How I Take Notes as an Engineering Student

This video takes you through my entire note-taking process from when the information is taught in lectures to the final exam at the end of the term. This process helps me score high grades and understand concepts really well in Engineering. In summary, I take information from my lectures, the textbook, YouTube videos, Khan Academy and other online resources, then condense them with only the necessary information into one notebook that has everything I need to know for my exams. Timestamps are as follows:

01:33 Initial Note-Taking
06:03 Know what you don’t know
06:49 Fill in the Gaps
07:34 Compile into one notebook
10:06 Practice and Active Recall

MY SOCIAL MEDIA:

ABOUT ME:
My name is Tamer Shaheen and I am a final year engineering student at the University of Waterloo. I like to make videos about university/college, engineering and personal development. Thank you so much for watching!!

[sypherop]

I take notes during class, practice exercise questions at home and compile it to a super note for exams. This doesn't require much effort and works very well.
But I loved your method as well.

[Fiddler]

Dude. I'm an Electrical Engineering student and this video really gave me some good tips and tricks. So ty

[beegbeeg]

I'm currently in my final year of mechanical engineering but I've lost my touch to study due to depression. So far, I've only barely passed my modules for my previous years. So, thank you for this video. I will update this comment in April/May and hopefully I will have passed with the best marks possible.

Update (21st November 2022): I've begun my first semester in October and I've gone through some depressive episodes due to me starting university at week 5 and the onslaught of deadlines. But I'm happy to say that I've not given up right now. I'm still fighting strong and I've realized that engineering does require intelligence to a certain degree, but a lot of grit and perseverance.

Update 2 (29th November 2022): I had a depressive episode that lasted for 3 days despite there being a group work submission on 1st December 2022. I underestimated the importance of eating the right foods, exercise and following a routine in general. I don't know how much of this episode is my fault. But if I keep thinking about that and keep beating myself over the mistakes that I've done, I'm just to going to spiral into depressive episodes far worse than this one. I'm going to try and keep moving forward and treat these failures as lessons.

Update 3 (3rd June 2023): Sorry for small delay (lol). I was able to complete everything but 2 papers. Currently preparing to write them in August and then I will receive my graduation certificate by October to November. One thing I've learned is that I need to keep trying no matter what. Even a small attempt is a win. Also, ego doesn't have any business when you learn something. It's a very hard pill that I'm still trying to swallow, but for true progress to happen you have to keep asking questions, no matter how dumb they are. Thank you guys for the encouragement, hope you all succeed with any challenge going on in your life. I will, hopefully, update this comment once in a while. I will definitely update it when I get my certificate.

FINAL UPDATE (27th October 2023): I've received my results a week ago and I'm happy to say that I got 3.75 GPA. I was hoping for a 4, but I'm very happy nonetheless. It was an already hard journey which was made even harder with my mental health problems, but I'm here now, with a huge weight of expectations taken from my shoulders. Now moving onto the next chapter and new challenges in my life, trying to beat imposter syndrome (which might be never) and getting myself a job.

Engineering was a very challenging course but it humbled me in a good way. I'm slowly starting to develop a mindset where I'm willing to try new things in life, no matter the challenge. I might stumble and struggle really hard but hopefully my memories of studying this course can provide me with some motivation to keep moving forward. I hope my story can inspire one of you out there who's going through some difficult times due to mental health issues. Trust me, it will get better, no matter how much your mind tells you it doesn't. Look out for yourself and keep doing something that gets your mind jogging everyday. If possible, keep in touch with the people close to you, eat healthy, exercise and don't be too hard on yourself if you relapse and aren't too productive. The progress of recovery will be slow but will be very noticeable in a few months time. Good luck.

[karenjara]

I’m a second year engineer student and this is how i’ve been intuitively studying since school. It really works wonders!

[swatia.s.]

I just started my engineering college ( 1st sem ) one month ago and I was really clueless on how to begin. Each person suggested me something different and I was very confused. This video gave me a clear idea and all the tips you gave sound so practical. I am going to follow this right away. Thank you so much!!

[ethantrainingyt]

Adding serious value to people’s life’s bro. Keep the posts coming!!!

[forestreee]

This is one of the few note taking videos which actually go through the actual note - taking process in a way that I can understand and implement. I have made notes on how to take notes haha. Thank you so much!

