I’ve mentioned before I use notes as my main revision resource, especially for Biology. My note making style is kind of a cross between traditional notes and mind maps. I like to use the mind map style to compartmentalise the info, I find it easier to remember that way. The colour helps me too. Like for respiration, I will recall information by thinking of what I wrote on the top left corner of the purple page. Today I’m going to share how I make my notes for anyone curious! Hope this helps!
So first of all, I like to make my notes “pretty”, because that motivates me to make them, since it is kind of like art for me, but you totally don’t have to be so extra like me if you don’t want to. First I choose a colour for the topic. For respiration, I choose purple, so for the titles and keywords, they’ll be in purple, while the main texts will be in black.
Then I get my plain paper and punch out holes, so I don’t end up punching out my writing after I’m done. I prefer plain paper to lined paper because I can fit more in a page and since I’m a visual learner, I don’t get distracted by the lines. Before I start note making, I read through the textbook to get an idea of what sub topics there are and how much information is in the topic, and I also get out my exercises that has information I want to add.
I start by writing the title of the chapter in the middle of the page. Then I draw my first arrow from the title to the top left corner and write the title of the first sub topic, in this case “ENERGY”. Then I start writing the contents in bullet points. It is helpful to have an “arrow system”, to keep things organised, this is mine, but feel free to make your own. (It’s ok not to stick to it exactly, as long as you stick to it most of the time and you know what you are writing)
Don’t be afraid to use symbols and short forms! They can help shorten your study time and make your notes easier to read. For me, @=at, cuz=because, ∴ =therefore. And don’t write full sentences! Just take the key points!
Then you repeat the process for the next sub topic, “ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE”. I use my arrows as separators for different sub topics. Try to always write the sub topics in the same direction each time. So for example, my sequence is, ENERGY, ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE, RESPIRATION, GLYCOLYSIS, then LINK REACTION, KREBS CYCLE, so anti clockwise, then clockwise. This is so you now what sequence to read your notes in. When you fill up the first page, just flip to the back and continue. The only difference is I write the page number below the center title, so ENERGY & RESPIRATION (2).
If you want to make a summary, you can add a box like I do on the side. For extra info just use an arrow to point to an empty spot. And that’s all there is to it!
Many of my friends told me they can’t do mind maps because they’ll mess it up, but for me actually, I don’t really mind. The “imperfections” actually stand out more and I tend to remember them, haha. So there’s no such thing as mess up I think. Just do it, you know, you’ve gotta write what you’ve gotta write. Stay tuned for the next post! I’ll be sharing how I actually use them for studying!
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