5 Ways to Take Notes for Your Contractor Licensing Exam Studies

There are lots of ways to take notes while you’re preparing for the contractor licensing exam. Not all of them will be the right one for you, so it helps to have a few different choices. The good news is that you can improve your note-taking and your recall with the right approach. Here are five tips to keep in mind.

Test Out Different Implements
Everyone has a way that they prefer to take notes. Experts recommend writing notes by hand as the most effective route to retention, but this may not work for everyone. If you’re the type of person who does best with a desk, pen, and loose-leaf paper, that’s a fine choice. If you’d rather kick back with a notepad attached to a clipboard, that works too. These days, devices have enough flexibility that you may be able to type and write by hand on a computer or tablet as well. If you’re not sure what you like best, try out multiple options and see which one feels the most natural.

Try a Few Note-Taking Methods
There are at least a dozen ways that you can take notes on the page. Some of the most popular methods recommend that you use different color inks as a way to make large blocks of text easier to scan. Others suggest dividing the page up into multiple pieces so that you can flip from one page to the next and find just what you need. If you’re using a computer, you may be able to take advantage of ways to change text or design the document in a similar way. In any case, make sure that the method you choose is one that you can stick with. If you don’t like changing pens or you won’t remember to do so, that method is not for you.

Improve Your Skills in Pieces
If note-taking isn’t your strong suit, you may want to examine which aspects aren’t working for you and try to build those skills individually. For example, taking notes can only help you so much if your handwriting is so difficult to read that you struggle to understand what you put down the next day. Similarly, if you have a hard time summarizing the text that you read or the main point of a lecture, you may need to practice this skill specifically. Invest time into each piece by itself. If you have a lot of problems, start with the biggest one and fix it. Over time, you’ll notice that taking notes isn’t as stressful and is more likely to get what you need.

Copy Your Notes
If you improve your note-taking process from the very beginning, it’s likely that your notes will all be easier to read and digest. However, if you have a bunch of notes from previous courses or other studies, you can still get the benefit. Copying your notes over again is one way of ensuring that you retain important information. If you have a new system now, you can convert your old ones so that they work seamlessly with the current ones. As an added benefit, you’ll have a chance to revisit these subjects and improve the notes to make your reference more effective.

Recite for Retention
Reciting is an excellent way to ensure that your notes make sense and will provide you with useful information later on. Think about it this way. Paper didn’t use to be easy to come by, so people often relied on their ability to remember something without it. The way that you recite depends on the method of learning. For example, if you are watching a self-paced training or reading a book, you may be able to recite your notes aloud as you write them. If you’re taking a class or observing a lecture in real-time, you may have to revisit your notes later.

Improving your study time is a great way to increase your chances of passing the contractor licensing exam. Expert preparation is another. To find out how CSLS can help you get what you need to pass the test, contact us today!