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Your notebook might be an important tool for school, work, or just writing down your daily thoughts, but it’s only useful if you can easily find your notes. Of course, your notebook can only be truly organized if you write (or rewrite) organized notes! Read the following tips and try to be a good note-taker.

1．

A notebook that’s falling apart is more difficult to keep organized, especially if the pages are torn (撕破) or falling out. Look for a notebook with a strong cover, a good binding, and thicker pages, especially if you’ll be putting it in your pocket or throwing it in your bag. Not all well-made notebooks are expensive, and not all expensive notebooks are well-made. Shop around and pick out a notebook that looks and feels both strong and functional (功能的).

2．

The key to good note-taking is knowing what to write down and what not to write down. Look for signs, such as special expressions or uses of body language, to pick out the key points you should write down. For example: Listen closely to what comes after special expression like, “To sum up,” “There are… reasons why...,” “However,” “Once again,” and “Let me repeat.” Pay attention when the speaker raises their voice and/or speaks more slowly.

3．

You can take notes much better by using abbreviations（缩写）, symbols, charts, drawings, and other shorthand skills. If you’re making up your own shorthand system, though, make sure you can understand it easily when reading over your notes! For example, if you use “EP” to mean “environmental protection” but can’t remember what it stands for when you’re studying, you’ll end up wasting more time than you would have by writing out the whole expression each time.

4．

This way basically turns one notebook into two. With the notebook open, use the page to the left of the binding（包边）to write down notes, make quick drawings, add notes, and so on in a quite disorganized way. At least once a day, rewrite this information in a more organized way on the page to the right of the binding. Don’t think of rewriting your notes as a waste of time. In addition to getting the material better organized, rewriting helps you keep the information in mind more easily. This can be very helpful for test preparation.

5．

Draw a circle in the middle of the note page and write down the key words or main topic of your notes—for example, the topic of the speech or lesson you’re listening to. Write down important supporting information in a little smaller circles around the central circle, then connect the circles with thicker lines. Repeat the process with even smaller circles and thinner connecting lines. You may find it useful to do mind-mapping on one page of your open notebook, then re-write the notes afterward in a basic outline style on the other page.