When you’ve spent your energy and efforts to write lecture notes for later reference, it will be really bad if it is unreadable by yourself as well. The Potential Blog has provided 5 ways to improve the readability of your notes. The article suggests better handwriting (doh), colour, typefacing, brackets (good suggestion), and arrows. I really like using brackets as well:
4. Brackets
One of my favourite tricks is the use of square brackets ([ ]). If you get lost, bored or come up with an idea which could win you a Nobel Prize then stick it in square brackets. This works for stuff like “[I’m lost], “[NOTE: reread chapter 4]”, “[See lecture notes for quote]”, “[I don’t get this bit]”. This way your lecture notes will make more sense when you re-read them. This helps to avoid plagiarism too because you can clearly see which are your thoughts and which are others.
When I take notes, I am the one who overuse brackets. However it makes you drop down and quick idea or extra notes, even though it is outside of the context, or does not flow through with notes. Pretty handy utility for dropping notes.
5 Ways to make lecture notes more readable – [The Potential Blog]
