How To Take Notes Wikihow

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 2, 2026, 4:22 PM

Last Updated: September 21, 2024 Approved This article was co-authored by Ashley Pritchard, MA. Ashley Pritchard is an Academic and School Counselor at Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Ashley has over 3 years of high school, college, and career counseling experience. She has an MA in School Counseling with a specialization in Mental Health from Caldwell University and is certified as an Independent Education Consultant through the University of California, Irvine. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 14 testimonials and 89% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 533,303 times. Good note-taking can be very important to academic and professional success. Notes can help you pass tests and finish projects and assignments properly. However, you may not be sure how to take notes.

To do so, use note-taking techniques optimal for written text or verbal presentations such as lectures, seminars, and meetings. "If you're left-handed like me, these Uniball Jetstream pens are a lifesaver! They dry quickly and glide over paper effortlessly, so you don't have to worry about smudging your notes (or doodles!). The comfort grip is perfect if you write for hours at a time." To take good notes, write them by hand to help you streamline, retain, and integrate the information you hear. Take down key facts, ideas, and details in your own words rather than verbatim from the source for better retention.

Try to write down key words instead of full sentences, since key words allow you to take down information quickly and efficiently! For more tips on how to take better notes, read on! Do you want to take better notes? Explore seven effective note-taking methods, including the Cornell method, the sentence method, the outlining method, the charting method, the mapping method, the flow-based method, and the rapid logging method. Effective note-taking can improve your focus and memory for lecture retention and exam preparation. Taking notes by hand requires a deeper engagement with the material, so it helps you retain more information.

The outlining method makes it simpler to review and comprehend complicated lectures by making the connections between concepts clearer. You can design your own rapid logging symbols to capture daily tasks, questions, and exam topics quickly, building a flexible system that supports your academic or career growth. If your in-class notes are messy, unorganized, and unclear at first glance, you’re not going to get much use out of them. This has nothing to do with how neat your handwriting is — it’s all about how your notes are structured. One of the most effective ways to remember (and understand) what you are learning in class is to take effective notes in the classroom. Better notes will help you remember concepts, develop meaningful learning skills, and gain a better understanding of a topic.

Effective notes will even lead to less stress when test time comes around! Learning how to take better study notes in class helps improve recall and understanding of what you are learning because it: Using different note taking strategies is important, especially as you progress through high school and transition to college or university. There are several note taking techniques you can use to start taking better notes in class. Published on December 19, 2025 by Tom Challenger, BA Knowing how to take notes effectively is a core academic skill, but it’s one that we’re sometimes never explicitly taught.

Good note-taking isn’t about writing down everything you hear or read—it’s about selecting, organizing, and engaging with information in a way that supports understanding and long-term learning. This article discusses how to take notes in school or college and introduces the popular Cornell note-taking method. Most of us probably start taking some kind of notes automatically when we’re listening to a teacher or professor in class or reading a text for an assignment. But to really answer the question of how to take good notes, it helps to consider why we take notes in the first place. Writing, underlining, highlighting, and even doodling while listening or reading can help you stay focused and remember information. These are useful study techniques, but good notes are more than that.

Good notes are a resource you can return to later—not jottings that become meaningless once the session ends, and not large amounts of copied information from slides or a text. Instead, the goal is to create a clear record of your individual learning experience—something that doesn’t already exist on your professor’s slides or in the books on your reading list—that you can revisit to... We’ve all been there: You’re delivering a lecture full of insight, but students haven’t even picked up a pencil. Yes, today’s students expect printouts, class web pages, and graphic organizers, but good old-fashioned note-taking is still a skill they should master. Here’s why, along with some note-taking strategies they should try. Grab our free Cornell Notes template to use with students as you teach them how to take notes.

Just click the link below to fill out the form and get it! When it comes to learning and remembering information, study after study has shown the importance of actively taking notes rather than passively reading a handout later on. The act of writing engages different parts of the brain, forging new pathways that help students retain information in long-term memory. What’s more, the studies show that the more detailed the notes, the better. And using different note-taking strategies helps too. In some cases, a general outline can be effective.

But when you want students to analyze the content, encouraging charting or mapping can be more helpful. One more good reason to learn to take notes? It’s a skill we use throughout our entire lives. Most jobs require you to be able to take notes during meetings or other activities so you can refer back to them later on. Adults use note-taking strategies on a regular basis, so teaching kids the skill early on will help them succeed later in life. Last Updated: October 24, 2025 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Daron Cam and by wikiHow staff writer, Raven Minyard, BA. Daron Cam is an Academic Tutor and the Founder of Bay Area Tutors, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area-based tutoring service that provides tutoring in mathematics, science, and overall academic confidence building. Daron has over eight years of teaching math in classrooms and over nine years of one-on-one tutoring experience. He teaches all levels of math including calculus, pre-algebra, algebra I, geometry, and SAT/ACT math prep. Daron holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley and a math teaching credential from St. Mary's College.

There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,534,663 times. If you’re a student, you probably know how important it is to take good notes, but sometimes, that’s easier said than done. In this article, we’ll teach you all the best tips, techniques, and methods to take better notes. Plus, learn how to review your notes, the benefits of taking good notes, and whether you should take notes digitally or by hand.

We also interviewed professional tutors to give you advice on how to take notes and do well in class. Develop a note-taking and organizational system. It’s going to be different for every student, as it depends on how each individual learns. I think it’s important for students to become self-aware and to figure out what system works best for them. To take better notes, listen actively and focus on writing down new information instead of noting everything your teacher says. You can also use shorthand and abbreviations to help you write efficiently so you don't fall behind.

Additionally, concentrating on key words and concepts like dates, names, theories, and definitions can help you take more productive notes. Finally, don't forget to show up prepared with a writing utensil and something to write on! To learn more about color coding your notes and how to review them, read on! Note-taking is one of the first learning strategies we are taught in school. And it's no wonder! It is essential in your studies, but also in your work and in meetings.

Taking notes improves memorization and comprehension, as well as making it easier to review and organize information in your head for later recall. But has anyone ever shown you how to take notes? Or did you learn on your own? It turns out that note-taking is more complex than it seems. To take notes effectively, it is essential to prepare, structure information using methods such as Cornell or mind maps, use abbreviations, and regularly reread your notes to clarify and enrich them. We'll explain it all to you!

This summer, I was surprised when a friend of my mother's who is approaching retirement age proudly showed me a notebook in which she writes summaries of her latest reads. She started doing it for fun, without giving it much thought. Her goal was to understand the deeper meaning behind the books. My parents were impressed by her work and exclaimed, “Just like in high school!” This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application...

With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher... He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 79,467 times. In many high school and college classes, instructors assign reading material that may be extensive and challenging. You might need help reading a work of fiction for your literature class, or a non-fictional biography for your history course.

How To Take Notes Wikihow

People Also Search

Last Updated: September 21, 2024 Approved This Article Was Co-authored

WikiHow Marks An Article As Reader-approved Once It Receives Enough

To Do So, Use Note-taking Techniques Optimal For Written Text

Try To Write Down Key Words Instead Of Full Sentences,

The Outlining Method Makes It Simpler To Review And Comprehend