Note-making is more than writing and learning. Note-making is collating points and ideas that you might hear or read about. Notes can be made from what you hear in lectures by your teachers or something that you read or study. When making notes you make concise points from lectures that help you briefly summarise a larger chunk of content. The notes should always be presented neatly and be easily readable. 

Why take notes when preparing for board exams?

In class 11 and 12, it is important that you do not mug up and understand the concepts in order to learn them. This learning can be made more effective when you write and learn something. Making concise points from a paragraph helps you understand it better. Note-making also puts in a habit of writing which will come handy when you are writing your answers which will help you write faster in the exam utsa blackboard . 

Different formats of note-making

While note-making, you have to summarise and organize a larger chunk of content into something more concise. This can be done following any of the following methods:

• Split-page format- Commonly used to take down lecture notes, in this format, the page is divided into two columns. In one standard, notes are written and in the other, the summary. 
• Diagram or pattern format- It is a technique to enhance visual learning. The ideas and the main content is presented with the help of a diagram. 
• Mind map- It is similar to a flowchart. But a larger chunk of information is presented and both text and images can be used in a proper sequence
• Outline format- Notes are made by taking help of bullet points, heading and subheadings. It is the easiest and the most efficient method of note-making.
• Prompt format-  In this format, the notes are written in a question and answer manner. Highlighting the main points in a way of question and answer makes it easy for the student to revise and understand how to attempt the questions in the exam.

Some advantages of writing notes when preparing for exams can be:

• Improves focus- Making revision notes requires you to pay close attention to detail while hearing or reading something. Note-making makes the student engage with the content constantly as he has to read and then write down what he/she in their own language to understand it better. It increases the attention span of the student since they are constantly reading and writing and the brain is at work. The brain is being functioned to learn more.
• Helps learn better- It is a proven fact that a student tends to retain better and quicker when the students read and write what they learn. Writing what you read or hear in a lecture in your language helps you understand it better and memorise it. It increases the attention span of the student. Actively learning and writing at the same time also helps you formulate your answers better. This also helps you write your answers quicker in the exam. 
• Note-making helps you comprehend tougher topics better- When the student has to break down a tough topic and write it in simpler words to understand it better, it automatically helps them understand the topic better. For the sake of making notes, the students have to comprehend and write the topics so that it is easier for them to retain them better.
• Helps you organize the syllabus- Note-making helps you prioritise your syllabus and organise it in a concise manner. It makes the students pick out what they deem is important and necessary for them to learn and write it down. It teaches them how to identify important topics from vast chapters or syllabus. Students do not always have the time to go through the whole syllabus and this is when the notes come in handy. With already prepared notes that are neat and to the point, the student can go through them and revise for his/her exam. Reducing the syllabus to a manageable size with help of notes makes it less stressful for the students to prepare as well since the students already have gone through the major chunk of the syllabus in order to prepare notes, it is sufficient if he/she revises from these notes alone for the exam. 
• Manageable- Class 11 and 12 forms the basis of quite a few fundamentals that are taken up in colleges and in future studies. Sometimes, referring to notes from the board exams prepared in school help you understand better what is being taught in college. This is possible if the notes are manageable and concise in registers as they are easier to carry around or with you to college than carrying textbooks from school. Notes help you in the long-term as well. All the effort is not only for school but to also make studying easier and less stressful in college and future studies. 

Tips to keep in mind while preparing notes:

Note-making is an important process and it is necessary to keep these points in mind so that the notes can help you study better.

• Keep the notes in the form of short sentences or points and brief
• Avoid any unnecessary information
• Underline or highlight the important words and sentences
• Provide heading and subheadings 
• Use flowcharts, abbreviations, diagrams or other symbols that may help you to understand the content better
• Stick to the syllabus. Write what you understand of the syllabus but do not waver from the topic
• Make sure that your notes are neat and well presented. While revising it should be easy to go through
• Do not overdo it. It is easy to get carried away with the flow of writing and write unnecessary text in the notes as well. Avoid that
• Make sure to pay attention during lectures and keep writing the points down as you listen to your teacher

In conclusion, note-making helps you recall necessary information from lectures and textbooks and retain it better. Adhering to the above-mentioned tips and formats will help you form well-written notes and make studying easier for you. This habit of note-making is something that all students should abide by.