<p>How do you guys normally take/ study from notes? I suddenly realized that I am WAY different than everyone else in my school in this respect, so I'm just taking a general poll here on CC. </p>
<p>As for my style: I take "regular" notes, like so:</p>
<p>Main Header
•Sub Header
-Info
-Info</p>
<p>Then, after class, I translate them into a more usable form for me, such as charts/ graphs. I always use the charts thereafter. Other people in my class take notes like so:</p>
<p>-Info
-Info
-Info</p>
<p>Obviously, no organization whatsoever, and they don't put them in a better form later- even though they know that they can do better with my style of notes. One time my teacher asked me to share my charts with the class (after a horrible quiz that they all failed; I didn't). They scored considerably better (on the test, same subject matter) after using my charts, but still haven't adopted my methods. I think they're just lazy...</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>
<p>Anyway, chime in at will. I'm interested to see how everyone here goes about this process...</p>
<p>Since I prefer taking notes on my computer, I use Evernote. It’s very useful. You can organize your notes into notebooks, bold letters, change fonts, underline, transfer into Microsoft Word, and even record lectures. I organize my notes like this:</p>
<p>I. Main Header
A. Sub Header
1. Info
2. Info
3. Info
B. Sub Header
1. Info
2. Info
3. Info
II. Main Header</p>
<p>Cool, I’ll have to try Evernote. I always have my tablet with me in class anyway. Otherwise, I guess we take notes about the same, except I use dots and dashes in order to write them faster.</p>
<p>In class I write whatever the professor writes on the board because it keeps me from zoning out. I don’t actually study from my notes…I use the textbook, PowerPoints posted online, etc.</p>
<p>I never like doing things linearly… I jot down notes in the same way that I think: in clouds and arrows.
I’ll have my main topic/focus boxed in the middle, but then I’ll start drawing arrows with clouds (information inside the clouds) and connect more clouds and more clouds until it’s all a giant web. It gets pretty large and nobody really understands my notes except for me, but this way I see things more as big ideas and concepts instead of just fact after fact after fact.</p>
<p>A lot of my teaches give out guided notes, even though I’m a senior in AP classes… </p>
<p>In social studies classes I don’t write down a lot (I do better just listening) so generally it’s just notes in the margin of a worksheet or random little comments on notebook paper with no discernable organization. </p>
<p>For math and science classes, I generally write main concepts in bullets (no headings or subheadings or indentations really) and then copy down some examples. </p>
<p>It’s not the most organized, but it works pretty well for me. I don’t really study from notes much anyway, I use the textbook, internet resources, etc. </p>
<p>I didn’t take notes until high school, so I kind of had to learn quickly. My method involves a lot of personal jargon and references that nobody understands but me (Sherlock references in psych, biology term in Bible studies) because I find that I learn best when I make a lot of connections and I do tend to make a lot of connections that other people don’t.
I still don’t take huge quantities of notes (in one Bible Studies class I had four double-sided pages of notes to study for the midterm when most people didn’t have fewer than ten), but I fluctuate between your method (heading, subheading, info) for more science based classes or classes based on sources (like certain Jewish studies classes or history classes) where I tend to group information by its topic/source, and just writing everything in one big paragraph. Or sometimes I do a mix of the two. It really depends on the class. Some classes, like AP Bio last year, where the teacher gave out slides in a packet, I took no notes at all besides for random comments and doodles in the margins. I’m not a big studier either (which is why some of my grades look like they do) but I’ve usually found that my random types of notes tend to work for the classes I use them for.
In ninth grade we did have a “study skills” teacher who taught us his method of notetaking or rather note revision (write it in heading/subheading/info and then at home rewrite it in a circle-and-spoke format), but it did NOT speak to me and honestly, who has time to rewrite notes? One kid actually does it, though- then again, she’s also the kid who records all of the classes and then transcribes them into essays which she sends out as study guides, so she’s just from a different planet.</p>
<p>Well most of my notes are just definitions. I very rarely write anything different than definitions. However, when I do write things other than definitions, i just use -infoinfoinfo and don’t organize it that much.</p>
<p>For the classes that are hardest for me (this year math, last year chem), I take notes in class and rewrite them at home with color coding, page numbers, etc etc because it’s the best way for me to study. For others, I just take pretty basic notes in a notebook for each class and use highlighters and underlining when I review them.</p>
<p>I don’t have a set format for notes, but I do have a style. I, and I think most people, remember conversations with friends better than a lecture a teacher gives. Therefore, I try to record my notes in the way I would speak them to a friend - sarcastically and informally. </p>
<p>I guess I see how taking informal notes could help. In my freshman science course, I always drew pictures in the margins that somehow related to the notes. I would see a question on a test, remember my doodle, and recall the necessary info to answer the question.</p>
<p>How I take notes is very class and teacher specific, but I usually get into a style within a week or two after school starts.</p>
<p>Biology and AP Gov:
We usually just expand on things from what we were supposed to have read already, so I just make small edits to my reading notes. My reading notes are typed and printed before class. I take what you called “regular” notes, but I rewrite each header in the form of a question as it makes it easier to study from. (Ex. instead of ‘Meiosis Steps’ I write ‘What are the steps in meiosis?’). I staple quizzes to the relevant notes.</p>
<p>APUSH:
This class was basically lectures or videos all day everyday, so I would takes notes in class and then that same night type them up at home. If I was taking this class now, I would have used the questions for title thing I mentioned earlier.</p>
<p>Math:
I write down key concepts, formulas, and example problems. I use printer paper (no lines), and I use a new sheet for each topic.</p>
<p>Physics:
These just have key concepts and any formulas derived from them. Our teacher always gives us a WS on new concepts, so after it’s graded I staple that to my notes.</p>
<p>All of my other classes (Spanish, English, etc.) either have us use guided notes or I simply don’t take any. </p>
<p>Until middle school, I used Cornell notes. But I realized that I don’t even need my notes since I don’t look at them. I only take notes in classes where the teacher writes everything on the whiteboard. Otherwise, I don’t take any notes.</p>