How to take notes is an important skill for any college student. The problem is, you likely weren’t taught how to write notes that actually help you learn.
So, what is the best way to take notes? The answer really depends. But, as a general rule, you want to capture what matters and organize everything. You can do this in a number of different ways, whether that be writing by hand or using technology like voice recorders and apps.
In this guide, we’ll help you build a study note system that works for you. You’ll be able to use your notes to revise for a test and earn the results you deserve. Let’s get started.
Why do good notes matter?
Taking notes is part of how you learn. It’s not something that’s separate from it. Research has shown that students who take notes get better outcomes in tests. The more students record during class, the more they can recall later.
When you write things down, you process and organize your thoughts. You make meaning and find connections in real time. Think of it like the bridge you cross between hearing something and understanding it.
In-class benefits
You take your seat, and the lecture starts. Your professor begins talking. They’re rattling off definitions and showing diagrams. Suddenly, they’re off on a tangent that may or may not be on the test. You’re trying to write it all down.
Clear, structured notes help you navigate this chaos.
• They stop your mind from wandering. When you’re actively noting ideas, your brain stays engaged. No zoning out halfway through a dense theory!
• They highlight what matters. Not everything said in class matters equally. Good lecture notes sift out what’s just background talk and catch what’s actually testable or actionable.
• They make participation easier. When your notes have the important points laid out, it’s easier to jump into discussions.
• They reduce anxiety in online classes. Zoom lectures can be tricky. The video is lagging, and all of a sudden, you’re distracted. But if you’ve built a quick system for capturing the structure of the lesson, you won’t miss anything important.
Post-class benefits
Once class ends, your notes become the raw material for every paper, test, and group project that’s coming up. If they’re clear, they save you hours. If they’re sloppy, you’ll waste time hunting for information you already heard but didn’t capture correctly.
Picture this: it’s three weeks after your Econ lecture on market structures. The assignment is due in 12 hours. You check your study notes. One page has a solid summary of monopolistic competition, clean bullet points, examples from class, and even a quote from your professor. The other page just says “oligopoly = few?” and trails off. Guess which part helps?
Good notes mean:
- You can fill in gaps when doing readings or watching related material.
- You have real-world examples ready to plug into assignments.
- You don’t rewatch full lectures just to find one thing you missed the first time.
They make learning stackable. What you understood last week supports what you’re learning now.
During revision
Cramming is painful, but revising from organized notes isn’t. When it’s time to prep for midterms or finals, reliable lecture notes make revision so much easier and more effective. You have all the information you need organized in a way that makes sense to you.
Good notes show you what to focus on, too. They flag what you already know and what still needs work. Instead of starting from zero, you’re reviewing with a purpose. That makes studying less stressful and way more effective.
Before graduation
You might not see it now, but the notes you take today can outlive the class, especially in majors like engineering, computer science, pre-med, or business. Advanced courses build on earlier ones. If you have your old notes sorted, you’re walking into senior year already half-prepared.
Moreover, before job interviews or final projects, your notes serve as reference tools. They remind you how to explain a theory clearly, show how you thought through a complex idea, or give you that one example that makes your answer stand out.
How to take effective notes in class?
When it comes to taking good notes, less is often more. You don’t want to scramble to write down every word as your lecturer says it. Instead, you want to be discerning. You want to capture what matters in a way that makes sense. That way, your notes become an invaluable resource and not a waste of space.
The difficult part? Note-taking isn’t your only job in class. You need to listen, think, organize, and stay present while your professor moves through the next slide.
So, how can you take effective notes? Let’s break it down into three stages.
Before class
Getting yourself into the right headspace can work wonders when it comes time to start taking notes. If you walk in cold, your brain’s trying to decode new ideas and figure out what’s important, all at the same time. That’s mental overload. But if you show up with even a loose outline in mind, you’ll find the note-taking process easier and more useful.
How can you prepare?
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First, check out last week’s notes. Think about what was covered and where the class left off. This week’s lesson will likely follow on.
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Speaking of this week’s lesson, preview the topic. You might already have done a reading or scanned a presentation.
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Finally, think about what you want to gain from the lesson. What’s something you’re really curious about?
Preparing before class can feel like a big task if your schedule is already packed. With the right tool, you can do some of this work mentally. Let’s say you’re walking across campus, and you come up with a primer question you don’t want to lose.
