#studyaesthetics

06 July 2020 | I am not feeling well today, probably resulted from overworking myself for the past few weeks finally getting its toll to my body. Aiyer.

How to take notes in a lecture?

There are several efficient ways of note taking - Outline, boxing, Cornell, mapping etc. I’ve tried quite a few myself and incorporated a few features which I personally liked. So here what I do

1️⃣ Since I take all my class notes in the same notebook, I write down the topic, Class/subject code, date and professor’s name on the top.This makes it very easy to categorise and retrieve information whenever needed

2️⃣ Take notes in POINTS. Don’t waste time writing down long sentences. Keep it CLEAR, PRECISE and QUICK TO SCAN

3️⃣ Make a note of EXAMPLES, EXCEPTIONS, STATEMENTS, QUOTES etc. Write down the quotes and statements exactly as they are

4️⃣ Use ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS, MIND MAPS, CONNECTIONS, SCHEMATICS and DIAGRAMS whenever necessary. This will make your understanding of the topic much better. Plus, chances are that you’ll remember these things during your test

5️⃣ Put down IMPORTANT THINGS like FORMULAE, VALUES, KEY WORDS etc in a box. Our eyes will definitely look over it and register the info much faster

6️⃣ Write down REFERENCES, ASSIGNMENTS, THINGS TO REVISE for the class, DOUBTS or QUESTIONS that may arise during or after class, THINGS TO SEARCH etc. in the margins or corners. I use symbols like R,❓,🔎,❗️etc. to denote them. They always help me remember what to finish, ask doubts I had etc

7️⃣ (Mostly) Use a single coloured pen. When in class, My main goal is to absorb as much information as possible and I don’t like to waste time in colour coding. I mostly use a blue or black pen to jot down notes. I draw rough diagrams with a pencil or pen depending upon the time I have

If you are digitising your notes, use a BLACK PEN because it shows up better against the contrast. But,if not then it’s better to use a BLUE PEN because it helps you remember better( Research shows that colours help us retain information much faster)