How to take notes effectively?!

Expert replies

gander123: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 50; Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:47 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by gander123 » Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:14 pm

My dear GMAT community,

Im currently preparing for the GMAT test in January 2013 in order to be admitted to a "better" European Business School. I'm aiming at 650-700 points. However, I frequently find myself left alone with some serious questions on the GMAT. So here's one of them:

Especially when I take the medium / hard questions on the GMAT Prep software, I really benefit from taking notes on a sheet of paper. However, I realized that you easily run out of time if you elaborate for too long on your paper.

So what do you think, how much note taking is advantageous ?! What harms your performance?

Awaiting your response.

Cheers from Germany !

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:14 pm

Kasia@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 646; Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 7:08 amFollowed by: 143 members; Thanked: 322 times

by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:28 pm

Taking notes is a very good idea and it definitely can save you a lot of time. What I would recommend is to compile your own code - to use symbols instead of phrases and to substitute words with their abbreviated versions.
Note-taking is definitely indispensable when dealing with RC and CR.

Kasia
Senior Instructor
Master GMAT - the #1 rated GMAT course

"¢ If you found my post helpful, please click the "thank" button and/or follow me.

"¢ Take a 7 day free trial and find out why Economist GMAT is the highest rated GMAT course - https://gmat.economist.com/

"¢ Read GMAT Economist reviews - https://reviews.beatthegmat.com/economis ... mat-course

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:08 am

I agree with Kasia. Taking notes is a good idea.
However, rather than take our word for it, I think it's a good idea for students to convince themselves that this is a worthwhile strategy. Take a practice test without taking many note and see how you do.

If you're interested, I wrote an article for BTG about the advantages of slowing down (taking notes, etc.) when taking the GMAT: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/05/ ... owing-down

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

arun@crackverbal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 234; Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:50 amFollowed by: 60 members; Location: Bangalore; Thanked: 47 times

by arun@crackverbal » Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:34 pm

Here is a way in which you can see "note taking":

The brain can do one of 2 things: take in the data, and process that information. So when you are reading it you are really reading stuff like "In Verland last year there was a decrease in blah blah....HOWEVER, blah blah....... Therefore, blah blah". The brain is trying to take in the information so it can build a context around it. It is when you make a quick diagram or write a few words to summarize that you read it helps assimilate the information.

The analogy is chewing food (reading information), and digesting food (understanding the info).

Don't make it an elaborate exercise. You are just giving your brain time to "breathe" so it should be short of doodling.

Arun

Founder of CrackVerbal - India's fastest growing GMAT Prepration and MBA Admissions Consulting Company. https://gmat.crackverbal.com

Free Ebook on GMAT | GMAT Scoring, Study plan, top study mistakes etc
Download here: https://gmat.crackverbal.com/15-minute-gmat-guide

Good enough to get into Harvard? Or would be it ISB? Get a free profile report PDF mailed to you: https://applications.crackverbal.com/fre ... valuation/

GMAT Course Reviews

563 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (563 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review