Note taking is one of the most common and most useful study methods that an individual might use to study for a particular exam, interview, or other similar purpose. In fact, many people use note taking as one of their primary methods for preparing for an exam and most individuals are usually very careful to take notes on everything covered in a lecture. Unfortunately, the same is usually not true about textbooks, as many students do not actually take the time to take in-depth notes from the information covered in their textbooks. This is because many students believe that there is no reason to take notes on material that is easily accessible and that they will not have to take notes in order to remember the material if the material is right in front of them. However, this is actually a common misconception, as taking notes from textbooks can help the individual study for an exam or other similar purpose in two distinct ways.
First, an individual, by taking notes on the material that he or she reads in his or her textbook, can summarize the information covered in each chapter and define key concepts and terms. This can be extremely useful as it allows the individual to find important information very quickly, which can be very helpful when the individual is attempting to study the material. In other words, taking notes on each chapter that is related to a topic that the individual has covered in class will help the individual save time and study the material more effectively. Secondly, the process of taking notes actually helps the individual understand and remember key details about the material that he or she reads. This is because the individual is not only reading the material, but processing the material to find key concepts and then writing down those key concepts. As a result, taking notes from a textbook can be an effective way for an individual to study a particular chapter or topic.