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Notetaking means recording key ideas from texts, discussions, lectures, and other sources of information. Especially as you read academic texts, finding a notetaking strategy that works for you is essential to improving your understanding, recall, and application of source material.

Notetaking Strategy 1: Annotating

Perhaps the simplest and quickest way to take better notes while you read is to annotate. Not to be confused with an annotated bibliography, annotation as a notetaking strategy means to add notes, comments, questions, and highlights directly on a text, in an effort to read more actively. Active reading is important because it encourages retention, comprehension, and engagement. Explore these different ways to annotate a text. Then, review the example of an annotated research article.

format_ink_highlighter Highlight

As you read, highlight or underline important information so that when you return to the text, you can easily skim it to find what you need. Be careful of over-highlighting, though, which can be counterproductive. Only highlight truly important ideas, such as the thesis, main points, definitions, and key evidence.

account_tree Make Connections

In addition to highlighting, you can annotate by writing brief notes in the margins of an electronic or paper text, drawing connections between the sentences that you highlighted, your own life and experience, your research, or other texts you’ve read. This will help you remember why you highlighted something.

contact_supportAsk Questions

Your annotations might also take the form of questions that you hope the text will go on to answer, or that you can research later.

summarize Summarize

Annotations are also great for summarizing key ideas or paragraphs of a text. Putting concepts and main points into your own words ensures that you are digesting and truly comprehending what you read.

Sample Annotated Article

The rapid widespread emergence of online learning environments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic experience, has drastically changed the educational landscape (Akram et al., 2021a). While some students have displayed intrinsic motivation and excelled in this setting, others have lacked motivation and become disengaged [] (Teodorescu et al., 2022). Comprehending the conditions conducive to students thriving and fully engaging in online education is of crucial importance. Active involvement in online learning, as highlighted by Wang et al. (2023) and Chiu (2022), is imperative in shaping students’ educational experiences within the contemporary digital landscape. Kipp et al. (2023) emphasized this active student participation in digital learning settings, noting that it not only defines but also significantly influences the quality and effectiveness of their educational journey [].

Various factors shape students’ active engagement in online learning, including an infrastructure for information and communication technology [] (ICT), the student’s technological skills and interests, and the establishment of strong student-instructor connections (Akram et al., 2022). Instructors play a particularly pivotal role in establishing meaningful connections by emphasizing effective communication and representing a supportive online presence [](Falcon & Leon, 2023) .

Explanation

Click each button in the example to learn more.

Make a Connection to Another Text

Seems like an oversimplification of the problem. Students don’t always become disengaged because of a lack of motivation. Distractions, work-life balance, time management all factor into engagement (Smith, 2024).

Summarize

Student engagement plays a key role in the quality of online learning experiences.

Ask a Question

What is ICT?

Make a Connection to Your Own Life

I can attest to this. In my experience with online learning, I’ve always done better in classes that are led by a present and supportive teacher.

Notetaking Strategy 2: Outlining

You might be familiar with outlining as a prewriting exercise, but it can also be an effective notetaking strategy. Outlining while or just after you read can help you prioritize and understand information from a text, which is especially helpful if you are asked to provide a summary of a reading. Here are the elements to include in your notetaking outline:

A Reference

Including a full reference in your outline ensures that you will be able to locate a source again if you need to reread it or reference it in a paper. Pairing your notes on a source with a reference also minimizes the risk of accidentally plagiarizing.

The Purpose

Authors typically state their purpose (why they are writing) or thesis (their argument) in their introduction. Identifying the author’s purpose or argument will help you understand and establish context for the major and minor points that support that purpose or argument.

Major Points

Major points support the author’s main purpose in writing. A point is major when:

  • It involves original research or conclusions by the authors of the article you read, rather than other authors cited within the article.
  • It expresses the results of the study that was conducted.
  • It is something you would tell a friend who asks, “What is the article about?”

Minor Points

Minor points are the details which support or elaborate on the article’s major points. A minor point might be:

  • An example
  • An anecdote
  • A statistic
  • Any other form of evidence that illuminates a major point

Other Pertinent Information

You might record other important information, such as the study’s methodology or limitations, in your outline. Understanding the limitations of a study, in particular, can help set up your critical analysis of the article.

Example Outline of a Research Article

Reference

Mandernach, B.J., Zafonte, M., & Taylor, C. (2020). Instructional strategies to improve college students’ APA style writing. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 27(3), 407-412. http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/

  1. Purpose: To study college instructors’ perceptions of the biggest APA problem areas for their students. Based on the study, identify instructional strategies and resources to help in those areas.
  2. Major Point 1: Properly crediting sources in APA style is biggest concern.
    1. Minor Point: 135 college faculty surveyed via Likert scale
    2. Minor Point: In-text citations, reference page, and direct quotes have most errors (according to faculty)
  3. Major Point 2: Teaching strategies can help students learn APA style.
    1. Minor Point: Activities such as classroom assessment, peer review, error correction, quizzes
    2. Minor Point: Instructor feedback
    3. Minor Point: Rubrics with APA as a category
  4. Major Point 3: Supplemental resources can help students learn APA style.
    1. Minor Point: Purdue OWL website
    2. Minor Point: APA style blog
  5. Limitations: Some data are reliant on self-reporting and could be subject to bias and flawed recall.

lightbulb_2 Remember that this outline is for you, so you do not need to use complete sentences or even the same format as the example above. Use a structure that makes sense to you and that helps you understand and recall relationships between the text’s purpose and major and minor ideas.

Notetaking Strategy 3: Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is essentially outlining in a visual form. A mind map begins with a key concept, topic, or idea written in the center of a piece of paper or electronic space, and the idea is usually enclosed in a bubble. Related ideas, also in bubbles, branch out from that center idea. As you add more ideas, making additional branches and sub-branches, you can use lines or arrows to connect ideas. Here is an example that visually maps out a textbook chapter on bullying in U.S. high schools.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Connecting with Lines

Use lines or arrows to connect ideas. For example, lines are used to demonstrate the relationship between the branch “Types of bullying” and the subbranches “Physical,” “Verbal,” and “Social,” which represent the main forms of bullying.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Central Topic

As the central topic of the textbook chapter, “Bullying in U.S. high schools” is at the center of this mind map, which means that even the furthest subbranches of this map relate back to this overarching topic.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Branches and Subbranches

The branches closest to the central topic (“Bullying in U.S. high schools”) represent major points or ideas, such as the effects of bullying. From “Effects,” the mind map branches out into minor points, or supporting details, that relate back to the effects of bullying.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mind Mapping Tools

You are welcome to draw out your mind map with a pen and paper, but there are many websites and apps that support electronic mind mapping. As with all notetaking strategies, it’s important to find a mind mapping tool that works for you, so you may need to experiment with a few different options before finding a good fit. Keep in mind, too, that while some websites and apps are free (at least for limited use), others require a paid subscription.

Here are a few options to try:

Key Takeaways

Finding a notetaking strategy that works for you will improve your critical reading skills by encouraging active engagement and interaction with texts. Annotating, outlining, and mind mapping are three notetaking strategies to try as you work to read more critically.

Check Your Understanding

Related Resources

If you would like to learn more about active reading strategies, consider reviewing these additional resources.

Read Critically Active Reading Strategies