Everyone wants to be able to take aesthetic notes. You’ve probably seen those calming pictures floating around the internet, with books neatly strewn about and sticky notes attached in haphazard places. There’s just something about that academic aesthetic that makes you want to take notes too. With colorful pens, pastel highlighters, and a wide range of fonts, creating notes isn’t all that easy. Nonetheless, you can follow certain note-taking methods for effective results.
Why Should You Take Notes?
Believe it or not, jotting down notes can be extremely beneficial. Despite the many benefits of note-taking, the one that stands out the most is how it can improve your memory and focus.
According to studies, taking notes while listening to a topic or reading about it can help you retain that information later. Plus, if you write the notes summarized in your own words, there’s a higher chance of developing a good understanding of the topic.
5 Essential Note Taking Methods
Sure, note-taking isn’t rocket science, but there’s a method to everything. Even the random scribbles and annotations on your textbooks hold significance. So, why not look at the pre-existing techniques for a bit of inspiration?
Charting Method
The charting method works best for topics that need to be set apart into different categories. All you need to do is draw a table with separate columns and appropriate headings. Then, just fill it out and classify the information under whichever title fits best.
Cornell Method
Being one of the most famous note-taking methods, the Cornell approach is where you write your notes twice in different places. It might sound confusing, but all you have to do is grab a sheet of paper and create a column on the left side. Next, jot down your notes, the way you normally do, on the main surface and use the column to summarize what you wrote.
For instance, if you took notes on flowers, write about the main ideas, prompts, or related questions in the additional space. You can even doodle flowers to help you remember better!
Mind Mapping Method
Taking a more graphic route, mind maps are an excellent way to scribble down your ideas. It’s effective and fast, allowing you to focus on the key concepts rather than writing down elaborate sentences every time.
Mind maps are also known as cloud maps since you first start by writing down your topic in a bubble. After that, note down whatever idea you think is related to the topic and needs more attention. This way, you’ll end up with a visual map highlighting the progress of your research.
Outlining Method
Just like the name suggests, the outlining method revolves around indexing your information through bullet points. It’s a great method to organize your notes horizontally, in a sentence format, with bullet points to break the ideas down.
Moreover, the outlining method is mainly divided into the format of headings, subheadings, and subsection headings.
Sentence Method
By far the easiest and one of the most commonly used, the sentence method calls for writing notes line by line. This is to say that every line starts with a new idea related to the topic. It’s up to you to number these sentences using bullet points or any other form of marker. Essentially, the sentence method is great for taking short notes, saving you a lot of time from categorizing everything.
Conclusion
Long story short, there are plenty of note-taking methods to choose from. But in the end, all that matters is whether you’re comfortable with it or not. You can opt for any style you like, be it digital or handwritten.
Nonetheless, if you’re looking for something that can make your student life easy, try registering at Illunotes. To contact our consultants, you can reach out to Illunotes at (888) 531-0857.