Tips for Taking Better Notes:

Don't make the mistake of copying down what your teacher might put on the board or screen word for word. Force yourself to actively engage with what you are learning and remember more from class by transforming what your teacher provides into your own custom version of the notes:

• Write down key words and concepts, not complete sentences. This saves time, but also helps you to avoid plagiarizing your teacher's notes on assignments.
• Rephrase your teacher's notes in your own words. It will improve your understanding and cut down on the potential for plagiarism.
• Develop your own shorthand to save time. If you write a word or phrase a lot come up with your own abbreviations. E.g. bc for because, w/ for with, PM for prime minister
• Listen for clues in what your teacher is saying. Highlight or star information that they mention repeatedly (that means it's important). If they drop hints, like "This is definitely something that will come up on your test"  or "This is one of the most important things to know about ...," highlight that too.
• If your teacher provides printed notes, make them your own by adding related doodles, colour-coding or additional annotations that will help you understand the notes better.
• If your teacher doesn't provide notes or other visual aids, you will need to listen even more actively to identify key information. Apply all of the above tips, but also listen for signal phrases that indicate that your teacher is saying something you should write down, such as, "The three main causes of World War I were..." or "One concept that you must understand if you are to understand why this happened is..."
• Figure out which notetaking method works best for the way you study and learn. Check out the note taking section of Study Skills for some methods to try.

Because I love Crash Course videos, I thought I would share their first Study Skills video with you. It is a great summary of various note taking styles and offers a lot of helpful tips.