by Nancy Adossi

Created on: July 15, 2009

In this age of technological advancement, many college students find it harder to physically organize their study notes due to the automatic organization done by gadgets such as Blackberry. However, it is an extremely easy task for electronic geniuses and old-fashioned student alike.

Electronic

Invest in a great digital recorder if your professor doesn't mind. (In some states or Universities, it is considered illegal to make a copy of a professional's speech without his/her permission.) It is best to buy one with a detachable USB. Besides your professor's recordings, record your own personal notes. Organize these recordings under one folder with the name of the class on your USB or computer memory. Make sure that you record the date on every recording. For example, your professor's recording would be titled Eng Prof 7/11/09 under a general folder titled English. And your own recording could be titled JaneDoe Eng 7/11/09 under your English Folder. If your USB is dedicated to college and recreational uses, put all the class folders under one folder (Ex: 2nd yr college). That way nothing will ever get lost. If you have a scanner or use the scanner available on your campus, scan your homework and handouts and put them in a special folder titled Handouts in your respective class folder. This ensures that you not only have an extra copy of your handouts, but also that everything you need to study for that final exam is available. However, this is time-consuming and for those who don't have enough time to keep study notes the electronic way, have no fear the old-fashioned way is also effective and a little easier.

Old-Fashioned Way

The best way to keep handwritten notes is by using a large binder. Some people may not like binders because they are bulky and hard to lug around, but binders are extremely cheap and an efficient way to ensure your notes are well organized and kept in one place. If you have time and money, shop around for Mead/Fivestar notebook binder combination. They're flexible and come in awesome colors and different sizes. The only disadvantage (or advantage) is that you will need a different one for every class. The binders are self explanatory because all you need are dividers. However, buy congruent dividers for every major level (English, Math, etc). Then buy a differently styled divider for every sublevel for each major level (Ex: class notes, reading notes, handouts, etc). As with the electronic system, it is vital that you record

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