Why You Should Review Your Notes Before Leaving Class
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Taking notes, whether in class or meetings, is an essential part of learning. Research has shown that handwriting helps you retain information better than using a computer, so it’s a good idea to bring only a notebook and pen to class in addition to (or instead of) a laptop. But effective note-taking involves more than just jotting down a bunch of bullet points. For your notes to be useful, they should be organized by topic and subtopic in a sensible order that you can follow later. That’s why you should review your notes immediately after class—even before you leave your seat, if possible.
What to do with notes after class
When taking notes —whether typed or handwritten —you need to be selective about what you write down and what you don’t, considering how much time it will take before the instructor moves on to the next point you don’t want to miss. This is great for keeping you engaged in class and critically assessing what’s important and what’s not, but it can also leave gaps in your notes that you’ll only notice later when you reread them. Therefore, it’s best to reread them immediately and revise them if necessary.
Marty Lobdell, a former professor emeritus at Pierce College who spent 40 years teaching psychology and study skills, recommends immediately reviewing and supplementing your notes in his video ” Study Less, Study Smarter .” He advises using your memories of the lecture, as well as texts and other study materials, to supplement your notes while the lecture is fresh in your mind.
Rewrite them completely, adding key details to what you already considered important in class, including anything relevant from supplementary materials. This will not only make your notes easier to study later but will also help you retain the information, as rewriting will be your first opportunity to review what you’ve learned.
How to Make the Most of Your Post-Class Notes
When taking notes in class, it’s best to be brief and concise, especially if you know you’ll be adding to them later. To speed up your writing, you can use abbreviations and codes if you’re confident you’ll be able to decipher and expand on them later. After class, review and edit your notes, compare them with your textbook or course materials, and, if possible, with other students’ notes to ensure you haven’t missed anything.
When writing and editing, choose the most effective note-taking method that suits your individual learning style . The note-taking method is best suited for rewriting and involves placing general information on the left side of the page, with more specific groups of facts indented below. For classroom note-taking, consider the Cornell method, which requires you to quickly jot down information on the left side of the page and then, when time allows, add more detailed information on the right side.
Whatever method you choose, don’t leave the class until you’ve completed your notes (or, if that’s not possible, do so as soon after the class as possible). Review your notes 10 minutes before the next class to ensure everything is fresh in your mind before moving on.
Ideas for improving note-taking and reviewing material
It’s best to take notes using an established method, such as Cornell University’s, as it gives you some structure as you go. How you edit them is also important. I recommend reformatting them into a mind map . This is a visual representation of how concepts interact with each other. Similar to a flowchart, it uses bubbles, colors, and arrows to indicate related topics and subtopics. You can also seek help from technical experts here. I like the app Xmind for creating quick and easy mind maps.
The benefits of this approach are numerous. First, you force yourself to focus not only on themes and concepts but also on how they are all connected, which helps cement them in your memory and improve your overall understanding. Second, adding color and intrigue also helps with memorization. Third, by forcing yourself to reformat your notes in a completely different way than you created them, you begin to perceive them differently and focus on getting everything right.