3 Note Taking Styles
Note Taking and Study Skills Part 3
Feeling confident while note taking takes time. While the 7 Basics of Effective Note Taking will make a huge impact on your note taking skills, there are a few note taking styles that can help you build discipline and consistency, and learn to organize your notes: Cornell, Outlining, and Visual.
Cornell Notes
In my opinion, Cornell notes is a widely taught but poorly applied note-taking strategy. However, if used correctly, it can be helpful in keeping you actively engaged in what you are learning. There are three main parts to Cornell notes: Cue, Notes, and Summary.
If using Cornell notes, you must first set up your note page. Section off a 1-2 inch column on the left. This is for cue. The section on the right hand side is for notes. At the end of your notes you will write a summary, but we’ll come back to that in a moment.
As you listen to the lecture or work through the assigned chapters, take notes in the right hand column. After the lecture or reading is finished you will write cues or questions in the left hand column that refer to your notes on the right. Ask yourself the questions later for easy studying. Writing good cues also helps activate deeper thinking about what you are learning.
The last component of Cornell notes is the summary. At the end of a lecture or reading, write a summary (in your own words, not the professors or the writers) about what you learned. This is important so don’t skip it. Writing a short summary will help you apply your learning and form connections to prior knowledge.
Cornell notes can work great for lectures. This is also helpful while reading texts, especially Science or History texts. When considering notes for Fiction reading I don’t think this is the most effective strategy to use, but if it works for you, obviously do it.
You can also use the Cornell style set up to study vocabulary if you need to study terms. Separate your page into the Cue and Notes columns. Terms go in Cue and definitions and examples go in Notes.
Outlining
When outlining, the basic idea is that you start with headings, move to subheadings, lesser notes, examples, definitions, etc. In strict outlining, everything gradually indents. As you find your own groove, your notes will flow in and out of the outline form.
Formal outlines utilize Roman numerals for the main headings (I, II, III, IV…), then progress to capital letters, numbers, and lowercase letters. If you are typing notes, Google Docs and Microsoft Word are both prepped with a built in Roman numeral system.
While I use the Roman numerals at times, I usually divert to a bullet point, dash, and small arrow to section off my notes. This is much faster for me and requires less formal thought about the ordering of my symbols.
This is a great strategy for reading and text based notes, but some people may find it more difficult in lecture situations as it does require more thought about the organization and indentations. However, if you focus on WHAT is being written, it is easy to go back and revise or add comments to your outline. Build discipline around the core concepts of outlining – headings, sub headings, details, and examples – because this skill is transferred to all other types of notes, regardless of formality.
Visual Notes (or Doodle Notes, Sketch Notes)
If you are a doodler, Visual notes may be the best style of notes for you. There are many names for this strategy – Doodle notes, Sketch notes, Visual notes – but they all mean the same thing. It is the integration of pictures and images with key words and phrases.
In normal lectures, I would hesitate to suggest this method of notetaking as the sole method. Instead, incorporate visual notes into an additional method like Cornell or Outlining as a way of emphasizing key processes or diagrams.
Visual sketches will work great for science lectures where different processes and diagrams are always being used. Math classes can also utilize diagrams as you work through problems. In both science and math lectures I would include an outlining of steps so that when I am reviewing later I have the process included with a product.
This is also a great way of reviewing a fictional or historical text. For example, you can chart the movement and progression of battles throughout World War I. Or, as I did with my 9th graders a few years ago, we charted different stages of Odysseus’ journey home while reading The Odyssey.
If you don’t consider yourself an artist, that’s okay. But don’t shy away completely from the benefit of including visuals and pictures in your notes. It has value when it comes to reviewing, memorizing, and forming connections in your mind.
A final note.
Before I leave you today, I want to impress upon you the benefit of writing summaries. Whether you write them in the Cornell style, on a sticky note, or after each chapter, writing summaries will help you organize what you just learned, and if you are smart and read those summaries before the next lecture or chapter, you will recall what you learned and have your head in the right space.
Remember, each style has its advantages and disadvantages, and most of us use a blend of these strategies depending on what we are studying. Most importantly, each strategy takes practice and discipline. So don’t get frustrated, but try each method and always write your summaries, and you’ll be flying through your notes in no time.
Happy studying.
