Taking Notes in Class: the Methods That Actually Stick

A lecture that runs through ideas without a pause, a seminar where the discussion branches off in three directions, a biology class covered in diagrams to memorize: these three sessions don't call for the same note-taking approach. A handful of proven methods cover it, each suited to a specific setting. Here's which one to use, and when.

The Cornell method: for dense lectures

The Cornell method was developed in the 1950s by Walter Pauk, a professor at Cornell University, and detailed in his book How to Study in College (see the Cornell Learning Strategies Center). The principle: split the page into two unequal columns. The wider one holds notes taken during class. The narrower one, on the left, stays empty at first and gets filled in afterward with keywords, questions or cues that will later trigger recall. A strip at the bottom of the page sums up the essentials in a few sentences.

This structure suits a lecture that pushes through a lot of content with no downtime: it separates capturing information from reformulating it, which happens calmly after the session. To revise, cover the right-hand column and test your memory against the cues on the left, then check the full text only where you're unsure.

Linear note-taking: for following an argument step by step

Linear note-taking is the most intuitive of the three: you jot ideas down one after another, in the order they come, organized with headings, subheadings or simple numbering. No grid to prepare in advance, no particular layout, you write in the order the class or discussion unfolds, as described in the University of Newcastle's study skills guide.

It's the best fit for a seminar or discussion-based class, where the conversation can branch off in several directions and you need enough flexibility to follow the thread without losing the start. It also keeps a record of how an argument was built, useful for a law or philosophy class where the chain of reasoning matters as much as the conclusion. Its limit: without reworking it afterward, it stays a flat block of text, not always easy to revise as is.

Sketchnoting: for visual subjects

Sketchnoting mixes handwriting, simple drawings, lettering and visual elements like arrows or boxes. The term was popularized by designer Mike Rohde, who explains the method on rohdesign.com. You don't need to know how to draw: the point is to capture the big ideas, not transcribe everything word for word.

That space constraint changes how you listen. You can't write everything down, so you have to pick what matters and represent it simply, which pushes you to understand on the spot instead of copying on autopilot. It's the method that gets the most out of a highly visual subject: anatomy, chemistry, architecture, any class built on diagrams, steps or relationships between elements rather than text meant to be read start to finish.

Which method for which class

Nothing stops you from mixing approaches. Plenty of students take linear notes during class, then rebuild a Cornell-style recall column that evening while reviewing them. The point is to choose based on what's happening in the room, not to lock yourself into a single method.

Structuring your notes in Markdown, whichever method you pick

Whatever method you use on paper, writing it up cleanly benefits from a clear structure. In the Flots notes editor, one heading per part of the class rebuilds the outline at a glance, a bullet list groups the key points from a Cornell column or a sketchnote block, and bold text makes a definition worth remembering stand out. This formatting happens by typing Markdown, or with one click from the toolbar.

For the full rundown of the editor and PDF/Word export, head to the Taking Notes in Flots guide.

Task extraction: turning a class note into an action

A class note almost always hides an action or two in the text: "revisit before the exam," "ask the professor for another example," "redo the chapter 4 exercises." Spotted in passing, they easily get lost in the rest of the note.

Flots detects them directly in the note and turns them into tasks, no manual copying needed. They stay linked to the original note: if the context is unclear, one click takes you back to the part of the class that produced them. The full detail of this extraction, along with the rest of the editor update, is covered in Notes in Markdown: PDF, Word Export and Task Extraction.

The best method is the one you actually keep using through the whole semester. Pick it based on the class, write it up in a few minutes, and let revision tasks file themselves.