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We’ve discussed note-taking apps extensively, but we haven’t really delved into the process of note-taking itself, which is the focus of this article.
To start, it’s important to understand that note-taking and note-making are related but distinct processes. Note-taking involves quickly collecting and recording information you hear, see, or read during lectures, meetings, seminars, or other activities. It’s about capturing information from different sources, like multiple textbooks, as fast as possible without needing to fully understand or remember it at that moment. Typically, you write down what the author or speaker says directly, as there’s usually no time to paraphrase.
On the other hand, note-making is more intellectually demanding. It’s the process of analyzing, summarizing, and organizing the information you’ve gathered. Once you’ve taken your notes, you can create a more permanent record using your own words to better understand and retain the concepts, topics, or subjects.
If you’ve followed Paperless X since my student days, you’ve probably heard me talk about rough notes and final study notes. Rough notes are the raw information I recorded during classes, lectures, and personal study sessions when there wasn’t time to organize everything. Final study notes are what I created from those rough notes, where I organized and clarified the information to make it easier to understand.
This article will focus on how to create rough notes, or note-taking. We’ll cover note-making in a separate discussion.
The sentence method is the simplest note-taking technique and requires almost no preparation. You write down information in full sentences to capture facts, concepts, or ideas as they’re presented. Since there’s no time to fully process the information, you record it as quickly as possible for later reference.
You can number the sentences or use bullet points—bullet points are preferable because you don’t have to worry about keeping track of numbering. Each new point goes on a separate line, and you can add headings to somewhat organize your notes. If you understand the information, you can even create hierarchies to better structure it.
The sentence method is ideal for situations like lectures, classes, and meetings where you haven’t had time to prepare. It’s also great for quickly jotting down new ideas that haven’t fully formed, just to get them out of your head.
To get the most out of the sentence method, consider typing your notes (if you type faster than you write by hand) or recording audio alongside your note-taking. Audio recordings can help ensure you don’t miss anything, but they shouldn’t replace actually taking notes.
When handwritten, sentence notes can be scruffy and disorganized, so you’ll need to rewrite them later to make sense of the information. Rewriting is time-consuming, so if you’re pressed for time, it’s better to type your notes since they’re easier to organize and edit. Editing typed text is much simpler than rewriting handwritten notes—you just need to add structure, correct errors, and possibly add or remove information.
If your professor provides lecture slides in advance, take advantage of them. Using lecture slides as a base for your notes can significantly reduce the amount of writing you need to do during class. You can follow along, add comments, and jot down additional information without having to write down everything being said.
This method allows you to focus more on the lecture, but it does require preparation. You need to have the lecture slides ready beforehand and it’s helpful if you’ve studied the material in advance. That way, you’ll know what extra information to add and how it connects to everything else.
A similar approach works with PDFs, which are ideal for annotations and comments. While most physical documents don’t have enough space for notes, digital ones allow you to add comments or even insert extra pages between PDF pages if needed. Comments are particularly useful as they can be added directly to relevant sections.
The Cornell method is unique in that it combines note-taking with what happens afterward. It’s a hybrid approach that includes both note-taking and note-making. Your page is divided into three sections, and with digital notes, you don’t have to worry about dividing the page yourself—most note-taking apps have templates for this.
The largest column is for taking notes, so you’ll need to be concise, using abbreviations you understand. Skip lines between different ideas to leave room for adding information later. Concise notes allow you to write more neatly, which saves time when you review them later since you won’t need to rewrite as much. However, condensing everything you’re hearing can be mentally exhausting, so this method is better suited for note-taking from reading rather than from listening.
The limited space on your page can result in fragmented topics, which might not work if you prefer having all related information on one page. The other sections of the Cornell method are where you start making notes, which we’ll discuss in a different article.
Personally, I rely on the sentence method the most. I use bullet points when I’m unsure of the structure of the information, but I’ll number points if I know we need to keep track of them. For example, if we’re working on an article about why Noteful is great, I would number the points to keep them organized.
I always use digital notebooks because they have margins that allow me to add comments or more information later, right next to the relevant notes. Digital notebooks also make it easier to group all my topics for one subject into a single document, which is my preferred way of organizing.
Note-taking doesn’t produce a polished final product. It’s quick, often untidy, and the information will need to be organized later to remain useful. You’ll likely use just one pen color and won’t have time to switch colors as you’re capturing information. Sometimes, your handwriting might be so bad that you can’t read or understand what you wrote later. If you’ve ever had that problem, you might want to try Nebo, an app that converts handwriting and can decipher what you were trying to write, even when it’s messy.
