Two students sit side by side in the same lecture. The first types on a laptop, capturing the lecturer almost word for word, and leaves with four pages of text. The second writes by hand and ends up with a page and a half, full of arrows and a few questions in the margin. Two weeks later, asked about the lecture's central argument, the second student usually does better. Not because pens beat keyboards, but because that page and a half was the product of selecting and rephrasing.
Notes do two jobs. While you write them, they are a way of processing information; afterwards, they are material for review. Good notes serve both jobs. Poor notes are just a transcript you will later reread passively.
Handwriting versus laptop is the wrong question
The debate is usually framed as a contest between tools. The variable that really matters is whether you transcribe or rephrase. Fast typing makes near-verbatim capture possible, and verbatim capture involves very little thinking. Handwriting is slower, forcing you to condense, which creates processing almost by accident.
So if you use a laptop, set yourself a rule: never type more than ten consecutive words that are not your own. Laptops add a second risk: one stray tab costs five minutes of lecture. If you can manage both, typing works well and has real advantages for searching and organising.
What to capture and what to skip
You cannot write everything, and you should not try. In order of priority:
- Structure: how many main ideas today, and how they connect.
- Lecturer signals: “the key point is…”, “students often get this wrong”, anything repeated twice or written on the board.
- Examples: note the example's name and what it illustrates, not the whole thing.
- What you did not understand: mark it with a question mark on the spot. This is the most skipped and most valuable part.
Skip: definitions printed verbatim in the textbook (note the page number), figures already on shared slides, and the lecturer's side stories.
A lean Cornell layout
The Cornell system divides the page into three zones. You do not need neat ruled lines, only to respect each zone's job:
| Zone | Position | When you fill it | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main notes | Right two-thirds | During class | Key ideas, examples, diagrams, question marks |
| Cue column | Left third | Within 24 hours | Questions the main notes answer |
| Summary | Strip at the bottom | Within 24 hours | Two or three sentences in your own words |
Cornell's power is not the layout but the cue column. When you review, cover the main notes, read the questions and answer them. Your notebook becomes a ready-made retrieval question bank.
The 24-hour routine
Most of the value of notes is created after class, not during it. A short routine of 15–20 minutes per lecture:
- Skim your notes and expand cryptic abbreviations while you still remember what they meant.
- Write cue questions in the left column for each block.
- Resolve the question marks: check the textbook, ask a classmate, or list them for office hours.
- Write the summary at the bottom without looking at the notes.
- Add links: which earlier lecture or textbook chapter this connects to.
Step four is a small act of retrieval. If you cannot write the summary, you have found out you have not grasped the lecture before the exam tells you.
Adjusting for different kinds of class
Theory lectures
Prioritise the shape of the argument: claim, evidence, counter-argument. Arrow diagrams often work better than linear bullets.
Problem classes
Do not copy the board solution line by line. Note the problem, the key idea at each turning point and the likely pitfalls. Afterwards, re-solve it from the problem statement alone.
Seminars and discussions
Record the different positions, who argued what, and which questions were left open. This is raw material for your essays.
Reading
Finish a paragraph before writing, and write in your own words without looking at the page. Notes taken with your eyes still on the text drift into copying.
Habits that cost time and return little
- Rewriting notes neatly. Hours of work with almost no processing. If you want to redo them, rewrite from memory and then check, which turns it into retrieval.
- Elaborate colour-coding systems. Five colours for five kinds of information makes you think about colours more than content.
- Photographing slides instead of taking notes. A photo is a resource, not a note; you still have to process it somewhere.
- Switching note apps every term. The tool matters far less than the after-class habit.
Turning notes into exam revision material
By exam time, notes kept this way already have three layers: cue questions for self-testing, page summaries for the big picture, and resolved question marks that show where you used to struggle. A revision session simply means covering the main notes, answering the questions, marking the misses, and revisiting the pages with the most misses.
At your next lecture, divide the page into three zones and book fifteen minutes within the following 24 hours for questions and a summary. After two weeks, compare how many cue questions you can answer from the new notes with how much you can recall from the old ones.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Is it better to take notes by hand or on a laptop?
What matters most is whether you rephrase or transcribe. Laptops make verbatim copying and distraction easier, while handwriting forces condensing. If you type, use your own words and close unrelated tabs.
What is the Cornell note-taking method?
It divides the page into main notes, a left-hand cue column and a summary strip at the bottom. Cue questions are written after class and used for self-testing during revision.
Should I rewrite my notes neatly?
It is rarely worth the time, because copying requires little thinking. If you want to redo notes, rewrite them from memory first and then compare with the originals.
What should I write down during a lecture?
Focus on the lecture structure, points the lecturer stresses or repeats, examples and what they illustrate, and anything you did not understand. For textbook definitions, just note the page.
What should I do with my notes after class?
Within 24 hours, spend 15 to 20 minutes clarifying abbreviations, writing cue questions, resolving confusion and summarising without looking. This is where most of the value of notes is created.
