Taking notes is an essential part of learning during presentations and lectures.   From helping you stay focused during the lecture to helping you remember and understand what was said after the lecture, your notes are the first line of attack in improving your learning and your first line of defense against forgetting.

The Cornell note taking system provides a process for making class notes a more effective study tool.  More than simply recording the message, you process the message for understanding, and may use complex learning skills to create all the sections of a complete Cornell notes page.

While that process is sure to improve any learning experience, there are times when other note-taking strategies will also be helpful. In this lesson, you will explore a variety of note-taking techniques and examine the different circumstances in which you might choose to use each one. You may choose to use these techniques within the initial note-taking process of your Cornell notes or during review—independent of the lecture. They may be most helpful when studying from a text, or  occasionally, in situations where you need to complete further analysis and evaluation of the learning material.