Use this guide if your notes are messy, too long or never looked at again. You need a notebook or a note-taking app and one upcoming class, talk or video to practise on.
Step by step
Set up your page
Divide the page into three parts: a narrow column on the left, a wide main area on the right and a strip across the bottom. The main area is for notes during the session, the left column for questions and keywords afterwards, and the bottom strip for a short summary. This is often called the Cornell method, and it works on paper or in a digital template.
Prepare for two minutes
Write the title, date and source at the top of the page. Skim any slides, reading or video description so you know the main headings. Jot down one or two questions you hope the session will answer.
Capture ideas, not every word
Listen for signposts such as 'the key point is', 'there are three reasons' or anything repeated. Write short phrases, use abbreviations you will recognise, and leave gaps you can fill later. For videos, pause at the end of each section and note the main idea in your own words rather than typing along.
Tidy up within a day
Read through your notes soon after the session while it is still fresh. Fill gaps, correct anything unclear and underline the most important points. In the left column, write questions or keywords that the notes on the right answer.
Write a short summary
In the bottom strip, sum up the page in two or three sentences, as if explaining it to a friend. If you cannot, that shows you what to look up or ask about. The summary is what you will read first when you revise.
Review by testing yourself
Cover the main notes and use the questions in the left column to test yourself. Do a quick review a few days later and again the following week. Mark any question you struggled with so you can spend more time on it.
Ready-to-use checklist
- Page split into notes, cue column and summary
- Title, date and source written
- Key points in short phrases
- Gaps filled within a day
- Cue questions added
- Two- or three-sentence summary written
- First self-test done
- Next review date noted
Practical tips
- Handwriting often helps you pick out the key points because you cannot copy every word.
- Use the same abbreviations every time and keep a small key at the front of your notebook.
- If you are allowed to record a session, still take notes, as recordings are rarely replayed in full.
Common problems
The speaker talks too fast and you fall behind.
Leave a gap, write a keyword and keep listening for the next main point. Fill the gap afterwards from the slides, a classmate or the recording.
Your notes are almost word for word and very long.
Set yourself a limit, such as one page per hour, and only write things you would want to be tested on. Practise by pausing videos and writing one sentence per section.
You never look at your notes again.
Put short review sessions in your diary the day after, a few days later and the next week. Five minutes of self-testing with your cue questions is enough to start.
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