From the very beginning, we are told to make notes of what is being taught in the classroom. But we never gave a thought upon why is it mandatory to make notes. It has become a notion that it is necessary to make notes. There is no hard and fast protocol that you have to make notes if you are sitting in a class. You will not be expelled from the school if you will not make notes. It has become a convention to note down what is being taught by the teacher. This convention has its own importance. Without notes, the academic life of a student will be very gloomy. It is often said that the success of a student in the exam is directly proportional to the lucidity in his notes.
Why is it Important to make Notes in the Class?
- Making Notes Increases Attention: While making notes, the student records all the important words said by the teacher. So in order to make good notes, he will be more attentive in the class. He will listen to each and every word said by the teacher and evaluate it and then note down what is important. The increased attention in the class will clear all the concepts in the student’s mind.
- Notes are a Valuable Piece of Information: The brain does not have a memory card installed in it. It cannot store every piece of information which is heard by the ears. It is likely to forget a part of information heard by the person. If it forgets important information which does not have any other alternate record, it could be a very big problem. In order to overcome this situation, all the important information delivered by the teacher must be noted down by the students in the form of notes. So that, whenever you forget a piece of information or you need a written record of it, you can look into the notes made by you.
- Information Stored in Notes cannot be Found Anywhere Else: These days the world is enclosed in books and the internet. They have information to even the infinitesimal questions also. But it takes a lot of time to search for it. Sometimes, the information is displayed in a language which cannot be easily understood by us or the words are too hard. When your teachers tell you the same things, they are very understandable and easy for you. All their statements are supported by examples. You will not be able to find this information in such easy fashion anywhere else. If you fail to note it down, you are losing very valuable facts.
- Notes can Trigger Memories of the Class: Notes act as an evidence for you. When you look at them you can remember how you made the notes and what the exact wording of the teacher was. So if you miss a part of the information in your notes, it is not a big problem because you will be able to recall whole of the lecture when you read your notes.
- Notes can help in Exam Preparation: Notes contain the information which is important from the teacher point of views. Sometimes while explaining the concept the teachers tell about the important questions from that topic from the exam point of view. If you write the wordings of the teacher in your answer sheet, it is very impressive to the teacher. Moreover, there are some topics which cannot be found in books or cannot be easily understood by them, notes are an excellent way to learn these topics. So if you go through the notes made by you in the class you will pass an exam with flying colours.
- Taking Notes Increases Retention: Written practice is always preferred as it increases retention and understanding. Even if we listen to the teacher very attentively in the class we will not be able to remember everything which we heard. We are likely to forget half of the information. On the other hand, if we will write what we are listening in the class, we will retain ninety per cent of the information in our mind and we will be able to recall it without even looking at the notes.
- Notes Highlight Important Points in the Textbook: Sometimes, we do not have enough time to read the whole textbook. In such a state, you can take a glance at the notes made by you in the class. They will contain all the important topics. You can then further read these important topics from the books and take an overview of the rest of the topics. The notes combined with a reading of the textbook are more than enough for exam preparation.
- Notes can Clear your Doubts: It is very normal that you do not understand everything which is being taught in the class. Mark the topic in your notes which you are not able to understand. Write down everything about it. Most of the times the doubt is cleared when you write it down because the words become more clear to you. You can later read that topic from your notes when you go home and try to understand it. If you are still not able to understand it, read it from a textbook or seek some expert advice.
- Making Notes gives you a Writing Practice: When you make notes in class your writing speed matches with speaking speed of the teacher. You get to increase your writing speed this way which will be very beneficial for you in while you are writing your exam. You will be able to finish your paper well before time and will get sufficient time for revision. Also, when you will write the same thing in your answer sheet you will be able to recall the exact words which you already wrote while making notes in class.
- Notes provide an Organized Record of Information: You already have an organized record of information in the form of textbooks. But everything cannot be easily understood by them. Notes are an excellent record of information as they contain the information in the exact order as it was taught by the teacher. If you made the notes in an effective manner they will be completely organized and not here and there.
How to make Effective Notes?
Notes which are not organized or properly made are of no use. It is better not to make such notes. They will be just a waste of time and paper. There are some tips which can help you in making effective notes.
- Revise the Previous Lecture: When you go for a lecture, make sure you know what was taught in the previous lecture. Only then you will be able to understand the new lecture. Otherwise, everything will get messed up in your mind and you will not understand which fact is worth noting down in your notes.
- Write Briefly in Easy Words: While making notes there is no need for using very complex or bookish language. Write everything in your own language which you can easily understand. Try to keep the note to the point and very brief. There is no need of forming exact sentences; you are not giving an English exam. Avoid writing in paragraphs and prefer to pointwise notes.
- Do not make your Notes too Dull: If you will keep on reading white sheet with blue ink on them, you will find it dull and boring. If you have a good writing speed, try to use different colour pens for heading and text material to add some life in your notes. But avoid this if you are a slow writer because you can miss some information while changing the pens. Those with slow handwriting can use notebooks with multi-coloured pages or loose sheets of different colours to make their notes full of life.
- Use Abbreviations and Special Symbols: I order to catch up with the speaking speed of the teacher you need to use shorthand. Abbreviate the long words. Use symbols for words you commonly use. Avoid adjectives and adverbs. There are many common words or group of words which can be abbreviated. For example
- D/b for the difference between
- +ve and –ve for positive and negative respectively
- ‖ly for similarly
- ∞ for infinite
- # for number
- Eg for example
- Defn for definition
- Envr for environment
- s.t for such that
- ∵ for because
- ≈ for approximately
You may develop your own symbols and abbreviation as per your subject to make your work easy. You may use some special symbols like stars to indicate some important topic or you can put the topic on which you did not understand in a rectangular box.
- Try to write in a Good Handwriting: Mostly the students make notes in a very bad handwriting. And later on, it becomes difficult for them only to understand what they have written. So it is advised that you should write in a neat and clean handwriting. Write on the proper lines and not anywhere on the page. Leave lines before the beginning of every new topic.
- Use Diagrams and Flowcharts: Writing down everything is not that easy. Try to include more diagrams in your notes because diagrams can explain better than text. You may use flowcharts to represent some relation between things. If a topic has many parts you can use a flowchart there also. The tabular form can be used to compare two or more things. This will make your notes more efficient.
Conclusion
Notes have immense importance in a student’s life. If you avoid making notes in the class, you should leave this practice now and start making notes now. Writing what the teacher says is not enough. Your notes should be effective enough to cover the all the topics in the minimum possible words and that too in an easy language. You may refer to your notes while you are preparing for exams or when you go home and you have to revise. Notes will help you to retain more information in your brain and you will also have a record of information.
