organization | Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News

By: Seng Nhkum

School starts at Pre-K all the way to 12th grade or later on to college etc. Elementary school and middle school may not be as important, but in high school it’s important to stay organized. These are my 3 reasons why I think it’s important.

First, it’s important to stay organized because more students have said when they are organized for school they have better grades. You can stay organized for school by using a planner to keep track of all the homework you need to do and the assignments you have to submit. This prevents you from forgetting to submit assignments you have to do, and it helps improve your academic performance.

Second, it’s important to stay organized for school because you can manage your time better. Managing your time helps a lot in school because I personally lose track of time, and I always procrastinate homework. So, when I actually manage my time it helps a lot because I have an alarm time set for how long I should do my homework. I no longer need to stay up to finish homework I procrastinated over.

Lastly, it’s important to stay organized in school because it reduces stress. High school can be stressful especially when there are lots of assignments you have to do, and having your backpack and desk organized and clean helps reduce stress. Most students find that a clean environment helps reduce their stress, and gives them a clear mind in school.

Overall, why is it important to stay organized? Because it improves your academic performance, time management, and stress. Also, start staying organized for school when you’re a freshman, so you can continue this good habit.

“Organize, don’t agonize.” -Nancy Pelosi.

As high school students, we need to take notes in class everyday, especially in math, science, and history. I find myself so confused when looking back at notes to study for exams, hunting through a mass of information using the typical bullet point format for notes. That is why I would recommend every single student to make use of Cornell notes! This style of note taking makes it easier to organize and distinguish certain information from one another under a single topic. Just take a peek at the left hand column and you would be able to identify the topic you’re searching for. Not only does the spacing makes your notes look clean, but it can also be personalized to your own liking.

Cornell notes are very efficient, so why aren’t more people wanting to use it? Well, it could be the fact that some people are too lazy to make two simple lines on their piece of paper, or possibly traumatized by teachers forcing them to

take notes this way. All that you would really need to draw is one horizontal line on the first line of the paper to separate the notes from the main title, and then a vertical line about 2 inches from the left side of the paper. To make it more interesting, you could also try creating dotted lines, curvy swirls, or funky waves to separate out the sections. This left section of the paper is used to list different smaller headings related to the main topic. When taking notes on a story, I would often times just label the headings based the name of chapters, or the headings they have already provided for you.

Try playing around with different fonts, or use a wide range of colored pens to differentiate between the headings. Nothing could ever go wrong with being so colorful! According to FastCompany.com, color coding your notes can make you a more efficient thinker. Not only does it help you map out your mind, but it also stimulates your inner creativity. Colors will make your notes come alive, compared to looking at monotonous granite text and scribbles on the infinite bright blue lines. However, you should not go overboard with this, for these will be notes so you can study, and not become distracted by your extreme art expressions

Here is how you should take Cornell notes:

First of all, it is most important to always write your name and date on the upper right hand corner, just in case your paper rips out of your notebook and you lose it.
Using either a college ruled lined paper or plain white paper, draw a vertical line down the paper, about two inches wide from the left edge of the paper. You could carry around a ruler to do this, but it would work either way using any sort of straight edge too.
Next make labels by writing the title on the first line of the paper, making sure it is written in a larger font compared to your regular handwriting to distinguish between notes and titles.
On the left column section, write the different headings appropriate to the key concept to what you are taking notes on.
On the large right hand section, take brief notes corresponding to the appropriate heading. Try paraphrasing important information in your own words, based on the way you best understand things. **Remember, these are your own notes you will use to study for tests and quizzes, so make sure you know what you’re writing. This sections is also available for tiny sketches and drawings related to your topic (hence, another opportunity to unleash your beautiful artistic skills!)
After you completely finish writing your last bullet point, draw a line underneath it and label this bottom section “SUMMARY”. Write down the main ideas of what you have learned about the topic and includes some questions you still have for the teacher.