Everyone says New Year, New You so what better way to start changing than changing your study habits and these are my step by step guide into taking awesome notes that will not only look impressive and organized, but will help you study for tests, midterm, etc. These notes might be more than you would do, but I promise that these extra steps will help you in a life time. *Note: to see the pictures more clearly, click on them (:
These notes just require 3 things :
Okay for history there is a bunch of little things you need to remember like dates, key events, people, etc. so here is what you do:
Chemistry Notes:
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| Layout Sample of my chemistry textbook notes |
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Page # : This is helpful when you are studying and want to look up your notes in your textbook. Instead of spending hours searching for the page, you can flip right to it! *note: for a new page, skip a line...it will make your notes look neater.
Vocabulary : These will most likely appear of test or quizzes so it would be helpful to highlight them in a certain color that will let you know which is vocab. terms and which isn't. What I do is I give some space for the definition and align it on each new line to make it neater and easier to read.
Section Heading : Section headings gives you the topic and summary of what will be talked about in your textbook and are very important to include because they organize your notes without you having to do any work. Write them in a different color to distinguish the heading from your notes.
Examples : This is especially important in subjects like chemistry or math because for someone like me, I learn things best visually so writing out examples will help you see how to work out a problem and helps you apply it to other problems.
Important Equations : This too is important to highlight, star or circle for subjects like chemistry or math because they are the general equation that you will be 100% tested on. Highlighting them prior will quickly bold them when studying and lets you quickly studying the important information rather then spending time reading and searching for the important stuff.
Biology Notes:
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| Sample Layout/Example of Biology Notes Extreme Style |
These are my required notes for my biology class. Yes, I do view these very extreme, but hey they really help when it comes to studying for his test and quizzes because everything I need to know is in one notebook.
Page # : This is helpful when you are studying and want to look up your notes in your textbook. Instead of spending hours searching for the page, you can flip right to it! *note: for a new page, skip a line...it will make your notes look neater.
Vocabulary : These will most likely appear of test or quizzes so it would be helpful to highlight them in a certain color that will let you know which is vocab. terms and which isn't. What I do is I give some space for the definition and align it on each new line to make it neater and easier to read.
Section Heading : Section headings gives you the topic and summary of what will be talked about in your textbook and are very important to include because they organize your notes without you having to do any work. Write them in a different color to distinguish the heading from your notes.
Lecture Notes : Lecture notes are information you should add to your notes in the general section heading they are in because they added important information or elaboration that could very well be on your test. *note: write them in after your lecture because you won't catch everything while trying to find the section heading they are in. Write your lecture notes during the lecture on another piece of paper...tedious I know, but they say writing things over again will help you remember.
T4'd Information : This is otherwise known as "Talk to the Text". This is very beneficial to do while taking notes or if you don't have time after you finish taking all your notes because if you have questions you write them done and you won't forget to ask during the next lecture. Or if you are like me and do it after, you can elaborate on information from what you learn or even connect it to different things you learn. This makes a good study tool. *note: T4 in a diff. color to keep organization and distinguish your notes from the book notes.
Answers to Question # : We get IB questions that correspond to the chapter and if you do too then this will be perfect. Putting the question number in the general section heading that answers it will make it easier to study because questions given are usually those tested and if you are looking to find more information, its right there for you! *note: these too do in a different color for the same reason as above
Okay, these seem too extreme for you...here is my simplified organized notes that I did before:
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| Sample Layout of Biology Notes |
Page # : This is helpful when you are studying and want to look up your notes in your textbook. Instead of spending hours searching for the page, you can flip right to it! *note: for a new page, skip a line...it will make your notes look neater.
Vocabulary : These will most likely appear of test or quizzes so it would be helpful to highlight them in a certain color that will let you know which is vocab. terms and which isn't. What I do is I give some space for the definition and align it on each new line to make it neater and easier to read.
Section Heading : Section headings gives you the topic and summary of what will be talked about in your textbook and are very important to include because they organize your notes without you having to do any work. Write them in a different color to distinguish the heading from your notes.
History Notes:
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| Sample Layout/Example of History Notes |
1. Assign a highlight or pen color to dates, key events, people, etc. and stick with that color.
2. Go through your notes and highlight wherever you see the dates, people, etc.
Voila instant study helper!
For Example (using my notes above)
Vocabulary = pink
People = green
Places = blue
Time/Dates = yellow
Key events = orange
These are my tips for 3 subjects that require me to take book notes. I promise if you follow these steps, it will not only organize your notes but help you study for tests and quizzes!
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