Ever have trouble figuring out what notes to take either during class or on your own time from the textbook? Well, we learned something in Criminal Investigations class this morning that I think might help. We were learning how to take notes at a crime scene and I feel that the “guidelines” we learned would work well for taking notes for anything.

1- Stick to the facts: Chances are you won’t be tested on the opinion of your teacher or of the author of your textbook. While you shouldn’t ignore those, they aren’t as important as the facts.

2- Write legibly: Make sure you can actually your notes when it is time to refer to them; don’t use a bunch of abbreviations that you won’t remember in the future.

3- Avoid opinions: We sort of already covered this in number 1. Remember, stick to the facts.

4- If you must use abbreviations or short hand writing, make sure to use standard ones.

5- Make sure to retain and file in secure location: Keep everything until after the semester is over! My Children’s Literature teacher can not stress this enough. Goodness forbid that you lose or throw something out and you need it later on for some reason.

6- Remember they are subject to court: Well obviously your notes won’t be being analyzed in court anytime soon, but they are subject to misinterpretation. Remember the purpose of taking notes in the first place; studying for important tests that you want to pass.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll never be worried about whether you are getting the right notes or not.