Organized Math Notes

First day of senior year, I walk into my second hour class, honors pre-calculus. This is the most advanced math class I have been in up until that point. I sit through the first class and realize that the teacher does not give notes like any other teacher I have ever had. Mr. Suydam, my teacher, gave the title of notes and example problems. Anything else we needed to know he said out loud. I understand where that worked for him, but it did not work for me. I knew after that first class that I needed to take more organized and cohesive notes. I started by using colored pens, which worked, until I made a mistake. Then I moved to just writing each thing differently. I would write the titles slanted and any definitions in cursive, but that became hard to read. It wasn’t until university that I started to use highlighters instead of pens. I tinkered around with the large amount of colored pens I had in high school and grew to where I am at now. I have grown a lot in my note taking skills since Mr. Suydam’s second hour honors pre-calculus class. Having organized and legible notes really helped when someone else needed to copy my notes. I hope this helps you in your note taking and the overall appearance of your notes.

 Supplies Needed
-various colored highlighters
-pencil
-colored pens (optional)

Write every letter individually and assign each thing with a color and follow that color code throughout your whole notebook. This will make your notebook colorful, organized, and fun. Obviously there are all sorts of ways to go about taking notes. Personally, I use pencil because it is easier to erase when a mistake is made. My friend Zoe uses colored pens instead of highlighters, because it makes things more permanent and it works for her. She used highlighters and pencils for a little bit and started noticing that using highlighters and pencils, makes the highlighter change colors. When she began noticing this happen, she switched to pens, which ended up working better for her. I have also noticed the lead from my pencils changing the color of my highlighters, but I still like how it looks and can still erase if I happen to mess up, like I often do. I had to tinker around with what I like.

NOW YOU GO AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!

Titles

To start off write the title of the lesson or notes at the top of your notebook paper. Then highlight in the color of the notebook. This way you know that it is the title and it looks cohesive throughout your notebook.

Definitions

If you have vocabulary to write, write it out as “word- definition”. Write it at the top of the notes, right below the title. Then highlight both word and definition in a color different than the title.

Examples

To write out examples, write it as “example #and the number”. Then underline that and highlight in a different color. Then highlight the answer to the example in another color. This way you know where the answer is and the order of your work if you have to come back to it at a later date.

Tips

When a teacher or professor mentions something that you feel like you need to know, for example, a commonly made mistake or specific steps, write it down and highlight in a different color. This way, it stands out from the rest of the notes and work done. I choose to highlight in a darker color because it makes me remember that it is important to remember what is highlighted.