Let’s face it- everyone attends classes (ok, almost everyone) but only few manage to get high grades. It’s not that those few are more intelligent but it’s about how they shape their studies. Most of us start studying for the tests only when it’s around the corner, at which point finding relevant texts in those gigantic books is short of a test in itself. On the contrary, what those toppers do is take notes during the classes which in turn becomes the bible at the time of tests. To get a clearer picture, let’s take a look at the various benefits you too can reap from taking notes during classes:
1. Improved Focus
More often than not, keeping your focus intact during the entire lecture- especially a boring one, can sometimes turnout to be quite a tough job. Taking notes on the other hand keeps you both mentally and physically alert and consequently eliminates any chances of dozing off.
2. Familiarity to the subject
You might not even notice but whenever you take notes, your mind has already combed through all the content once and when you actually start studying for the tests, everything seems familiar and it takes much lesser time to grasp.
3. A One-Stop-Solution
While books contain in-depth information on any subject, notes taken during the class cover a wide range of topics. At the time of tests, a lot of time is wasted in scanning through books to find the relevant information, while notes offer a quick and easy alternative.
4. Better to grasp
One indisputable fact about the class notes is that they are easy to understand since they are written by you in your own convenient language. Also, they have the added benefit of appending any other important comments or instructions to help you during the exam preparation.
5. Better memorization
Sadly, none of us have eidetic memory. So, remembering everything from the lecture itself is not an option. However, our brain is better at memorization if it encounters the same information repeatedly for the slightest period of time. Taking notes helps us better memorize the content the same way since we are involved in the process right from the beginning.
6. Financial Savings
Everyone knows how expensive books are these days. Purchasing all the recommended texts can cost hundreds of dollars while all it costs in taking notes during the class is a little effort. So, not only taking notes is good for your academics but your pocket as well.
Finally, if we sum up all the mentioned benefits above, not only taking notes paves the way for better grades but essentially is a way of effective learning. Whether you like you study a little every day to mitigate the exam pressure, or you prefer pulling all-nighter’s before the exam, taking notes will definitely aid you in the purpose.