Note-Taking Methods Compared: Which One Should You Use?

The main note-taking methods are Cornell, outline, mapping, charting, sentence, and boxing. The best one depends on the class: outlines suit well-organized lectures, charts suit material that compares several things, maps suit topics where ideas interconnect, and the sentence method suits fast lectures with little structure.

Whichever you choose, what you do with your notes afterward matters more than their format. Research finds a substantial benefit from reviewing your notes, and smaller, less consistent differences between layouts.

To make the comparison concrete, this guide shows all six methods applied to the same short lecture, then gives you a table for picking a method by subject and lecture style.

The main note-taking methods at a glance

Six note-taking methods shown on the same lecture

Here is a two-minute piece of an intro geology lecture. Each method below records the same content, so you can see what each one does well.

Rocks fall into three groups by how they form. Igneous rocks form when molten rock cools: slowly underground gives large crystals, like granite; quickly at the surface gives tiny crystals or glass, like basalt and obsidian. Sedimentary rocks form when sediment is laid down in layers, then compacted and cemented. They're the ones that hold fossils: sandstone, limestone, shale. Metamorphic rocks are existing rocks changed by heat and pressure without melting. Shale becomes slate; limestone becomes marble. Over time, any rock can become any other type. That's the rock cycle.

1. Cornell method

Divide the page into a wide notes column, a narrow cue column on the left, and a summary strip. Take notes on the right in class; add questions on the left and the summary afterward.

Summary: Rocks are classified by how they form: cooling melt (igneous), cemented layers (sedimentary), or heat and pressure (metamorphic), and the rock cycle turns any type into any other.

Use it when you want your notes to double as a quiz. Skip it when you won't do the after-class step, because then it's just notes with a wide margin. Full guide, template, and example: Cornell notes.

2. Outline method

Main topics at the left margin, supporting points indented beneath them.

I. Rocks: 3 types, grouped by how they form
   A. Igneous: molten rock cools
      1. Slow, underground → big crystals (granite)
      2. Fast, surface → tiny crystals/glass (basalt, obsidian)
   B. Sedimentary: sediment layers compacted + cemented
      1. Contain fossils
      2. e.g. sandstone, limestone, shale
   C. Metamorphic: heat + pressure, no melting
      1. Shale → slate
      2. Limestone → marble
II. Rock cycle: any type → any other over time

Use it when the lecture follows a clear structure, such as most intro science and psychology courses, or when you're taking notes from a textbook. Skip it when the lecturer jumps between topics, because you'll spend your attention deciding what level each point belongs on.

3. Mapping method

The topic goes in the center, with main ideas branching out and details on smaller branches. Arrows between branches show relationships.

ROCKS (grouped by how they form)
├── Igneous: molten rock cools
│   ├── slow, underground → big crystals (granite)
│   └── fast, surface → tiny crystals/glass (basalt, obsidian)
├── Sedimentary: layers compacted + cemented
│   ├── fossils
│   └── sandstone, limestone, shale
└── Metamorphic: heat + pressure, no melting
    ├── shale → slate
    └── limestone → marble

Cross-link: Sedimentary --heat + pressure--> Metamorphic
            (shale → slate)

The cross-link is something the outline hides: the example of metamorphism is a sedimentary rock changing type, which is the rock cycle in action. Use it when ideas connect across topics, such as ecology, causes of a war, or themes in a novel. Skip it for fast lectures; mapping works better as an after-class restructuring step. Step-by-step guide: how to make a mind map for studying. To build one from a long reading, see turning a PDF into a mind map.

4. Charting method

Rule a table before class: one row per item, one column per feature you expect to compare. Fill cells as the lecture goes.

Notice the empty cell. A chart makes gaps visible: the lecture never said how to recognize a metamorphic rock, and the chart flags it for follow-up. Use it when you're comparing several things on the same features: drug classes, historical periods, theories, verb conjugations. Skip it when you don't know the categories in advance, or the material is a narrative or a single long argument.

