Notes should help you think again later, not merely prove that you were present. The Open University's note-taking guidance emphasises concise notes in your own words and revisiting them to organise ideas. A useful note system makes the meaning, source and next question easy to recover after the session has ended.
Give every note a context
Begin with the date, topic, source and purpose. If the notes concern a lecture, include the session title. If they concern a text, record enough information to find it again and add page or section references where useful. “Important theory” is not a retrievable source label.
Write a question at the top when possible. “How does this model explain delayed payments?” gives the notes a direction. It also helps you decide which details to include. Material unrelated to the question can be noted briefly or left for a different record rather than copied indiscriminately.
Choose a structure for the material
A sequence works well for a process: first action, next action, check. A table works well for comparing concepts. A diagram can show relationships, provided you label the connections clearly. Do not force every subject into the same format merely because the template looks tidy.
Imagine notes comparing cash flow and profit. A two-column table could record the question each concept answers, a brief definition and a hypothetical example. A separate line might say, “A customer can owe money before payment arrives.” That structure preserves the distinction more effectively than a long unbroken paragraph.
Separate information from your response
Use clear labels for the author's claim, your interpretation and questions you need to resolve. If you copy exact wording, use quotation marks and a source reference immediately. Otherwise, you may later mistake the passage for your own writing. Brief paraphrases also need source information when they represent someone else's argument.
Mark uncertainty honestly. “Check this definition” is useful; confidently recording an unclear idea as fact can spread the mistake into an assignment. An unresolved question should contain enough detail that you can investigate it later, such as the term and the passage that caused confusion.
- Can I identify where this idea came from?
- Have I preserved the important conditions?
- Is copied wording clearly marked?
- Does the structure match the kind of material?
- Can I explain the idea without reading every line?
- What needs checking before I use it?
Review before adding more
After the session, make a short summary from the notes. Correct incomplete sentences and add a connection to earlier material where relevant. Do not rewrite everything for appearance alone. The review should improve meaning, accuracy or retrieval, not merely create a more attractive version of the same uncertainty.
Try returning a week later. Can you understand the example and answer the original question? If not, identify what is missing: source context, a definition, the relationship between points or an explanation of a diagram. Use that finding to improve the next set rather than redesigning the entire system.
Keep storage simple
Use a consistent naming pattern and a small number of folders or tags. Too many categories can make retrieval harder. Back up important digital notes appropriately and keep personal or sensitive information out of public sharing spaces. If handwritten notes are essential, record where they are stored or scan them in a readable form.
The system works when a later task can use the notes without starting from zero. You should be able to find the source, recall the idea and identify any question still unresolved. That is a more meaningful standard than the number of pages produced or the amount of text highlighted during study.
Sources and further reading
This original guide was prepared with AI assistance. Examples are illustrative. The edition date is an assigned date in this 2026 catalogue. See our editorial policy and report a correction.