HOW TO MAKE THE BEST NOTES FOR UPSC AND OTHER EXAMINATIONS

Does making Notes actually help in UPSC preparation?

This is one question which sooner or later definitely pops in the minds of every aspirant. There are various conflicting theories about notes making. Not only there are different opinions about whether one should make notes at all, but also there are different styles of note making. And all of this can be really confusing for an aspirant who is just starting. So in this article I would try to analyse the topic of “Note Making” and will try to dispel some wrong notions about Note Making.

Notes: To Make Or Not To Make:

The very first question that comes into the mind of the aspirants is that should they make notes or not. UPSC is a colossal exam and the syllabus is humongous. Plus making notes takes a lot of time and effort. So the first question that comes into mind is why shouldn’t one read directly from the books and save time and effort?

Although there is some merit in this argument, consider this: During the course of the preparation you would be required to read around 20 books (including optionals) some of them stretching into around 700 pages. Although you can save some time by reading directly from the books initially, you have to consider the fact that during the course of your preparation you have to revise the same books multiple times. And if you fail to reduce the content, you will have to wade through the same amount of content every time. So the time saved initially would be wasted later on.

You have to focus on the Mantra of : Read, Reduce, Revise

You must have read some topper interviews in which they say that they didn’t make notes. Do not fall for it. Although they might be telling the truth, every person is different. So they might be having eidetic memories and they could have used it to their advantage (eg Ira Singhal) but the truth is people like them are rare. Almost all of the toppers and people who clear do make notes. Because it is very very difficult if not impossible to revise such a large volume of content if you don’t make notes.

Also reading something, then assimilating it and then making notes is a “learning process” in itself, which helps in developing clarity of thought and helps in better retention of content.

So now when we have resolved the question of whether to make notes or not, the next question is:

How to make Notes:

There are several styles and techniques of making notes. You can choose any according to your needs and requirements. Some of the commandments of Note Making are:

Never make notes in the first reading. You will end up copy pasting almost everything which will defeat the purpose of making notes. I suggest a three step process: Read. Underline. Make Notes. So in the first reading go through the content and try to understand it. Try to clear concepts as much as possible. In the next reading underline the important aspects which you feel are important. In the next reading, read only the underlined parts and make notes. If you follow this three step you won’t need to read that book or material again.Never copy and paste content. Always read and assimilate it first. Then reproduce the content “in your own language”. It is the core of the learning process.You can choose to make handwritten or soft copies of notes. Whatever suits or your convenience. But remember point 2. It should be in your language as far as possible.Choose your style. You can make mind maps, flow charts, diagrammatic notes, Spider diagram, text notes anything. Whatever serves your purpose.You can choose to write in the margins of the books, use stickies, make notes in Evernote anything that suits you.

What about other people’s i.e. Toppers Notes?

One question I regularly get is that Why should one waste time and effort in making notes when one can get plenty of notes of toppers etc that are available in the market/websites? One could directly read from them. Right?

Wrong! Absolutely Wrong!

Lemme explain with an example. Say you wanted to win a medal in a race. But instead of participating in the race you went and bought the same medal from market. But even though both the medals are same; you “own” it but you didn’t “win” it. Same is with Notes. By choosing to take up someone else’s notes you skip the “learning process” that I mentioned previously. And that will not help you. It will give you a false sense of security that you have covered and understood the topic. Moreover, different people make notes differently. And the purpose of making notes is to aid in revision. So a person will only write what he thinks he needs to revise. And that may not be useful for you at all.

What about making notes from newspapers?

One obvious question in the aspirants’ mind is whether to make notes from newspapers or not. Making notes from newspapers takes a lot of time. And that is an obvious deterrent. If you ask me (and its a personal choice) I would advise not to make notes from newspapers. It is far better to read a monthly digest from any of the good websites. The time saved here can be utilized to do answer practice.

My Experience with Notes Making:

In my first two attempts I didn’t make any notes. I succumbed to the same wrong notions which I am trying to dispel in this article. I thought that I would be able to revise directly from the books. And I failed miserably. I couldn’t revise anything properly before the exam. Also I have committed almost every mistake mentioned in this article. I hope the aspirants don't make the same mistakes.

But in my later attempts I not only made notes from the books, I made notes of notes (Synopsis) and then made cue cards from the Synopsis. A friend of mine called this “Noteception”