Study Smarts: How to Learn More in Less Time

9. Learn by Taking Organized Notes

Learning Tips 21 LEARNING TIP 9 Learn by Taking Organized Notes This tip doesn't suggest that you should take notes in order to learn. It actually promises that you will learn just by taking notes. A recent study proved that people who took lecture notes did much better on a test given weeks latereven without reviewing their notes-than people who didn't take any notes. Why did it work? Because the no-notes group just sat and let it all flow past them, while the note-takers had to think about what was being said so that they could select the items they wanted to write down. So even if you don't know how to take notes, plunge in and begin taking some. It's like skating-you'll get better at it with practice. Your notes will sink in best if they're organized. Most of the time, as we pointed out in Learning Tip 8, you should include the main topic, the subordinate topics (ideas, general statements, and conclusions), and all the details (definitions, examples, and explanations) that support them. If you're still not sure how to recognize a topic from a detail, or how to outline or summarize, get help in your school study center. You can't remember anything well until you've learned how to organize and reduce words to their essentials. (Several publishers market course outline books. Most are good examples of how to outline.) Quite a bit of research has been done on note-taking, and until recently one system was considered the best for everyone . We'll describe it first. Use 8Y2 x II-inch looseleaf paper and write on just one side. (This may seem wasteful, but it's one time when economizing is- secondary.) Head each page with a main topic. Then take the time to rule your page as follows: 22 STUDY SMARTS (I) If the course is one in which lecture and text are closely related, use the 2-3-3-2 technique. Make columns of two inches down the left-hand side for memory clues, three inches in the middle for lecture notes, and three inches on the right side for textbook notes. Leave a two-inch space across the bottom for your own observations and concluSIons . (2) If it's a course where the lectures and the reading are not closely related, use separate pages for class notes and reading notes, following the 2-5-1 technique: two inches at left for clues, five in the middle for notes, and an inch at the right for your own observations. (After a while you won't need to draw actual lines.) In the center section or sections belong your regular notes, taken in the form you've evolved during your years of schooling. The clue column is the key to higher grades. As soon as possible after you've written your notes, take the time to read them over-don't study them, just read them. Check now, while it's still all fresh, to see whether you've left out anything important or put down anything incorrectly, and make your changes. Then, in that left-hand column, set down clue words to the topics in your notes. These clue words should not repeat information, but should label or pinpoint whatever you'll need to remember. They're the kind of clues you would put on crib sheets. For example, to remember the information contained so far in this section on note-taking, you need just the following clues: organize: main topic, subordinates, details paper: 8Y2 x II looseleaf, I side 2-3-3-2 2-5-1 l-h col. = clue words As you can see, they're fast reminders. They're what you'll use later on in sharpening your long-term memory. Learning Tips 23 The beauty of the clue-word note-taking method is that it provides a painless way to do the one thing proved most conducive to remembering what you learn: actively thinking about your notes and making logical sense of them. If, instead of having to think up clues, you just keep going over your recorded notes, you'll not only get bored but you'll be trying to remember in the least effective way. Notice that we suggest notes for both lectures and reading. If it sounds like too much work, make a...