You should include information in your notes that actually helps you understand, remember, and use the material later, and exclude anything that is redundant, distracting, or irrelevant to your goals. Thinking of notes as a study tool (not a transcript) makes it much easier to decide what belongs and what does not.

Quick Scoop

Smart notes are selective, not exhaustive. Capture the ideas you’ll need again; skip the noise and word-for-word copying.

What to include in your notes

These are the types of information that usually deserve a place in your notes.

  • Main ideas and key points
    • Central arguments, chapter or lecture “big ideas,” and section headings in your own words.
    • Topic sentences, thesis statements, and any “this is important” comments from the teacher or text.
  • Definitions and core concepts
    • Technical terms, vocabulary, formulas, and laws that you need to know precisely.
    • Short explanations, examples, or analogies that make those concepts click for you.
  • Examples that clarify ideas
    • Worked problems, sample sentences, case studies, or diagrams that show how a concept is used.
    • One or two strong examples per key idea, not every example you see.
  • Structure and relationships
    • Headings, subheadings, arrows, and bullet hierarchies that show how ideas connect.
    • Concept maps, spider diagrams, or quick sketches to show cause–effect, comparisons, and sequences.
  • Signals of importance
    • Anything emphasized, repeated, or written on slides/board multiple times.
    • “Exam tips,” “common mistakes,” or “you should remember this” remarks.
  • Context and source details
    • Title of the lecture or chapter, date, teacher’s name, and page or slide numbers.
    • Citation details (author, year, page) if you might use the ideas in essays or projects.
  • Your own questions and insights
    • Things you don’t understand yet, written as questions to revisit.
    • Brief reflections, connections to other topics, and “aha!” moments in your own words.
  • Things you must remember or do
    • Deadlines, tasks (“review chapter 3 problems”), lab or project instructions.
    • Checklists such as “things I need to know / remember / do” for each topic.

What to exclude (or heavily limit)

Leaving things out is just as important as what you put in.

  • Verbatim copying of everything
    • Avoid writing full sentences or trying to capture every word spoken or printed.
    • Focus on phrases and keywords; skip filler words like “the,” “a,” and long quotations unless exact wording is essential.
  • Irrelevant or off-topic details
    • Stories, tangents, or side comments that don’t support the main idea or exam goals.
    • Background info that you already know well and don’t need to see again.
  • Excessive repetition
    • Don’t copy the same definition or point every time it appears.
    • If something is repeated a lot, mark it once as “highly important” instead of rewriting it.
  • Overdecorating and overformatting
    • Colour-coding and fancy layouts that take more time than the note itself.
    • Do light highlighting and symbols during review, not during fast lectures.
  • Unrelated personal commentary
    • Random thoughts, jokes, or unrelated diary-type comments that clutter the page.
    • Keep personal notes only if they directly help you remember or understand a concept.
  • Unfounded assumptions
    • Guesses you treat as facts, or “I think this might be on the exam” without real evidence.
    • If you speculate, label it clearly as your own idea or question, not as the teacher’s claim.

A simple include/exclude checklist

Use this quick mental checklist while writing or reviewing your notes.

Include if:

  1. It explains a main idea, definition, or concept you must know.
  2. It shows how to solve a type of problem or apply a concept.
  3. It’s emphasized, repeated, or clearly exam-relevant.
  4. It helps future-you understand faster (questions, connections, diagrams).

Exclude or trim if:

  1. You are copying sentences word-for-word without processing them.
  2. It’s a tangent, anecdote, or detail that doesn’t support your goals.
  3. You’ve already written the same thing several times.
  4. It’s decoration (too much colour, doodles) instead of information.

Mini forum-style summary

When people discuss note-taking in study forums, the common advice is to capture key concepts, definitions, and structure , plus your own questions, and drop the urge to write down everything. Many also stress turning notes into active tools—checklists, templates, and concept maps—instead of static pages full of text.

TL;DR: Put in big ideas, key terms, examples, and your own questions or connections; leave out word-for-word copying, tangents, and decorative fluff so your notes stay clear and useful.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.