I'm a Paper Girl (My Three Major Note Taking Tips)

Even though my school is supposed to be tech savvy and we do almost everything on the computer, I find that I still like to do my notes by hand. Google Docs and different electronic devices help whilst trying to get organized for school, but I just find that paper and a binder work better for me. If you are like me, then you know what I mean when I say that I will take notes whichever way I have to,to get them, but when I am at home, studying or doing loads of homework, I rewrite them neatly, color code them, and store them in a binder with the rest of my notes.

 I am not the only one that does that, right?

I find that a lot of the students in my grade don't take notes or even bother to go over them again. They figure that since we do most of our tests online and our notes are also online, that they can just go and find the answer to whatever question they can't figure out. They are cheating themselves and if you do the same thing and rely on notes you haven't even looked twice at, so are you.

So to save you the embarrassment( and believe me, us smart studiers see you) I have listed below the three major note taking tips I use.

Tip #1: Always take notes. You never really know what is going to be on a test, so just to be safe, try and take as many notes as you possibly can. I once had a teacher who said something very random and then put it in one of our exams. Just imagine how many people got that question wrong because they weren't paying attention. Of course the question was related to the unit we were studying, but that only proves my point. Therefore, if you want to do good, take notes.


Tip #2: Do not try to make your notes fancy on the first try. This has to be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made, so unless you are typing your notes the first time, screw the pretty handwriting. When you are taking notes, go for legible doesn't matter if it looks nice. This means that you wont have time for pretty colors and sparkly pens. You write the notes in the most sloppy but legible handwriting you have and you deal with it.


Tip #3: Rewrite your notes. So when you get extra time that is when you can rewrite your notes and they can be as fancy as you want them to be. Use all of the colors and sparkles and glitter you want. I find it helpful to highlight the main ideas and then write in regular lead for the actual definition, but whatever helps you focus and study better, use it.And make sure you study them! I cannot stress how much of a waste notes are if you don't actually use them. So to make sure you are actually gaining knowledge, study them. Please.

Thank you for taking the time to better your note taking skills. Its up to you whether or not to take my advice, but no matter what, I hope you find some motivation to start doing better in school. And to those of you who are already doing good in school, I am so proud of you and you are amazing. Just remember to take a break every once in a while.

~Angelina~