you can hand write them as well. Keep in mind that it will require extreme organization ahead of time and if you want to use this method, it might be more useful to wait until after your class when you will have more time to organize and rewrite your notes. Ideally, your topics would be placed in their own boxes with the relevant subtopics, supporting information, and details. Then, a box is placed around each, making the items appear to be organized by their topics.
