How to Write Nice and Tidy Notes?

Image by Kelly Sikkema (Unsplash)

Let’s be real, studying isn’t fun, especially when you have to read your messy, clumpy, boring notes that you wrote in your class and never look at them until exams rolls around. Of course, who wants to read bland notes, right? But here’s a game-changer: if you try to make your notes look nicer, it might actually make you want to look at them, which is a good thing because then you would be more motivated to read your notes. Not everyone has the skills or time to make nice and tidy notes, but you can start slow and work on it gradually, and soon you will be able to write out notes that will actually motivate you to study.

1. Use only a few colours.

Using only a few colours will make your notes look simple and clean, and also helps to create a minimalistic appearance. It is best to make your note look simple than adding too much information, colour, pictures, and so on. The best way is to use 1 to 3 shades of a colour for a topic.

2. Use boxes to separate different sections.

Drawing boxes around some information is a good way to separate information on different topics, especially when they are all written on the same page. For example, if you have 3 subtopics of the same topic on a paper, using boxes can really help them stand out and to help you differentiate the subtopics.

3. Write on lined or boxed papers.

It can be difficult to write in a straight line on a blank paper, especially if you’re not used to writing your own notes. Using lined or boxed papers are a good way to help keep your words in line, and also help to control the sizes of your font, making them appear tidier.

4. Different topics on different papers.

Don’t try to cluster too much information onto a sheet. If they belong to different topics, put them on separate papers. This will ease your process of studying and also makes it easier for you to find and organise your notes.

5. Add diagrams.

You don’t need to draw some masterpiece kind of art on your notes. Just simple diagrams that you yourself can understand will be enough. If you prefer not to draw, you can also print out images and then paste them onto your notes.

6. Practice neat handwriting.

Having good handwriting takes effort. Even people who have naturally good handwriting requires effort to write in a neat way. Practice your handwriting so that it will look tidier, or learn new handwritings from online, such as calligraphies or any other fancy fonts.

7. Use different fonts to represent different things.

Using different fonts makes it easier to separate information on different topics if you are writing on the same paper. It will be useful if you separating information that belongs to the same topic but should not be written together, such as definitions, examples, summaries, etc.

8. Highlight key points or titles.

Using highlighters or markers on main ideas and topics will help them stand out, which helps you to focus more on a certain part of your notes and not waste your time when studying. If you don’t want to use highlighters, you can also underline or box the information you want to stand out.

With these few tips and some time to practice, you will be able to write out beautiful notes that will help you with your studies better.