How should I take notes in college?

How you take notes in college depends on both the purpose of your note-taking and your personal learning preferences.

When taking lecture notes, write with the intention of reviewing them soon afterward. Revisiting your notes after class—adding details and clarifying unclear points—helps reinforce key concepts and improves retention for assessments such as exams and assignments. It also makes it easier to understand later lectures that build on the same material.

Try to avoid writing down too much during class so you can stay engaged with the lecture. At the same time, your notes should include enough information to be meaningful when you review them later.

When preparing for an exam, you can also use QuillBot’s free AI Chat to generate practice questions based on your lecture notes, helping you test your understanding and identify gaps in your knowledge.