A Different Way to Take Notes

Visual Note-taking 

(aka Sketch Notes or Graphic Notes)

Bullet points, outlines, and summaries are not always the best way to take notes from assigned reading or from lectures and class discussions. The video below explains another method of note-taking called "sketch notes" that relies on the creation of visual images along with recording text, to record and reinforce essential information.

"Do things your way so everything makes more sense." In my opinion, this is one of the essential take-aways of that video. Everyone perceives things differently, and we all have unique learning styles.  If you find a method for taking notes that works well for you, and it is effective, then keep on using it! Most of us will have to try a bunch of different styles and strategies for note-taking before we find one that works. Many of us also have to use different styles of note-taking depending on the task or what we will be expected to use those notes for.

Below is a video I recorded when I was attempting to use this style of note-taking to keep track of events in a chapter from A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck. Please be gentle when judging my sketches.

Thanks for not being a critic, but I'll admit it- I don't think that went that very well. It was difficult to not just draw the scene I was reading about. However, that was one of my very first attempts at this style of note-taking. So, I'm going to try it again... after watching this video done by someone way more versed in this style of note-taking.

A few important things I took away from this instructional video were that you don't have to try to get all of the details down in  your notes in the moment; instead, you can go back to fill in details like additional text, color, and more precise drawings. Also, the video pointed out the importance of thinking about the layout or format of the notes, prior to beginning. I think that for the notes I took from A Long Way from Chicago, it would have made more sense to have a storyboard setup, where I have frames showing the different scenes and important events in the chapter. Maybe even reading the whole chapter first, then going back to sketch out the most important elements like the conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution, would have made more sense.

I'll have to keep working at this format of note-taking because I do think that it would work well for me in certain situations. I hope you will try this style of note-taking as well, in a few different situations, so you can see if it's something that may work for you!