Or maybe you’re flipping through your textbook the night before. You hit a concept that doesn’t quite click. You pause, think, “Wait, how does this apply to X?” But you don't scribble a messy note in the margin.
Instead, you clip Plaud NotePin to your hoodie, press once, and record a voice memo. It captures your question, then transcribes it into searchable text. Later, type in a keyword, and boom, you’ve got it. That quick thought from the night before is now part of your organized notes. You can use it later when reviewing for an exam or looking for inspiration easily.
And here’s more good news: from 12:00 AM PDT on August 5 through 11:59 PM PDT on August 7, Plaud.ai is hosting a Back-to-School Sale—get 10 % off any Plaud Note or NotePin, enjoy 10 % off when you buy two of the same AI plan, or save $16 instantly on any hardware + AI bundle (discounts applied automatically at checkout). Plus, anyone who signed up for Early Access by August 4 will receive a bonus 600 minutes of transcription with their hardware purchase.
During class
This is where the actual note-taking happens. But here’s the thing: writing too much can wreck your focus and take you out of the moment. Your brain gets stuck on typing instead of understanding.
Instead, pay attention to how things are explained. Capture the big ideas and examples.
If you prefer writing, bullet concepts rather than writing full sentences. Still, even with a more minimal manual note-taking approach, you might miss something important. Say you’re in a physics lecture. The professor is breaking down projectile motion. You draw the arc and mark the angle. But then, someone asks about gravity on Mars. You weren’t able to fully listen to the professor because you were still working on the note about the arc.
If you miss a detail or want to revisit that classmate’s question later, Plaud NotePin has you covered. It records in HD audio, right from your collar or strap. Later, you open the Plaud app, use Ask AI to search “projectile motion Mars”, and jump straight to that moment.
After class
Notes only become useful once you do something with them. Wait too long, and you might forget what your notes mean. Ideally, clean up your notes within a few hours. This keeps the material fresh and saves you from having to relearn it later.
Stuck on a confusing note? Maybe you were in a psych lecture and wrote “cognitive load = working mem + ???” before trailing off.
No problem. Your Plaud NOTE, which sat quietly on your desk throughout the class, has the full audio. It’s ultra-thin, sits flat next to your laptop, and with one press, records the whole session. Its dual-mode recording captures both speaker and microphone input.
Plaud’s AI engine transcribes and organizes your session. You get templates designed for students, unlimited cloud storage, and support in 112 languages. You never lose a word or idea, even if weeks have passed by.
How to use your notes after class:
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Review as quickly as possible while the ideas are still fresh in your mind. Ideally, open them the same day. Clean up any shorthand and highlight key points.
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Fill in the gaps with Plaud NotePin. If your notes are missing something—or you left a “???”—just open the Plaud app. Search for a keyword like “cognitive load” and jump to the exact moment it was discussed. The HD audio and AI timestamps make it easy to hear the original context and complete your notes accurately.
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Tag and label your notes for later. In the Plaud app, label your recordings by topic, date, or course. When it comes time for midterms, you’ll thank yourself.
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Turn your notes into study prompts by taking big ideas and flipping them into questions. Your own notes just became your study guide!
How to take good notes: Common questions answered
What’s the best way to take notes in a lecture?
The best way to take notes in a lecture is to concentrate on core topics. You don’t want to spend the whole lesson typing as fast as you possibly can. That can be distracting, and you’ll likely miss important details because you’re not 100% focused on the content. Instead, use bullet points and flowcharts to capture the big ideas. Use short, direct phrasing in your own words. Finally, use a recording device like Plaud Note or NotePin. These are note-takers that use AI to organize key points.
How do I organize my notes after class?
To organize your notes after class, aim to clean them up while the material is still fresh in your mind. Read them through and fix anything that doesn’t make sense. Add a short summary at the bottom that answers one question: What was the main thing I learned?
How to take notes that I’ll remember?
If you want to remember what you wrote, you have to think through the idea as you write it down. That means using your own phrasing and connecting it to something familiar. It also helps to add little cues, like why the idea matters or a quick real-life example.
Start taking better notes
If your notes aren’t helping you study, they’re not doing their job.
Plaud Note sits on your desk and captures everything with one press. Plaud NotePin clips on and records while you focus. Both sync to the cloud, both transcribe automatically, and both help you stay present without missing any details.
Get started today.
