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Learn this alternate way of writing for faster note-taking!

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A Guide to Alternative Handwriting and Shorthand Systems

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A brief look at various handwriting and shorthand systems and why they're needed.

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Condense into an outline for a summary

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Taking notes is not a skill that comes naturally to many students, but it is also not a skill that is taught in many classrooms. Note Taking is one of the most important study skills for High School Students and College Students. Because note taking is so important to educational success, it is important that students learn proper methods for taking thorough notes. The outline method of note taking is one that will look familiar to many students.

The outline method of note taking starts on the left-hand side of the paper.The most important points are placed at the left edge of the paper.Less important points, which are typically ideas that support the main points, are indented to the right.Each set of less important points is indented more to the right.It is easy to see, at a glance, the level of importance of the different ideas because of the distance between them and the major points.

An alternate form, which requires a little more thought, is to start with minor points to the left and indenting as points get more important. The alternate outline form is best used in lectures where minor ideas are used to build up to the most important ideas.

With either form, indentation is enough to show the importance of the ideas and the relationship between them. If you would like something more concrete, however, you can opt for using dashes, bullets or a Roman numeral and letter combination for further emphasis. For the sake of speed and being able to focus on the lecture, you may want to consider adding the marks after class when you review your notes.

As the name suggests, the Outline method is a outline of the material, divided into Main topics, SubTopics, and details. Outline notes look something like this:

I. First main topic

The outline method of note taking has several advantages. The outline method not only shows the content and main points of the lecture, but also shows the relationship between points. With an outline, it is easy to identify the main points of the information, and reviewing can be as simple as turning main points into questions. In addition, the outline is set up so simply that it takes very little, if any, editing for notes to be easily understood.

A major benefit of the outline method is the ability to focus on the lecture. Outlining does not require speed or great detail in the writing, both of which take away from your ability to listen to what is said. Outlining does require that you pay enough attention to the lecture to be able to outline the key ideas, which can help you retain more of the information.

There are some disadvantages to the outlining method. The outline method can be difficult to use in science and mathematical courses because those courses need more of an ability to show sequential relationships than outlining offers. Courses with fast-paced lectures may also be difficult to outline, partially because outlining requires the note-taker to think about organization.

For teachers, you may wish to familiarize students with different styles of note taking in addition to Outlining, such as charting and mapping. There is plenty of information online or you can use a Lesson plan for taking notes.

The outline method is somewhat familiar to most students, and can be easily used for many classes. Although it does require the student to think about how to organize the notes, the outline method is simple in design and allows students to focus on the lecture. The outline method of note taking is an excellent way to ensure your educational success.

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Brian Stocker MA, Complete Test Preparation Inc.

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Taking notes is not a skill that comes naturally to many students, but it is also not a skill that is taught in many classrooms. Note Taking is one of the most important study skills for High School Students and College Students.

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Split the page for better notes!

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While thorough notes are a vital part of making good grades, many students do not know how to take notes. Note taking is not a skill you are born with, but one that you learn. Unfortunately, most instructors assume that previous instructors have taught students how to take good notes. There are many ways to organize your notes, and the split-page method is one of the most popular. For more information about learning effective study skills, try our ebook on how to study.

Taking Notes

Outline Method Cornell Method

Blogs

Taking Power Notes Tips for TakingBetter Notes How to Study from
your Notes

Taking Notes Lesson Plan
Taking Notes Lesson Plan
Study Smart - Not Hard!

Study Skills Handbook
Learn to take notes
and study effectively!

The split-page method is exactly what it sounds like.You split the page by drawing a vertical line all the way down the paper.The line should be located 2.5 to 3 inches from the left-hand side of the paper.

So, what do you do with the two sides?

Similar to the Cornell method, the split-page method uses the right side of the divided page for recording lecture notes.

Another Method you may want to try, is Mind Mapping.

Do not try to write down every word of the lecture when taking notes. Doing so requires you to write at full speed, which means you will stop listening to what is being said. Instead, focus on writing down the main ideas and key points. Watch for cues from the instructor for important points, and be sure to note anything the professor writes on the board.

The left-hand side of the page can have one of two uses. Some students prefer to use the left column for writing down keywords from the notes or questions they may have about the material. This allows them to cover the notes and use only the keywords as prompts when reciting the information. If you use the left-hand column for cues and keywords, be sure to write them down as soon as possible after the lecture, while the information is still fresh in your mind.

