Taking Notes You Will Reuse

Why transcripts fail

A transcript records what was said. It does not record what it means, and it does not force you to decide what matters. Two weeks later you reread a page of transcript and the page teaches you nothing you did not already forget.

Write in questions and claims

Useful notes contain two kinds of line. A claim is a full sentence stating something the material asserts: "Spacing works because retrieval gets harder as memory fades." A question is the thing you could not answer while reading: "Why does harder retrieval strengthen memory more?"

Both are reusable. A claim can be tested later by covering it and restating it. A question becomes your first job in the next study session.

The three-column page

1. Left, narrow: the question or cue.
2. Middle, wide: the claim, in your own sentence.
3. Right, narrow: where it came from, so you can go back.

Nothing goes in the middle column that you copied word for word. If you cannot paraphrase it, you did not understand it yet, and that is worth knowing while the lecture is still happening.

Close the loop the same day

Spend six minutes at the end of the day turning every question mark into either an answer or a scheduled task. Notes that are never closed become a debt you pay at exam time with interest.