Taking good notes is one of the most important skills for success on the TOEFL (and for college) that won’t be directly tested. It’s not a bad idea to take notes on the reading section, but it will be absolutely critical in the listening section and integrated tasks, since many of these contain far more information than anyone could possibly remember in one sitting—unless you’re a genius. If you’re a genius, then congratulations! Maybe you don’t need to read this post. If you’re not, then read on.
Tip #1: Express ideas in few words
One huge error that people make when taking notes is being too careful. They write every word out completely, include small words like “the,” or even include full sentences. There is a clear problem with this approach: you simply don’t have enough time. But also, this can make it hard to find information later. Shorter notes are easier to search through. When you refer to them later, you’ll have no problem finding the information you need.
Tip #2: Use your own words (even in your own language)
It’s a bad idea in class, but when you’re in the middle of a test, no one cares whether you’re using exclusively English or not. If you can rephrase what you heard in fewer words in your own language, then do it! I’m not saying you should write entirely in your native language, but if you can express a thought faster, then that’s a good thing.
Tip #3: Keep moving
The speaker is going to be moving faster than you can write. If you think you are falling behind as you rush to write the last point that was made, it’s usually best to stop that thought in the middle and move on. It’s much easier to remember that partial thought later than to miss a portion of the lecture and have to figure out what the speaker’s talking about now and why.
Tip #4: Use symbols
Never write the word “circle” if you can simply draw a circle. Cause and effect can be shown with arrows. “Decrease,” “fall,” “short,” “cheap,” or even “worse” can all be shown with a down arrow. There are many, many other symbols, of course—use whatever you can think of that’s shorter than writing words!
Tip #5: Only note big ideas and key relationships
Your notes should be structural. In other words, you don’t want to include every detail that’s spoken. You want to hear every detail, of course, but you only have to write the big ideas that help you to remember the small ones. If you try to write everything, you will have trouble keeping pace, and you will not hear some information because you’re still writing the previous details. Make note of relationships between ideas like examples, comparisons, contrasts, and cause and effect. Note when the topic changes. But don’t write every name, date, and location you hear.
Tip #6: Practice, practice, practice!
Note-taking is a skill, and it needs to be practiced. Don’t limit yourself to TOEFL practice questions! Take notes from whatever media you have: a TV show, a TED talk, the book you’re reading, or even a conversation with a friend. Pay particular attention to listening and writing at the same time without getting behind in either.
Hello dear, i really like your article , especially the tips for note-taking.
Thank you very much
You’re welcome!
Hi lucas it Mr Onyeka how do i improve in my toef writting section, can I send u any for you to help me out thanks.
Hi Mr. Oonyeka,
Magoosh doesn’t review essays right now. We’re a small team, and we want to keep offering our TOEFL subscriptions at a good price, so Lucas and the rest of us aren’t able to review every student’s TOEFL essays. Speaking of TOEFL subscriptions, though, I see you have a premium account with us. That means you can get some general writing advice from our email tutoring team at no additional charge. 🙂 I’ll send you a quick email through student help, where I can answer additional questions if you have them. 🙂
Hi. I’ll be taking the IBT. Will I be given the option to type the notes out on the computer, instead of writing it on paper?
Thanks for this useful article. Appreciate it 🙂
Hi Momo,
Currently, the TOEFL iBT doesn’t offer computer-typed note-taking as an option. However, if you have a physical or health-related issue that makes it difficult to write notes by hand: https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/register/disabilities?WT.ac=toeflhome_disabilities_121127
I really appreciate your knowledge
thanks, it was an amazing information
Keep moving was very useful.
You mean we can take notes by hand? or on computer?
thank you for ur useful information,
Hi Maria,
You can take the notes on the scratch paper that is given to you. 🙂
How can I practice listening using NPR?
Good question. NPR definitely does have a lot of TOEFL-like listening practice. But it also has a lot of practice that’s not so similar to TOEFL audio. News programs or audio-book broadcasts like “Chapter a Day” are not-so-useful, as real TOEFL audio isn’t meant to sound like writing that’s been read aloud. And entertainment oriented shows like Car Talk or What do You Know are too informal.
But many interviews with academic experts are quite good for TOEFL practice. They take the academic tone of TOEFL lecture audio, while still having some of the back and forth exchanges that are typical of TOEFL conversations. So you can listen to that kind of NPR broadcast and take notes, much like you would in TOEFL Listening. This will give you practice that is comparable to– but not identical to– the real exam.
Hi Magoosh,
for the integrated speaking and writing task can we also take notes on scratch paper while listening to the conversation?
Thankyou
Hi Amira,
Yes–you can use the scratch paper however you’d like, and taking notes during the integrated task can be really helpful! The testing center will provide you with scratch paper that you can use during the test, and you must return the scratch paper at the end of your test. You can see their policies here. You can explore our blog for more tips and tricks for how to take notes during the integrated tasks 🙂