[comprehendnature]

In addition to what he said, my method is to use the word register on the back of textbook and write down the key words from the register for each chapter. Then the day before the lecture I would use dictionary and internet to understand what the words mean, what the topic is all about and what formulas are used for the coming lecture. On the lecture day I would be familiar with the subject and I would focus on understanding and my notes would be to create a mind map during lecture and add more words that explain things. Focus on understanding, fill the detail later.

[austinstevens]

Freshman majoring in Electrical Engineering. I have to say that I was steered away by a lot of the stereotypes that surround engineering students. Because of your videos I feel confident in my ability to learn the material in engineering. Thank you for all of your videos man, you opened my mind more than anyone on here. Not only are you very smart and knowledgeable, you’re also giving potential engineers very useful information. You have a sort of vibe to you that kind of sets me at ease when I think i’m not smart enough to be an engineer. I’ve been watching your videos ever since I thought engineering sounded like a cool idea and had no idea what it was about. Thank you so much for all your work

[stajix]

VERY REFRESHING TO SEE PAPER AND PEN ❤❤❤

[AnhTran-zeqb]

2 years in engineering and I wish i know this sooner. Thanks!

[ahnafanjish]

This one is an extremely valuable video. I've been following this process for a couple of years now, and it works perfectly. In simple words, it's like creating a textbook of your own - which is fun.
I wanna add another point. After compiling everything inside the notebook, and before starting the Active Recall - I prefer to draw one (or multiple if necessary) Spider Diagram - where I connect all the topics and their sub-topics accordingly. This one helps me to connect the ideas and to prepare via the AR Step without looking at the notes.

[ritebcreative]

Really great tips! I would add that the lecture shouldn't be the first time learning about the material. I look ahead in the book or watch a quick YouTube video on what will be covered that day beforehand and take notes if I have time. I've found I get more out of the lecture and will already know which concepts I have questions about

[redapples]

Thank you so much for these note taking tips! I am a first year electrical engineering student and had no idea how to properly take notes and now everything seems so clear after doing this method! Saving lives man

[OwenPritchard-wjyu]

Wow!! I am going into engineering this fall and this video has me feeling a lot more confident in my note taking ability without an iPad or a touchscreen of some sort! Very well explained and the clarification between studying for math and physics compared to memorization was distinct and well taught! Thanks!

[chiragchandnani]

I was also thinking a lot about buying an iPad for my note taking but i couldn't afford it at this moment so I thought that there couldn't be any other option to take notes during my college but luckily I found out your video and this has really given me a good idea, and has really given me a broader vision on note taking and maintaining them, thanks man. Good luck!

[mikeearls]

I am in awe of people like you...so organized and thorough. This well help you forever in your career with everything.

[outlawsyl]

Best tips are to have the same type of notebook like 3:43, ones where you can move the pages in any order, so in those you can have a bunch of messy drafts, then just organize and replace them any time. Having a big screen phone/tablet with a pen works exactly as good, but the notebook is definitely cheaper, and more accessible in sunny weather/ off the grid, etc. I usually just scan the pages to access them digitally

And the second tip, to draw any figures/devices/images that you're reading about, that really helps you to remember every part of it. For example, I drew an air conditioner 4 years ago just out of boredom while waiting in line, and it made me look up how it works to understand how to draw some parts better, it took me 10 minutes tops and I can still draw it by memory with no practice or anything.

Also, there's one tool, it's not for everyone but it's called Feather Wiki and it's like an html file that has all of the frontend done and you can just get straight to filling it out, like a personal wiki. I have way too many sources of information and I'm studying way too many fields at once and this is the only way that actually works for organizing something this messy. I'm planning to also upgrade it later when it's really huge, with an AI search tool, probably not LLM, something very strict to the book

[TRD]

Bro!! I am a Computer Science & Engineering student and I take notes a lot. The thing you said about lecturers barely giving enough time to write anything was super relatable. But because of online classes I get to record the whole class so that's not a problem for now at least. Got to learn a lot from this video. Thank you and keep it up😊

[mattragas]

I am a 3rd year BS civil engineering student and all the lessons I have stored in my mind so far are mostly messy. I am ambitious but I have poor and unorganized learning techniques so I never end up achieving my goals. I love this man! This video made me realize where to start fixing my bad study habits.