By Cyril KimbiNote-taking is the most practised study activity and the least examined one. Most students use the method they absorbed at twelve and never reconsidered — transcribing what is said, as fast as possible. That method has been tested, and it performs poorly.
Why transcription fails
Writing down everything feels productive because the page fills. But copying words is a mechanical act; it can be done without understanding a single sentence.
The alternative — listening, deciding what is important, and writing it in your own words — requires you to process the meaning in real time. That processing is the learning. The notes are close to a by-product.
This is also why typing tends to underperform handwriting for conceptual material: typing is fast enough to permit transcription, while handwriting is slow enough to force selection. If you type, impose the constraint deliberately — never copy a full sentence.
The Cornell method
The most useful default, because it builds revision into the note itself. Divide the page into three:
- A narrow left column — about a quarter of the width. Left empty during the lecture.
- A wide right column — your notes, in your own words.
- A strip across the bottom — also left empty during the lecture.
Afterwards — the same day, ideally — you fill the two empty parts. In the left column write questions that the right column answers. In the bottom strip write a two-sentence summary of the whole page.
This is what makes Cornell worth the format. To revise, cover the right column and answer your own questions from memory. The page has become a self-test rather than something to re-read, and self-testing is what actually builds recall.
Choosing a method by material
| Method | Best for | Weak for |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell | Lectures, anything you must recall | Heavy mathematics |
| Outlining | Structured, hierarchical material | Material with no clear hierarchy |
| Mind mapping | Concepts and their relationships | Sequential procedures |
| Charting | Comparisons — causes, dates, systems | Continuous argument |
| Worked-example log | Mathematics, physics, chemistry | Discursive subjects |
The last one deserves attention because it is rarely taught. In problem subjects, notes on the theory are close to useless at revision time. What you need is a record of worked problems with the reasoning written out — particularly the step where you decided which method applied, which is the step exams actually test.
For a mathematics or physics topic, a page containing three fully worked problems with a note beside each saying why that approach was chosen beats ten pages of copied formulae. The past papers library is the natural source of those problems.
The step almost everyone skips
Notes taken and never revisited are close to worthless. The highest-value ten minutes in the whole process is the review on the same day.
You are not rewriting them neatly — that is decoration, and it feels like work while producing very little. You are doing three things: filling gaps while the material is still recoverable from memory, writing the Cornell questions, and marking anything you did not understand so you can ask about it before it compounds.
Ten minutes on the same day is worth more than an hour a month later, because a month later you cannot reconstruct what the gap was.
Notes in a class you cannot keep up with
A common and demoralising situation, particularly in fast lectures or a second language. Three adjustments help:
- Leave gaps deliberately. A blank line marked with a question mark is more useful than a garbled sentence, and it tells you exactly where to ask.
- Capture structure, not content. If you cannot get the detail, get the headings and the order. Detail is recoverable from a textbook; structure is what the lecturer added.
- Write the examples, not the definitions. Definitions are in the book. The worked example the teacher chose usually is not.
Digital or paper
Paper wins for conceptual material because it forces selection and permits diagrams without friction. Digital wins for searchability, for material you will reorganise, and where handwriting is not practical.
Where power or devices are unreliable, this decides itself — and paper has a real advantage worth stating: a notebook does not need charging, and a wall-mounted summary sheet is visible without opening anything. If you work partly offline, keep notes on paper and use the device for the material itself, such as papers downloaded in advance through the eStudyUniverse app.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best note-taking method?
Cornell as a default, because it converts notes into a self-test. Worked-example logs for mathematics and the sciences.
Should I write notes or type them?
Handwriting suits conceptual material because its slowness forces selection. If you type, forbid yourself full sentences from the source.
Should I rewrite my notes neatly?
No. Rewriting is a low-processing activity that feels productive. Convert them into questions instead.
How detailed should notes be?
Detailed enough to reconstruct the idea in six months, short enough that writing them required a decision on every line.
Do I need notes if I have the textbook?
Yes, but different ones. Record what the textbook does not have: the examples chosen, the emphasis, and your own points of confusion.
