How to Take Notes from a Textbook Effectively - 5 Steps: Note Taking Method, by Ways To Grow on YouTube. 2 min 59 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 59 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes per chapter
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Set up your page before you read. Write the date, the book title and chapter, and draw a wide left margin for keywords and questions.
Skim the whole chapter first. Read the headings, subheadings, bold terms, the introduction and the chapter summary, and look at the diagrams.
Turn each heading into a question in the left margin. For example, change 'Causes of the war' into 'What caused the war?'
Read one section at a time. Then close the book and answer your question in your own words, without looking at the page.
Keep notes short. Use bullet points, abbreviations and one idea per line. Skip full sentences and never copy whole paragraphs.
Write down definitions, formulas, dates and anything the book repeats, bolds or puts in a box. These are the exam favourites.
Mark anything you do not understand with a question mark in the margin and look it up in another source later.
Finish the chapter with a summary of three to five sentences at the bottom of your notes, written from memory.
Review within 24 hours. Cover the right side of the page, answer the margin questions out loud, then check your notes.
Tips and common mistakes
Highlighting feels productive but changes nothing, so write a short note next to anything you highlight.
Leave a third of each page blank so you can add lecture notes and examples later.
If your notes are longer than the chapter summary, you are copying rather than thinking.
Test yourself from the margin questions instead of rereading the chapter.
Questions
Should I take notes on paper or on a laptop?
Paper slows you down, which helps you reword ideas instead of copying them. A laptop is faster if you type in your own words and keep the file organised by chapter.
How long should my notes be for one chapter?
Aim for about one page per ten pages of textbook. If you fill five pages, you are probably copying sentences rather than summarising ideas.
What if I do not understand a section?
Write the heading as a question, mark it with a question sign, and move on. Ask your teacher or check a second source, then fill in the answer in the margin.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
