Note Taking Methods

There are different ways to take notes. 

Some ways are better than others for specific situations and for different people. 

For example, taking notes while reading a textbook might work best using an outline format. 

For class lectures, using paper/pen with a Cornell note-taking method could work. 

For a lab, using a Sketchnote method with hand-drawn diagrams might work best. 

For others in the lab, drawing a diagram takes too much time, so taking pictures with their phone and adding the pictures to the notes later is a better way.     

Explore to find which methods work best for you.

three written note-taking systems are shown here. 

To learn more about each method, click on the name below each picture.

To learn about other note-taking systems, type the keywords "note-taking in college" into your browser (ex., Google, Explorer).   

This is a picture of a lined piece of paper with part in green 2.5 inches as the cue column on the left and 6' inches as the note taking area to the right of the cue column.

The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes. The student divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the questions/key word column (on the left). A section at the bottom is used for summaries. This can be good for taking all types of notes.

This is a picture of handwritten notes in outline form with a topic notes next to the left side and other notes associated with the topic on rows below indented toward the right.

This focuses on phrases and main ideas. If your mind works this way, this could work is several situations for you. It can be helpful for taking notes on textbook readings using the book's table of contents and section headers as part of the outline structure.  

This is a picture of pictures hand drawn illustrating the content of the notes.

This method uses pictures to illustrate ideas and trains of thought. The pictures can be as elaborate or as simple (ex., stick figures) as you like and have time to draw. This can work well for lectures or really anything.   

This is a picture of an infographic Note-Taking Tips.

What if I can't write things down?

When you are in situations where you can talk like when you are watching a video presentation, reading a book, or studying,

Use Speech to Text.

Note:  The translation from your speech to text will probably need to be edited for accuracy. 

This is a picture of a Google Doc showing where to click to access the voice typing.

Google DOCS 

Voice Typing

For online tutorials, go to YouTube and type in the keywords "Google doc voice typing."

This is a picture of a Microsoft Word document showing where to click to access the Office dictation.

Microsoft Word

Office Dictation

For online tutorials, go to YouTube and type in the keywords "Word office dictation."

This is a picture of a cell phone.

Cell Phones

iPhones and Android phones have speech-to-text functions.

To learn how to use it on your phone, look for instructions and tutorials online.


iPhone: Type the keywords "iPhone voice to text" into your browser or on YouTube.

Android:  Type the keywords "Android speech to text" into your browser or on YouTube.               

More Information - Diving Deeper Videos

This is a picture of where to click on the video to get close captioning (cc) and to make the picture larger (rectangle) or smaller (4 arrows in rectangle pointing to the center)

College Info Geek's How to Take Notes in Class: The 5 Best Methods Video

Discover Business Degrees's Top 5 Note Taking Strategies: What's the Best Note Taking Method for You? Video

Gideon King's Note Taking Using Mind Maps Video