How To Take Notes And Why You Should

By Lanie Griest 

Notes, to many people, seem like a waste of time, but in reality, one is wasting time by not taking notes. Why is that? It’s simple, really; not taking notes means one has to go through all their papers instead of annotated and organized notes. Many use the excuse of not knowing how to take notes, but it’s just that, an excuse.  Notes are easy to write up when you take the time to just look for how to take notes, a quick and needed investment, you will find your life has become much easier.

Notes are a necessary part of education that will make your entire school career easier, no matter the age.  A few simple pages of short text will have one memorizing classwork, improving focus, understanding concepts, making it easier to review for tests and homework, improving active listening, and more! Even one of Peotone High School’s own AP teachers, Mr. Robinson, agrees that notes are a useful tool. Mr. Robinson said, “Everyone has to take notes, even as a teacher, you gotta take notes, it's a tool you're going to use forever”. So, why not take notes? It’s not as if they are difficult, and if they are, you might not be using the right method. Peotone’s AP teacher, Mr. Robinson, also attested, “For one, if you are a slow writer, you’d be better at typing, and two, only write down what is super important.” Thankfully, both the articles used as sources and Mr. Robinson were informative in discerning what is important and what is not. It's not as if we are still in the time when teachers would hand students books and expect them to find everything they need. Nowadays, teachers give students note packets and slides they can use. These slides have important information bolded, keywords, and things that say “example.” All things that should be noted down with other information that, unless deemed important, shouldn’t be written down. In conclusion, there is no reason one should not be taking notes.

Now that the basics are covered, one’s notes can be written down, but there's an issue: the notes are too long to find anything! This is an easy problem to fix; all you have to do is write a table of contents, much like in a book, that tells you what information is where. There are going to be multiple things covered in one unit, so it is useful to be able to number your notes pages and have a page, or a few pages, that tell you what page in your notes to go to for a specific piece of information or in-depth notes on a topic. This will leave you with better-organized notes and a calm mind, as the more organized your notes are, the better your mind is.  

When your notes are disorganized, it leaves you feeling stressed and unable to find what you need. Instead, notes should be made interesting and organized for one’s brain so your brain doesn’t graze over important pieces of information due to the notes all looking the same or messy. Things like diagrams, drawings, boxes, different colors, highlighting important bits of text, annotations, and bullet points help keep your brain interested and focused.  Notes are tools that will greatly help you on your academic journey and throughout life, but the best help will come from notes that are neat and organized.

There are some things one should remember when taking notes, though, some "words of wisdom," if you will. Notes as a tool are useful, that has already been established, but the packets and online tools the teachers give you are just as useful, more so even. This doesn’t mean notes shouldn't be taken; this just means that the resources given by your teachers should be used when writing notes or studying, just like the notes themselves should be. Another thing Mr. Robinson said was, “Take advantage of the resources you're given. It is not often that teachers give you nothing… so take advantage of what they give you. We live in a world of technology, and all of what we have is posted to Google Classroom. So go back and use your digital resources.” He is not saying “don’t take notes,” he is telling you to use the resources given to take notes. 

Another thing that should be mentioned is definitions. There will be words that you don’t know, and that is okay. To combat this, make sure to set aside a few pages where you can write down definitions, words, or phrases to more easily remember the meaning of words, and examples that will allow your understanding of the words to grow. Notes are easy to create and comprehend, and will follow you through your whole life. You will need to take them for your whole life, so do the smart thing and remember your notes.

In conclusion, notes are both an essential in your life you will always need and an easy thing to do. Taking notes will always be something you need to do; it’s not hard either.  From your school life to your adult life, you will need to take notes. Note taking is just about finding the method that works most for you when taking notes, as well as keeping them organized. This will allow your academic potential to thrive, as now you have a way to keep track of your learning, making your academic life and life in general much simpler.