Taking Notes 101: The comprehensive guide

Before Highschool, I was a hot mess. I rarely took notes, and when I did, they were messy, disorganized and hard to understand. 

Here's how I changed all that in less than 3 months. 

Note Taking Basics

First and foremost, (and I know you've heard this before) but notetaking is SO IMPORTANT. Sometimes, when a teacher lectures, they might tell you to take notes. Sometimes they won't. 

Even when they don't tell you, you really should. There's a lot of information that they're going to put out there, and it's your job to write it down. 

Here are some things to remember when you're taking notes:

• You shouldn't write everything they say down. You can't. It's not practical and its pretty impossible to do. You should only write down key facts and terms. 

• If your teacher says that something will be on your test, write it down. You wont remember it if you don't.

• If you don't understand something, don't simply write it down and hope that you'll understand it later. Ask the teacher to explain, and then write it down in a way that you'll understand it in the future. 

• It's okay to rephrase things in a simpler way. It can be hard to fully grasp something if the language is too complicated. Just make sure the way you're re phrasing it is accurate. 

Note Taking Styles and Tips

• Typed 
• Handwritten 
• Handwritten on an iPad

I type and write my notes. In class, I usually only handwrite my notes. For me, it depends on what class I'm in, and what's going to help me the most. 

Math Notes 

 For math notes, I recommend writing by hand, or using an apple pen on your tablet. This is because in a lot of cases, you need to draw out diagrams, rather than just text and equations. 

Methods like highlighting and color coding work the best for me. When it comes to math, it's important to look at it as the subject as a whole, rather than studying only for the next quiz or test. 

This means keeping your notes in order of chapter/section, and making sure they stay in good condition. Remember, math builds on previous knowledge, so notes from the previous years will come in handy. 

When you're taking notes, jot down practice problems too. (Actually do them too!) 

Science Notes

For science notes, I still recommend writing by hand, or using an apple pen on your tablet. Science has diagrams like math. Keeping this in mind, it really depends on what science course you're taking. 

For example, in Earth Science, your notes will be be heavier on words, and less in diagrams. In Biology, your notes will have more diagrams. 

You can see how your course is laid out before hand by looking through any textbook on that subject. Sometimes school districts publish sections of their books in pdf form. Even if it's not the book you're going to be using, you can get the general idea. This will help you determine how you're going to mainly be taking notes. 

In my experience, studying for science can be overwhelming, so taking good, neat notes will help you through the year. 

History Notes

For history notes, I recommend typing, if possible. This is because there's a lot of information involved, and in my experience, there are very few diagrams needed. When it comes to timelines, you can often find them on the internet, or you could jot them down, and later use a drawing app to flesh it out and attach it to your document. 

If you aren't allowed to have your laptop out in class, I suggest writing down the important details that aren't stated in the textbook directly, and are instead explained by the teacher. Then, as soon as you get a chance, use your text book and what you wrote in class to make thorough and effective notes.

Language Arts Notes

For Language Arts, it really depends on the teacher. If the course is heavy on advanced vocabulary, proper use of punctuation, etc. typing makes more sense. 

In general, for language arts, you could go either way. It's just about what you prefer, and what your teacher allows. 

Into the World of Typed Notes

So, lets say you've decided on typing your notes. Now, you have a bunch of documents sitting on your computer, and you're really not sure what do do next. The good news, is you have options. 

Keeping em' Digital 

Keeping your notes digitally is great if you know how to do it effectively; and lets say that letting them float around in your download folder is definitely not it. You need a method that allows you to easily find them and encourages you to look at them. 

I really enjoy Notion, which use I mainly for notes. There's a slight learning curve, but there are plenty of videos out there to help you use it. The best part? It's free. 

I also use Google Docs, which is similar to Word, but you can access it in your browser free, which makes your notes easier to access. The handwritten style fonts are generally nicer than Word, and you can also create your own highlighter colors, which is refreshing if you're used to Word's neon pink, green, blue and yellow.  

To Print or Not to Print 

 What I usually do is print my typed notes out. I prefer