Strategies to Being a Master Note-taker

Behind every great student are study notes, keeping them on track. Some of us prefer messy notes while others prefer their notes to be organised and pretty-looking. Whatever your style of note-taking is, I have some colour coding tips with me to make memorising notes easier!

Due to our human nature, it has been proven that colour coding is able to enhance our learning abilities and make us a more efficient thinker.

1. Write notes using a blue [ball] pen.

The colour blue is very easy on the eyes so your eyes won't feel as strained when you have to endure those late-night study sessions. Taking notes using a pencil has that risk of getting smudged or fade away easily, especially if it gets wet. The same thing applies to gel pens. If you're the kind of person who's very particular about one's notes, then you can always write your notes in pencil first and rewrite it in pen when you get home.

2. Highlighters are your friend

Train yourself to ONLY look for important points and that ONLY. Before highlighting something, ask yourself, "is this what the subject matter is about?" If the answer is no, don't bother highlighting it. You don't want to end up highlighting the whole page, right?

3. Have a system

Use different colour for different points. For example, use yellow for facts, pink for definitions and green for names and dates. This way, our brain won't get so confused over the jumble of information and a memory "drawer" will be created in your head.

4. Keep it simple

As I said earlier on point number 2, only highlight what is important. Highlighting everything will lose its function. After highlighting something, feel free to make a small little summary at the end of it to ensure you understand what's being said.

5. Visualise!

To be honest with you, I was surprised at how much visualising my notes helped me. I tried a different approach to study History by drawing and mind mapping and I actually scored the subject for once. It doesn't matter if you suck at drawing, the important thing here is that you yourself understand your notes. You're doing this for you, not anyone else.

6. Review, review and review.

After class, review and scan through your notes when you get home. Then, do so again three days after. And then five days. Go on and on until you know the topic like the back of your hand.

7. Digitise your notes

Even if you prefer taking notes on your phone or your laptop, handwrite it first, then retype it. When retyping, you're actually doing some revision too. It also gives you a chance to polish your notes, adding links for extra reading and visual aids such as bar charts.

These are the most helpful note taking tips I have, everyone. What are your favourite methods? If you have any tips yourself, share it with us in the comments below!

'Till next time,

Tris.