Note taking skills are critical in secondary school and college settings.

Effective listening,
clear handwriting, organized outlines and recording of key points are among the most critical
note taking skills. Students can often work with guidance counselors or certain instructors to
improve skills. Skilled note taking enhances academic success. Taking notes is an important
process. It allows you to have a written record of the lecture which may not be in your
textbook. It also ensures that you become an active and involved listener and learner
A more important reason for taking notes is that there is a direct relationship between what
happens in lectures and what comes up in the exam. If the lecturer does not personally set
the exam, it is likely that he/she will still submit a number of questions.
When thinking about note-taking it is important to consider the lecturing style adopted by
different lecturers. Some will prefer dictating, others will provide printed notes.
Active Learning
One of the central reasons note taking helps students achieve better learning and academic
results is that it is a hands-on learning process. Hands-on learning is one of three common
learning styles. The others are auditory and visual. Actively engaging in learning by listening
and then writing down what you hear or interpret aids in knowledge growth and retention. In
some cases, students can retain and apply information without even reviewing notes
because of the active learning process.
Record Keeping
Notes also provide a history or record of the things that you learn in a class. Aside from the
academic benefits you gain from note taking skills, you can also better preserve what you
learn. In some professions, students hold onto college class notes and refer to them in the
early years of their work. Medical school students, for instance, might keep organized note
files to reference in unusual patient scenarios when they practice medicine. Organized, easy
to read and thorough notes are necessary to make records useful.

Studying
One of the most direct reasons note taking skills are important is because effective notes
usually serve as one of your best study aids for tests. Organized, detailed notes allow you to
review the key points discussed in a class. While reading text materials is important, notes
taken during class and through reading typically present a more concise view of key
concepts. Marking specific lecture notes as "important" or "to appear on the test" helps you
realize where to focus study energy.

Skill Building
The educational process is evolutionary. Students theoretically expand on developed skills
along with gaining new ones. While teachers and other supporting materials help in
expanding skills, effective, thorough notes also provide a valuable resource. In math, for

instance, students learning division may refer to multiplication notes to deduce the process
of dividing by referencing how two factors when multiplied form a product.