Note taking is a fundamental study skill that comes in handy when reading through course material, viewing online lessons, and attending lectures. High school students should focus on developing and fine tuning their note-taking technique to prepare for success in their post-grad endeavors.

Have the right supplies.

It helps to have a variety of writing utensils on hand so that you can prioritize different pieces of information as you write. Some choose to color code their notes, while others choose to use highlighters to emphasize certain portions in their notes that are crucial for understanding.

Develop a method for outlining.

It’s important to develop a system for outlining that works for you. For instance, you might choose to mark main ideas with bullet points, and then secondary ideas with an indentation and a different type of bullet point. You might then choose to use a special arrow for designating definitions, or leave a space for concepts that you don’t yet understand, but want to look up and clarify later on. Numbering the pages of your notes is also useful. Decide on a system that feels natural to you so that you can take notes efficiently even when under pressure.

Create your own abbreviations.

Having your own arsenal of abbreviations to draw from will help your note taking run smoother. Consider substituting common words with symbols, such as “b/c” for “because,” “btwn” for “between,” and up and down arrows for “increase” and “decrease.” In fact, there are several lists of common note taking abbreviations out there on the web.

Know what to write down.

Note taking is not the same as transcription. Instead of recording notes word-for-word, you should instead synthesize what you read or hear and then write things down more concisely. Resist the temptation to write everything and instead focus on the main points. Some key items you should always be sure to include in your notes are definitions (word for word), drawings or charts for demonstration, and repeated facts.

Utilize online tools.

One great advantage of today’s portable technology is that it fulfills many of the same functions traditional note taking does – pen and paper, for example. With your laptop or tablet, you can use the very same tried and true note-taking techniques, in a convenient digital format. Pre-set outline formats allow you to organize information, while typographical options such as bolding, italicizing, underlining, and highlighting allow you to emphasize certain portions of text. And with the many specialized note taking applications out there today, you’ll enjoy additional conveniences such as online collaboration, email forwarding, instant online publishing, photo embedding, revision tracking, and more.