The Best Note Taking Methods To Try Out

Everyone learns differently, so listening to lecture after lecture isn’t going to benefit each student the same way. But, if you can figure out the most effective and engaging note taking method, you’ll be able to take away much more content and information. Plus, you’ll be able to understand how to use Planning Goose’s various note taking templates, which will be released throughout the month of September.

1. Outline Method

This is probably what you are the most used to, hence why we started with this method. This is the most efficient when watching a teacher who uses a slideshow or when there are specific notes that belong to a subtopic.

At the top of the paper, write the topic of the lesson, for example, ‘Lesson 1: The Scientific Method.’ Then, under it, write the first subtopic—this can be the title of the slide your teacher is on, a certain concept you will be learning about, etc. Under that heading, write the notes as your teacher explains them. If using this method with a slideshow, for example, then you would write the bullet points on that slide. Every time you learn about a new topic, you would then create a new heading and set of bullet points. This method is great for writing all of the information your teacher teaches, but, it also makes it more difficult to study these notes later. To the right, we included a picture of our template that will be available in the Tools page later on, as well as an example previously used by our founder.

2. Cornell Method

This style of note taking splits the paper into three sections, which allows you to easily see outlined information, as opposed to all of the content at once. At the top of the page, write the topic of the lesson, like in the Outline Method. Then, draw a line down the paper about 1/3 of the way from the left, completing your line a few inches from the bottom of the paper. Title the smaller section ‘Key Words & Questions’ and the larger section ‘Notes.’ Then, draw a horizontal line at the bottom of your vertical line, so that the paper has been split into three sections. Title this bottom section ‘Summary.’ Using this method, you can see any formulas or vocabulary to take away and a general summary of your notes, making it much easier to study later on. Just like in the last example, we included a picture of our template (that you can find in the Tools page) to the right, as well as a real-life example from our founder last year.

3. Mind Map

A Mind Map is best for visual learners, because it takes notes from a simple, outlined style into a flowchart of information.

There is no specific rules for a Mind Map, but it focuses on making connections and relations. In the center, there is a circle or square with the central topic of the lesson, and then coming out of it are other circles or squares with subtopics. Then, out of those circles or squares are more, with pieces of information and content. Lines are used in a Mind Map to connect ideas, so shapes with specific bullet points in them can be connected to others, even if they don’t come from the same subtopic. A picture of our template is included on the right, but you can feel free to make your own based on what works for your notes.

4. Boxing Method

The Boxing Method is like a combination of a Mind Map and the Outline Method.

Similar to both aforementioned, it involves splitting the lesson into smaller topics that can be elaborated on in less detail. To set it up, draw a box for the lesson topic at the top of the paper. Then, under it, draw three boxes that go from the left of the paper to the middle, so that there are three equally sized boxes on the left side of the paper. On the right side, draw one box

that takes up the space that two would have on the left, and then draw one more box under it that is the same size as the boxes on the left. We know it sounds complicated, but each one of these boxes will have a few sub points of information that relates back to the overall topic. This is a clean and easy way to see notes from the lesson and it encourages you to not write every single detail. But, it can also be time consuming, so it’s important to set your notes up before the lecture or use a template like ours that will be on the Tools page later on. We included a picture of our template to the right so that you can visualize what we are explaining.

5. Slides Method

Last but certainly not least, we have the Slides Method, which is exactly what it sounds like.

This note taking style is most compatible with—you guessed it—slideshows. It’s also very easy to set up. On the left half of the paper, draw a rectangle. Then, on the right half, draw a few lines. Complete these two actions going down the page, to simulate the slide on the left side and the content on the right side. In each ‘slide’ (or rectangle), write the title of that slide as it is in the slideshow. Then, on each set of lines, write or summarize the information on that slide. This method is another way to see the information presented to you in a cleaner format. Like before, we attached a picture of our template to the right.

Hopefully your notes will begin to shine this school year with one of these methods. All of these templates will be added to the Tools page throughout September, so keep an eye out, and read our other blog posts to learn more tips and tricks for getting organized!