Everyone believes their classes to be difficult at every grade, yet when you reach high school, your standards for hard work are blown out of the water. Never doubt the power of trial and error.

Just like you would in any class when your teacher says “get ready to take notes,” you need a piece of paper, colored pens or highlighters and a pencil. The materials needed for taking notes differ depending on your preference, for example, I prefer a lot of color and labeling.

The first thing you have to do is decide if you are someone who can summarize from listening at the moment, recording the lecture then taking notes, or taking pictures if powerpoints are associated with the lecture. No matter which method you choose, focus on the key information, you do not need to write all of the details, just main points. The less you write the more you are inclined to look back and actually study.

If you are able to multitask, then you most likely use the summarize as you listen method; if that is you please listen to the following advice. Before your teacher begins the class, get out all of the materials you desire; then take a pencil and draw a straight line around four inches from the solid red line. This is the Cornell method, in which the left column is the keyword and the right are the notes you believe are important. Ending on a strong foot, when you are done with the actual note-taking process, you summarize all the information in a box at the bottom of the page. After all the data is recorded, go back through adding color where you desire.

No need to fret, if you can barely remember a conversation after two minutes like me, I encourage you to record the teacher talking about the notes. Not videoing them, but set the recording app used on your desk allowing it to document the lesson. As soon as the class is done, pause the recording app used then open it back up when you arrive at a place to take notes. Replay the recording as many times as you need to and choose key facts. Just like you normally would, write the material done in whatever way fits your fancy.

For you tech-savvy people, you can take out your phone (if able) and snap some shots. So, then when you get ready to take your notes you have the pictures to help. However, I would take a few notes just in case something happens to the photos you snapped. Yet, if you like to take pictures so you do not have to focus that much, then I would suggest the mind map technique. Basically, you put keywords all over the page, then surround the keywords with further information highlights. Then, as always you add some glam to make the page less boring.

Hopefully, this will help with the groove of taking notes. No matter the technique you choose, as long as you add some pop to the page you will do good retaining the information. In no way are these the only note-taking options you have, the possibilities are endless, yet these are a few of the best. Have a good academic year!