#note-taking tips

Study tip!

I love adding tables of contents to my notebooks to make sure I can find different notes when I need them. I always our them at the end of the notebooks so I don't have to estimate how much space I'll need before I start writing the notes. Since my table of contents is at the back of the notebook, I flag it with a sticky note to make it easy to flip right to it.

your notes can still be useful if they:

* are rushed * feature bad handwriting * are one only colour * feature exactly zero calligraphy * are written with a 50c biro * are the furtherest thing from ‘aesthetic’ you have ever seen.

still worried? don’t be! I made a chart for you!

it is honestly that simple. yup!

look, studyblr-in-general, I honestly love you. some of the tips I have gotten on studying, note-taking, and just surviving uni itself have been invaluable. I don’t use printables myself (...mmmmostly because my printer is as dead as doorbats) but those are also top-notch. BUT. but the concentration on fancy calligraphy, brand-name pens, and aesthetics is an issue that we need to deal with.

look, if you have the time, energy, and inclination to make your notes pretty as heck, go ahead and do it! I’m not saying stop if that’s your jam. if elaborate notes help you, by all means, keep making them! however, the fact that when someone says ‘studyblr’, the first thing the average person thinks of is ‘pretty notes’ is, you know. a thing. pretty notes have their place. but in academia, useful notes are more important by a million miles.

and there are people who look at these pages upon pages of beautiful aesthetic notes and just...despair. there are people who have mental illnesses that would never allow them to take those kind of notes, because they’re trying to reach an impossible aesthetic ideal. or would write said notes over and over and over because they’re not “good enough”. or those who have enough trouble concentrating on what the lecturer is saying without worrying about how to tart up their notes. or those whose hands shake so badly from anxiety (or otherwise) that attractive lettering is right out.

this is a problem. it’s not the majority of people -- I don’t think -- but it exists, and it’s still a really valid problem that I think we should address. at the end of the day, I think we as an academic community need to stress that good notes are way more important to have than pretty ones. like, when I say I’m starting an Ugly Notes Revolution, I’m not saying it to belittle anyone who makes aesthetic notes, I’m saying it because I honestly think it needs to be done.

Don’t underestimate the value of teamwork when it comes to studying! 

Working with a group of your classmates can be one of the best methods of studying. Not only are you able to get help if you need it, you can also teach concepts that you understand well to someone else. By talking through ideas and working together to solve practise problems, you’ll actually be able to absorb more of the information and be able to recall it better too!

3 Useful Note Taking Tips for Students

The Importance of Taking Notes During your academic experience, taking notes is one of the most critical skills that students must develop to succeed in certain courses. Note-taking helps students improve their participation in their classes, increase their understanding of course material, and enhance their learning experience overall. It keeps students engaged with the material they’re learning…

Google Keep Tips And Tricks

We often take note of whatever strikes in our mind so that even if it is erased from our mind, it would remain in the note. When we want to take notes or write a list, mainly we like it to be easy and fast. One such note taking experience can be achieved from Keep, Google’s note-taking app. Google Keepis the best note-taking app that is unlike the others such as…

This is part 2 of the note-taking posts. You can find part 1 here. 

You can find three note-taking methods here. Part 2 of the note-taking tips posts here. 

Note-taking tips -Three Note-taking methods:

Always write the date of your class at the top of the page and number the pages on the bottom. This will help you when reviewing as you can just go to the lecture notes given on a certain day and, if you have time you can even create a table of contents for your notes. 

The Cornell note taking method:

You have to divide your page into three sections. Draw a vertical line in a quarter of your page and then draw a horizontal line near the bottom of the page like in the picture. On the right vertical section you will take notes of the lecture. On the left section, after class you will write any main ideas, cue words, or questions that will help when reviewing that topic. On the horizontal section, you will summarize your lecture notes. You should try to keep the summary concise and should be a few sentences long

The Mapping method:

This method requires you to write your notes like a mind-map. You write your main idea or topic on the center and then go adding ramifications as that idea or topic expands as you continue learning about that idea or topic.

The Outlining Method:

This is the method that I use because, I take notes on the computer and that's just easier for me. You start with your main idea or topic, this can be general and, then as you learn more about that idea or topic, you can add more details about that idea or topic. You expand that topic using space indentation; to keep track of your ideas and details, you can use numbers, bullets, dashes, Roman numerals, etc. You can also use color coding (red for definitions, blue for main ideas, etc.) 

Hope that helps, 

Part 1 of my study tips posts// Part 2 of my study tips posts// Part 3 of my study tips posts.

Time management tips