I’m sure you’re here because you’re wondering about study tips for rewriting class notes? As students, we have a myriad of information we must absorb and process, for example, lectures and books. Therefore, having clear and effective class notes is necessary.

You must also know that writing notes affects your memory in a good way. Moreover, if you are a kinesthetic learner, it’s easier to process information by rewriting and taking notes rather than just learning by listening to lectures or reading books.

Read on to learn study tips for rewriting class notes!

How do you rewrite notes effectively?

In this section we’ll be going over the ways you can effectively rewrite notes. Let’s dig deeper in this and explain how it really helps and why you should be doing it.

Is rewriting notes good for studying?

Yes, rewriting your notes helps you to memorize and process information better. And with rewriting, you get an opportunity to rewrite and polish your messy notes into more organized notes.

Logically, by rewriting your class notes, either by typing or writing them, you are rereading (reprocessing) the information you have just learned. This is a better method to learn something for the long term.

And rewriting your notes will give you an opportunity to make your notes even more comprehensive. Add details and other relevant information, as well as tables or other visual illustrations to make it easier for you to learn and understand the lecture material or information.

Is copying notes a good way to study?

It’s a good way to translate things you learn from lectures into a more organized and easy-to-understand format. But remember, the definition of “copying” in this context is translating the knowledge/lecture material into your own words – not “copy-pasting” like we usually do on the computer.

And if you are a kinesthetic learner, copying notes is probably your best study method. Why? Because copying notes helps you to organize your thoughts into neat notes. Just listening and seeing (reading) do nothing for kinesthetic learners in general. They have to do something physically (such as taking notes or quiz themselves) in order to remember something.

How do you study your notes?

It’s one thing to have your notes, but what is the best ways to actually study your notes and effectively retain your information. Let’s take a look at how you can achieve this.

What is the best study method?

It depends on what kind of learner you are. Everyone has their own best method to study, don’t let people tell you otherwise.

A study method worth trying is to rewrite by translating the information you have learned into your own words and rereading the notes. Make sure you always make a summary or conclusion of each material you just learned. If necessary, use a table or illustration to make it easy to remember.

Teaching others about the material you just learned will also help you remember the material for a long time. You can share class notes with your friends and discuss to perfect your class notes.

But again, do what works best for you. You can use the combination of all popular study methods to make your learning experience more fun and effective.

How can I focus on studying?

Set your priorities straight. You can’t just sit at your desk and start reading a book without a target in mind. When you have determined your learning target, you will be more focused because you already know what to learn and what to expect at the end of a study session.

And surround yourself with a suitable atmosphere and a good vibe to motivate yourself. Studying while listening to music is fun. Play calm and uplifting music to motivate yourself. Classical music like Beethoven or Mozart can help you focus and stimulate your brain. If you plan to study intensively and super focus, don’t listen to songs with lyrics – it will distract you.

How can I memorize faster?

Memorizing something is related to one’s ability to remember and process information. Meanwhile, a memory of one person to another can be very different. Some people can remember and memorize information just by listening once, but some have to make extra efforts to do the same thing.

But the easy trick to memorize things faster is writing or rewriting notes. Kenneth Kiewra, a psychologist and developmental & learning sciences professor from the University of Nebraska, says that handwriting stimulates brain performance closely related to memory. So this is a really handy tip to try!

Does rewriting help memory?

We all want to find ways on how to retain the information we read more effectively. Let’s break down how this all works and how you can improve memory from rewriting your notes.

How many times do you have to rewrite something to remember it?

Just keep experimenting, trying to see what works best for you because it all depends on your brain capabilities and learning strategies.

Don’t compare yourself with the masses. But if you rewrite your notes by hand, you only need to rewrite something once or twice, because writing by hand enables you to process the information better.

Is it better to write or type notes?

It’s better to write your notes, especially if you are a kinesthetic learner. Because when you write your notes by hand, it will encourage you to learn the information sentence by sentence or even word by word while putting it into writing.

But one thing about writing by hand is that it’s time-consuming. You need to put extra effort into providing stationery such as highlighter, paper, pens/pencils, and other stationaries.

But you know what? It’s necessary – because you will more easily transfer knowledge to your brain this way.

Typing your notes is okay too, but not for all people. Most people are distracted while typing on their computers. Not only that, the ease (and speed) of typing can make you miss something.

The average typing speed is 40 words per minute (wpm), and most people are even able to type 65-70 words per minute. Typing that fast will definitely make you miss something to add to your notes. But yes, copying your notes into a digital version is pretty good since you can easily add various visuals to make it more perfect.

Are re-reading notes effective?

It’s not as effective as you might think because re-reading is a passive way to learn – and it’s not good. The more effective way to learn is to use active learning strategies that engage you deeper into the material. What are active learning strategies? Using flashcards to memorize, creating graphics and illustrations, or even quizzing yourself are more effective.

Re-reading your notes may help you remember material for a short time, but it doesn’t create permanent memories in your brain. But yes, re-reading notes allows you to re-check your notes to find if something is missing or if there is something you need to add.

How can I learn from someone else’s notes?

Not by simply recopying their notes, definitely not the best way to learn something, that’s just lazy. Instead, use your friends’ notes to perfect your notes – and find what you missed from the lecture.

Try to compare your notes with your friends and ask your friends questions to clarify something. You can share information and create a great and fun learning experience together.

And sometimes, people have different ways of interpreting information, so by reading someone else’s notes, it’s likely that you will get to interpret information from a different perspective. This way, you will learn more and more.

So there you have it, study tips for rewriting class notes!

Have fun studying!