OneNote is a decent program, but it’s got a few drawbacks. I used it as an undergrad before Evernote came out. OneNote is Microsoft’s note-taking program. It also lets you record your professor using your computer’s microphone (just make sure to ask your professor first if it’s okay to record him or her). Just scan your handwritten notes into Evernote, and Evernote will use the magic of image recognition technology to allow you to search for your handwritten notes within the app. If you like to handwrite your notes, but would like to store them digitally, Evernote makes it possible. If your laptop crashes or gets lost, you’ll still have your notes sitting safely in the cloud. Notes you take on the Evernote desktop app automatically sync with your Evernote account online. Evernote is a robust, free(!) note-taking application that allows you to remember and organize everything your professor throws at you. If you’re a student, I highly recommend you use it too. I used Evernote during law school for taking notes. Below are two that I’ve used with success.Įvernote. While you could just use your computer’s default text file editor or word processor program, I recommend using a program specifically designed for note-taking.
You can type faster than you can write, it makes organizing your notes easier, and your notes will always be in legible type instead of the chicken scratch you call handwriting. Note-Taking Toolsįor most of your classes (especially lecture-heavy social science courses) I recommend taking notes with a laptop. But hopefully a few of these tips will help you start taking notes more effectively.
A lot of this is fairly basic stuff–there are no “secrets” to note-taking success. Below, I’ve provided a primer on note-taking strategies, many of which I personally used during my academic career. In that post, I mentioned the possibility of doing a follow-up article on note-taking, and many of you requested that I make that happen. A few weeks ago, we published an article on study tips to help you ace your exams.