The more traditional use for the left side is creating an outline of the textbook by writing down keywords and main points, also known as the Outline method of taking notes.The trick to this method is to keep the information from the textbook and the notes together, and to separate chapters.With this format, a student is able to study the textbook and the lecture notes side-by-side, without wasting time or losing their train of thought by flipping back and forth between notes and textbook.

A variation of the split-page method is to divide the page into three columns. The middle column is used for taking notes in class. The left-hand column is used for outlining the text. The right-hand column is used for writing down keywords, cues, and questions the student may have about the material. This format provides the textbook and notes in one location, and has the added bonus of a cue column. This allows students to cover the first two columns and use the cues in the third column as memory prompts when reciting the information.

Note taking is not a natural skill, although some people are naturally better at it than others are. There is a wide variety of methods for taking good notes, and not all methods work for everyone. The split-page method is easy to learn and easy to use, making it an excellent method for anyone trying take better notes.

Teachers will want to try our Taking Notes Lesson Plan.

Modified:
Published: March 11th, 2008

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While thorough notes are a vital part of making good grades, many students do not know how to take notes. Note taking is not a skill you are born with, but one that you learn. Unfortunately, most instructors assume that previous instructors have taught students how to take good notes.

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Taking better note in class

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My note taking has evolved SO MUCH over the years! In high school, I don't think I ever took a single note (I was seriously the world's worst student). In college, my OCD really kicked in and I went a little crazy with trying to take perfect notes... which just ended in frustration.
Today, I am kind of right in the middle and I must say that it's working perfectly. I leave class with super thorough notes but I don't obsess over how they look. Best of all? I am able to reference and retain the information from my notes (which was kind of the point of taking them to begin with)!

Here are the 4 strategies I use for taking notes in class:

1: Write constantly

From the time the professor starts talking to the time he/she stops, I am writing. It doesn't matter if I already know the information. Writing keeps my brain from wandering off into La-La-Land for a half hour (which is pretty common).
Best case scenario: I stayed focused and left class with really thorough notes. Worst case scenario: I stayed focused and left class with really thorough notes.
I can't stress how important doing this is!

2: Let go of perfectionism

When I just a baby freshman/sophomore, my goal was to leave class with perfectly color-coded, outlines, fabulous-looking notes. In real life? Not gonna happen. Professors get distracted, they go off topic, they skip slides. Save yourself a meltdown (or 12) and just use one writing utensil (preferably, a pencil) IN class. You can convert your sloppy notes into a colorful, organized, pretty outline after class!

3: Rephrase information as you write

I just realized that I'm going to have to write an entirely separate post on this because it has just been THAT helpful in my college career. It all comes down to this: when you get information and you write it down word-for-word, your brain is not really engaged. However, if you read notes from a PowerPoint slide, rephrase them into your own words, and write down your words (instead of the teacher's), you are evaluating the information and then creating something of your own! This way, you are more likely to understand your notes in the future!

4: Attach an image to each concept

I really cannot stress how important this is! Definitions are boring. Words on a page are meaningless. And you will never remember what was covered in class if you leave with a notebook full of generic definitions. If your professor gives you an example/story, write it down, draw a picture, create a little graphic. Whatever you can do to attach that new concept with something that you already know/understand... this will help you remember the concept and see how it applies to real-life events.

And if your teacher doesn't give you an example, they aren't very good ASK for one!

Those are the things that have worked really well for me with regards to note-taking in class. Have you tried any of these strategies yourself? Or do you have any others that you have found particularly effective? If so, write them in the comments so we can all benefit :)

More posts from Organized Charm

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How to Take Better Class Notes (Organized Charm)

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My note taking has evolved SO MUCH over the years! In high school, I don't think I ever took a single note (I was seriously the world's worst student). In college, my OCD really kicked in and I went a

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Crayon or Marker can help you organize and remember!

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Subjects

Language Arts (Study Skills)
Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grades

Brief Description

Use crayons or markers to teach note-taking skills.

Objectives

Students will

highlight in color (with crayon or highlighter) words and phrases that relate to their topic of research.

use their "crayon notes" to compose a paragraph to support their topic.

Keywords

note taking, notes, study skills, research, Earhart, theme

Materials Needed

Lesson Plan

About the Lesson
This lesson employs a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You can substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.

