Pick the note-taking method that fits the lecture.

How do you choose a note-taking method?

Start with how the lecture is structured. Cal Poly’s learning-center guide lists a “when to use” for each method, and most of them come down to structure and pace.

Outlining fits a clearly outlined lecture when you have time to organize; mapping fits when you cannot predict the structure; charting fits when tests cover both facts and relationships. Cornell is described as working in any lecture situation. If slides are shared in advance, you can also write on the slides, though BCIT’s study-skills guide notes the space for notes is limited.

Which note-taking method is most effective?

Evidence that any single format is best is thin. In a high school study where students were taught and required to use Cornell notes, unit test scores did not differ from students who used their own method (Quintus et al., 2012).

What has stronger support is taking notes and reviewing them. Kiewra (1985) concluded that taking notes helps on its own and reviewing them helps further. A meta-analysis of 33 studies by Kobayashi (2006) found a substantial combined effect of taking and reviewing notes, and found that giving students a framework or the instructor’s notes helped more than pre-training or verbal instructions alone.

How you review matters too. In a review of ten study techniques, Dunlosky et al. (2013) rated practice testing “high utility” and rereading and highlighting “low utility.” Whatever method you use, add a step where you write questions, cover your notes and answer.

Is handwriting better than typing notes?

The idea comes largely from Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014): students typing on laptops tended to transcribe lectures word for word and did worse on conceptual questions.

A direct replication by Urry et al. (2021) found laptop users again wrote more and copied more verbatim, but longhand note-takers did not score higher on the quiz. The tool matters less than condensing ideas in your own words instead of transcribing.

Do these methods work for meeting notes?

Yes, with a different goal. Class notes are for understanding and remembering; meeting notes are for recording decisions and action items. A chart with columns for decision, action, owner and due date usually fits meetings best.

See our meeting minutes template and how to take meeting notes guides for meeting-specific layouts.

How does a recording change note-taking?

With a recording, you do not have to capture every word in class. Write the key points and your questions, and fill in missed explanations from the recording later.

NoteCube records class on your phone and transcribes Korean and English live, with speakers and timestamps. Tap a line to replay from that moment. When you stop, it organizes the class into a summary, new expressions, mixed-up expressions and sentences to review, and collects expressions in a phrasebook and word cards.

Reading a transcript or summary on its own is close to rereading. Recall the key points from your notes first, then compare. AI results can be wrong, so check important parts against the recording. Your first 60 cumulative minutes of transcription are free.