Embellished Entries

Staff Writer: Kaetlin Bunner

Obviously neat notes make studying more pleasing to the eye, but do they actually improve your ability to retain information or is it simply a waste of time?

We all know the person who uses every color of the rainbow in their notes, with perfect handwriting, organized paragraphs, and diagrams. On the other side of the classroom, we have the person who writes their notes quickly with handwriting that only they understand and a pencil they found on the floor.

When comparing the resources of these two students, many would assume that the former student has higher grades than the latter. However, some students claim that making your notes aesthetically pleasing is a waste of time.

“You can write down everything word for word, but if you don’t revise [your notes] and actually study the information, then you aren’t going to see a difference,” states Meri Camacho Aispuro, a Woodstock High School senior. She represents the students who have come to the conclusion that taking decorated notes is pointless and only takes away valuable time that could be used to study.

They make a good point; making your notes look nice takes much more time than it does to just jot down some bullet points, but surely the structure of decorated notes has some benefit on students, right? The answer is yes! These neat and stylish notes may help some better understand their notes.

“When my notes are neat, studying is easier,” exclaimed Amanda Lloyd, senior. She finds that keeping her notes organized makes her life just a little bit simpler. You may be wondering if this is a placebo effect, or if neat notes actually help improve one’s understanding. While studying hard and taking time to understand your course are the only sure-fire ways to ensure a change in your grades, colorful and organized notes may have some perks.

Firstly, highlighting and using different colors is more likely to help you emphasize and remember important information.

Emphasis

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photos

Staff Writer: Kaetlin Bunner

Obviously neat notes make studying more pleasing to the eye, but do they actually improve your ability to retain information or is it simply a waste of time?

We all know the person who uses every color of the rainbow in their notes, with perfect handwriting, organized paragraphs, and diagrams. On the other side of the classroom, we have the person who writes their notes quickly with handwriting that only they understand and a pencil they found on the floor.

When comparing the resources of these two students, many would assume that the former student has higher grades than the latter. However, some students claim that making your notes aesthetically pleasing is a waste of time.

“You can write down everything word for word, but if you don’t revise [your notes] and actually study the information, then you aren’t going to see a difference,” states Meri Camacho Aispuro, a Woodstock High School senior. She represents the students who have come to the conclusion that taking decorated notes is pointless and only takes away valuable time that could be used to study.

They make a good point; making your notes look nice takes much more time than it does to just jot down some bullet points, but surely the structure of decorated notes has some benefit on students, right? The answer is yes! These neat and stylish notes may help some better understand their notes.

“When my notes are neat, studying is easier,” exclaimed Amanda Lloyd, senior. She finds that keeping her notes organized makes her life just a little bit simpler. You may be wondering if this is a placebo effect, or if neat notes actually help improve one’s understanding. While studying hard and taking time to understand your course are the only sure-fire ways to ensure a change in your grades, colorful and organized notes may have some perks.

Firstly, highlighting and using different colors is more likely to help you emphasize and remember important information.

Emphasis

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photos

Notice how the highlighted portion and in the photo above seemed to pop against the rest of the book. This is a prime example of the effect that garnished notes may have. Differentiating colors is also shown to better inspire motivation, and of course completing work is faster and easier when one feels motivated.

So, which of the two students has higher grades? Surprisingly, it could be either of them. Embellished notes can help students study by separating topics clearly, emphasizing certain parts of the notes, inspiring motivation, boosting moods, etc. While these neat notes may help you remember a topic, they are really only a bonus.

The memory-boost they provide is useless if you don’t take the time out of your day to better study and research a topic. If writing messy notes with an old pencil works for you, there’s no reason to change! If you’re looking for tips to better your memory, however, maybe give pretty notes a try!

Notice how the highlighted portion and in the photo above seemed to pop against the rest of the book. This is a prime example of the effect that garnished notes may have. Differentiating colors is also shown to better inspire motivation, and of course completing work is faster and easier when one feels motivated.

Neatly, nicely noted

Photo credit: Breakfast at Avery’s on Pinterest

So, which of the two students has higher grades? Surprisingly, it could be either of them. Embellished notes can help students study by separating topics clearly, emphasizing certain parts of the notes, inspiring motivation, boosting moods, etc. While these neat notes may help you remember a topic, they are really only a bonus.

The memory-boost they provide is useless if you don’t take the time out of your day to better study and research a topic. If writing messy notes with an old pencil works for you, there’s no reason to change! If you’re looking for tips to better your memory, however, maybe give pretty notes a try!