The Lesson
Very often, students read for a specific purpose rather than general information. For example, if students are working on reports about the causes of the Civil War, they will likely skim many Civil War resources to find the sections of those resources about the specific topic. That means students will be "eliminating" a lot of information as they skim for details about the causes of the war.

In this activity, students skim a brief biography of Amelia Earhart -- or another reading selection of your choice -- to locate specific information related to the focus of their search.

If you use the brief biography of Amelia Earhart, provide each student with a copy of that bio page. Then you might

do one or more of the topics/themes below as a class, then have students do the rest on their own or in small groups;

provide each student with one of the topics listed below;

arrange students into groups and give each group a theme; or

write the numbers 1, 2, 3, or 4 (corresponding to the topics below) on slips of paper and have each student draw a slip to determine the topic of his or her research.

TOPICS/THEMES

1. Amelia's Family Life

2. Important Airplane Flights in Amelia's Life

3. Turning Points in Amelia's Life

4. Important People in Amelia's Life

Whichever topic students tackle, they skim their copy of the biography for information related to the topic. They then use a crayon to underline -- or a highlighting marker to highlight -- information that supports the topic. The highlighted text provides a visual representation of the "notes" students might write if they were using library resources to research the topic.

When students complete their highlighting, have them use the most important highlighted information to write in their own words a concise paragraph on their assigned topic or theme.

Extension Activity
After completing this activity, you might encourage students to go beyond the one-page biography and do more in-depth research using library or Internet resources. Provide each student with a different topic to research, for example:

key events in the childhood of [a president],

features of [an animal's] habitat, or

key geographic features of [a country].

Since students should not use crayons or highlighters in library books, have them skim the books to find key phrases and information related to the topic and write the information in note form. They can then use the notes to compose a paragraph or, for more in-depth topics, a brief essay or a full report sharing the result of their research -- written in their own words.

Assessment

Give students a clean copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart and have them cross out all but the most important information related to the following topic:

Reasons Many People Think Amelia Earhart Is a Hero

The following might be among the phrases in the biography article that will be highlighted in marker or underlined in crayon:

childhood was not always easy; the family split up

worked as a nurse in a hospital for soldiers

worked several jobs to earn the money she needed to take flying lessons

first woman to fly cross the Atlantic Ocean

flew across the Atlantic on her own in record time

first woman to fly from Hawaii to California

participated a cross-country air race for women pilots

founded an organization of women pilots

set out to fly around the world

Lesson Plan Source

Education World
Note: This lesson is loosely based on the Trash-N-Treasure technique. Teacher Barbara Jansen wrote Reading for Information: The Trash-N-Treasure Method of Teaching Note-Taking, an in-depth article about this unique note-taking strategy.

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins
Return to the Note Taking lesson plan page.
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.

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Language Arts (Study Skills) Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects. Use crayons or markers to teach note-taking skills. Students will highlight in color (with crayon or highlighter) words and phrases that relate to their topic of research.

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How to summarize notes

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Language Arts (Study Skills)
Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Brief Description

A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.

Objectives

Students will

Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.

Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.

Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.

Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research

Materials Needed

three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student

a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan

About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.

The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.

To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.

Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.

Assessment

Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins
Return to the Note Taking lesson plan page.
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.

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Language Arts (Study Skills) Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects. Brief Description A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking. Objectives Students will Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.

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Some notes...some drawing...

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Note-Taking Using Graphic Organizers | Scholastic

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Teach your students how to use different graphic organizers to take notes when reading nonfiction texts.

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Visual learner? This is for you!

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Sketchnotes 101: The Basics of Visual Note-taking - Core77

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Welcome to the second article in the the new Core77 “Sketchnotes Channel” (www.core77.com/sketchnotes) where we’ll be exploring the application of visual thinking tools in the worlds of design and creative thinking.So you say you’re ready to start sketchnoting.Maybe you’re not much of a sketcher but you take a lot of…

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How to create your own!

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Tried and true...

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Notes, tests, and more! Buy the book and it will be the best $7 you have EVER spent!!!

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Blog dedicated to education, especially research based teaching methods and learning methods. Common themes include maintaining, increasing, and maximizing student and school focus, discussing study skills and strategies necessary for school success, and emphasizing metacognition, critical thinking, and problem solving in school and beyond. We also write about teaching and learning methods that improve student achievement.