5. Sentence method

Write each new fact or idea on its own numbered line. Don't worry about structure during class.

1. Rocks grouped into 3 types by how they form.
2. Igneous = molten rock that cooled. Slow (underground) → big crystals, granite.
3. Fast cooling (surface) → tiny crystals or glass: basalt, obsidian.
4. Sedimentary = sediment layers compacted + cemented. Fossils.
   Sandstone, limestone, shale.
5. Metamorphic = existing rock + heat + pressure, no melting.
   Shale → slate, limestone → marble.
6. Rock cycle: any type can become any other over time.

Use it when the lecturer is fast, the material is new to you, or a seminar discussion jumps around. Skip it as your final format: it captures a lot but shows little structure, so reorganize it into an outline, chart, or map the same day.

6. Boxing method

Take notes normally, then group related content into boxes, each with a short title. A university student described the method in a 2017 Goodnotes guest post: she took notes on an iPad, then used the lasso tool after class to move related lines together and box them.

┌─ IGNEOUS ─────────────────────────┐
│ molten rock cools                 │
│ slow → big crystals (granite)     │
│ fast → tiny/glass (basalt)        │
└───────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ SEDIMENTARY ─────────────────────┐
│ layers compacted + cemented       │
│ fossils: sandstone, limestone     │
└───────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ METAMORPHIC ─────────────────────┐
│ heat + pressure, no melting       │
│ shale → slate, limestone → marble │
└───────────────────────────────────┘

Use it when you take notes on an iPad or similar, and you like reviewing one topic at a time. Skip it for subjects without clean topic boundaries, or when you're short on time: the boxing pass adds work after class.

Which note-taking method is best for your class?

Use the shape of the material, not personal preference, to decide.

For subject-specific advice, see our guides to studying history and studying math. For what to do before and during the lecture itself, see how to take lecture notes.

What does research say about note-taking methods?

Few studies pit whole note-taking methods against each other in real classes. More research looks at which format of notes is easiest to learn from, and at what students do with notes afterward. Four findings stand out:

• Charts (matrix notes) do well. In a 1988 study, 44 undergraduates reviewed a lecture using notes the researchers provided (a complete text, an outline, or a matrix) or no notes. Any notes beat none; outline and matrix notes produced better recall, and matrix notes produced the best transfer. In a 2010 study, 72 students studied a plain text, extracted key ideas, an outline, or a matrix; the matrix worked best for learning facts and relationships, because it puts related information side by side.
• Cornell's layout alone shows little effect. A small high school study found no difference in unit test scores between a class taught Cornell notes and a class using its own methods.
• Maps help most as retrieval. A meta-analysis of 55 studies linked concept maps to better retention, with effects that varied widely; the mind-mapping guide covers why drawing from memory matters.
• Review matters more than format. A meta-analysis of 33 studies found that taking notes and reviewing them had a substantial effect on learning, and that giving students a framework, such as the instructor's notes, boosted the benefit more than training or instructions alone. That's an argument for pre-structured formats: an outline built from the slides, or a chart ruled before class.

Typing versus handwriting is a separate question from layout; our guide to taking lecture notes covers it.

Can you combine note-taking methods?

Yes, and it's often the best approach. The most useful combination is capture fast, restructure later: use the sentence method or a loose outline in class, then turn it into a chart or map the same evening. The restructuring is useful thinking, because you have to decide what's a main idea, what compares with what, and what's missing.

How to turn any notes into a self-test

Whatever format you use, the review step should involve answering questions, not rereading. The simplest upgrade is to borrow Cornell's question margin: rule a narrow column on the left of an outline, a chart, or a page of sentences, and write questions in it after class. Each method also has a natural way to hide the answers:

Do this within a day of the lecture, then again a few days later and after a week. Retrieval practice explains why answering beats rereading, and questions you keep missing are worth moving to flashcards with our notes-to-flashcards workflow. If your notes are typed in Word, a Word-to-flashcards converter can draft the cards for you to edit.