Most students have taken notes since elementary school but few have ever had the privelege to peek at the science behind effective note-taking. While general note-taking may have been an effective tool for studying material in college courses, it has limited effectiveness for the MCAT. We have seen students take hundreds of pages of notes but fail to score above a 500.
This is largely because the MCAT does not test pure content—it is a critical thinking test that focuses on relationships between different areas of science and their application to real-life scenarios. While the MCAT expects you to know the basic science, it really rewards your ability to critically reason with that information. Thus, a strong content foundation is necessary, but not sufficient for a high score.
Note-taking and highlighting are ineffective ways of engaging with the material for a few reasons:
With highlighting, it is easy to disengage from the material, so while the volume of highlighted text may indicate progress through the material, you are not retaining much information.
With note-taking, there are a few traps you can fall into: trying to write down all the information (even material you already know), which will slow your progress through the content, or transcribing information without critically digesting its relevance or importance. Either way, you walk away with only a superficial understanding of the material.
There are many methods that students use to “take notes” as they work through modules, and we recommend experimenting with several strategies to see what works best for you. You may prefer making study sheets for Biochemistry, outlining subjects for Sociology, and mind mapping concepts for Biology.
1. Taking Questions
Taking questions is a method of note-taking in which, instead of writing down factual bits of information, you write down questions to test yourself on the material after you have finished watching a module. This will allow you to determine whether you have really learned the content within the module, and you can return to your questions a week or so later to check for longer-term retention.
For example, if you are watching a module about enzyme kinetics, here are some examples that show the difference between taking notes and taking questions.
Note: Km is a measurement of the affinity of an enzyme for its substrate. A higher Km indicates a lower affinity.
Note: Vmax is the maximum rate of turnover for a specific quantity of enzymes when all the active sites are occupied by substrate.
Question: What is true of the Km and Vmax of a highly efficient enzyme?
Note that this question tests knowledge of Km and Vmax but also requires some additional critical thinking.
2. Making Study Sheets
Study sheets are a great way to summarize all the information you learned from a module after you have finished watching it. This will both test your recall of the information and give you an opportunity to critically engage with the material. Study sheets are a time investment, so this approach works well for reviewing material that is more challenging for you.
The study sheet below also covers a review of Km and Vmax. Note that it focuses both on the definitions of the terms and on how the values can be obtained from graphs. This example is color-coded, but you don’t need to be fancy with your own study materials!
Just like the questions you write down, you can use study sheets for spaced repetition, reviewing them periodically. Additionally, as you work through practice questions and full-length exams, you can update your study sheets with new content connections and information. We recommend organizing your study sheets in a binder for easy access.
3. The Outline Method
This approach has been the bread and butter of note-taking for a long time. The Outline Method involves structuring your notes hierarchically with main topics, sub-points, and supporting details. This method works exceptionally well for subjects that require a clear and structured breakdown of information. It is also highly effective for reviewing and revising notes, as the hierarchy makes it easy to identify the most critical points. For example, DNA structure and social effects on behavior are well suited to this method.
4. Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is a visual technique that uses diagrams to represent information around a central subject.
Begin with the main concept in the center of the page and branch out into subtopics, using lines, images, keywords, and colors. This method is especially beneficial for studying subjects that involve many interlinking topics or ideas—which sounds a lot like what the MCAT does for every science section, doesn’t it? It is also helpful for brainstorming and creative thinking.
I found it really helpful to use a whiteboard or scrap paper to help me memorize a mnemonic or chemical structure. Starting with zero information forced me to recall the material instead of merely recognizing it (or remembering it from my previous practice). Also, research shows handwriting improves learning.
5. Blended Strategy
Find the optimal strategy that works for you. Reviewing your Lessons Learned Journal is crucial because identifying why certain content is causing you difficulty will help you tackle it effectively. Struggling to recall amino acid details when proteins come up? Try a protein mind map. Feeling like you have an assortment of facts without a framework? A traditional outline may help. Having many note-taking tools in your kit empowers you to target your growth areas with precision and supercharge your score increase!
And regardless of which method you use, there are a few eternal learning principles to keep in mind. Use your own words (i.e. don't copy verbatim). And utilize associative learning to learn information in a group/framework. Both of these principles make the content stick much more effectively, so use them :)
P.S. If you are looking for permission to NOT take notes on subjects you already know quite well, this is it! Save the notetaking for areas where you focused learning will lead to additional insights.