Friendly reminder: Click the blue text above, “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting,” to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.

The 5R note-taking method, also known as the Cornell method, is named after the university where it was developed. This method is applicable to almost all lectures or reading classes, and especially for lecture notes, the 5R method should be the best choice. This method effectively combines recording and learning, thinking and application. It includes the following steps:

  1. Record: During the lecture or reading, in the main column (divide a notebook page into two parts: left large, right small; the left is the main column, the right is the recall column), write down as many meaningful arguments, concepts, and other lecture content as possible.
  2. Reduce: After class, as soon as possible, summarize (reduce) these arguments and concepts concisely in the recall column (the side column).
  3. Recite: Cover the main column, and using only the notes in the recall column as prompts, try to fully narrate the content from the lecture.
  4. Reflect: Separate your own thoughts, opinions, experiences, and insights from the lecture content. Write them on cards or in a separate section of your notebook, add titles and indexes, and organize them into outlines, summaries, and categories. File them regularly.
  5. Review: Spend about ten minutes each week quickly reviewing your notes, mainly looking at the recall column first, and then the main column as appropriate.

When first using this note-taking method, you can practice with one subject as an example. Once you become proficient in that subject, you can then apply it to other subjects.

II. Symbol Marking Method

The symbol marking method involves adding various symbols next to the original text in textbooks or reference books, such as straight lines, double lines, black dots, circles, curves, arrows, red lines, blue lines, triangles, boxes, emphasis marks, exclamation points, question marks, etc., to help identify key points, deepen impressions, or raise questions. You can decide what each symbol means, but it's best to develop a relatively stable system of symbols. This method is suitable for self-study notes and preview notes. When using it, pay attention to the following guidelines:

  1. Mark after reading: Do not make marks in the textbook until you have finished reading the entire paragraph or section and stopped to think. While reading, distinguish whether the author is introducing a new concept or just explaining the same concept with different words. Only after finishing the paragraph or section can you look back and identify repeated content. This prevents you from seizing on things that seem important at first glance.
  2. Be very selective: Do not underline many items or scribble many notes at once, as this can overload your memory and force you to think about several aspects simultaneously, increasing your mental burden. Make fewer marks, but not so few that you have to reread the entire page when reviewing.
  3. Use your own words: Brief notes in the margins should be written in your own words, because your own words represent your own thoughts and will later serve as powerful prompts for the concepts described on that page.
  4. Be concise: Underline short but meaningful phrases rather than complete sentences. Keep margin notes brief and to the point. They will leave a deeper impression in your memory and be more handy when you recite and review.
  5. Be quick: You cannot spend all day making marks. First read, then review roughly, quickly make marks, and then move on to the next part of the chapter.
  6. Be neat: Make your symbols as neat as possible, not scribbled, as this will affect your future review and application. When you review later, neat marks will encourage you to keep learning and save time, because neat marks help you quickly recall the original learning situation and enable you to easily and clearly understand the ideas in the book.

III. Note Organization Method

Due to various reasons, the notes you take in class are often messy and not very useful for after-class review. To consolidate learning outcomes and accumulate review materials, you need to further organize your notes into a systematic, well-structured reference. The method for organizing and processing class notes is:

  1. Recall: Immediately after class, while the material is fresh, review the textbook and notes, and promptly recall relevant information. This is an important prerequisite for organizing your notes.
  2. Supplement: Because class notes are taken at the pace of the teacher's lecture, which is faster than note-taking speed, your notes may have omissions, jumps, or abbreviations. Based on recall, promptly fill in gaps to make the notes more complete.
  3. Correct: Carefully review your class notes and correct any typos, grammatical errors, or other inaccuracies.
  4. Arrange: Use a consistent numbering system to arrange the content of your notes in an outline-like, logical order, marking numbers and organizing the sequence of note organization.
  5. Classify: Use text (preferably colored pens) or symbols, codes, etc., to categorize the content of your notes. For example: which are vocabulary items, which are authors and works, which are analyses of works (or texts), which are questions and explorations, which are answers to after-class exercises, etc.
  6. Omit: Omit irrelevant note content to make the notes concise and to the point.
  7. Record: Copy the organized notes by category. For similar knowledge, transcribe it into the same notebook or the same section of a notebook, or use cards to categorize and copy. This makes future review and use convenient, as you can access what you need quickly, with clear outlines and easy memorization.

Like this article? Feel free to click the top right corner to share it to your Moments.

About us: WeChat Name: FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting Management Account Introduction: 20 years of experience in FMCG distributor operations and management, professionally aligned with distributor internal affairs: We understand distributors better than manufacturers, and we understand internal management better than distributors. Senior marketing experts help your business grow.

Learning and exchange QQ groups:

Group 1: 344257092 (full) ** Group 2: 231512457** Click “Read the original” below to enter our micro-community for interactive communication and questions.