Note-Taking on the MCAT: Strategies That Quietly Slow You Down

What if the “helpful” note-taking habit you are proud of is the exact reason you keep missing the timing on every MCAT section?

Let me be blunt: most premeds are doing note-taking on the MCAT in a way that quietly kills their score. It feels productive. It feels organized. It feels “studious.” And it’s absolutely the wrong move once the clock is running.

You do not lose five minutes at once. You lose four seconds here, nine seconds there, fifteen seconds rewriting something you will never look at again. Death by pencil.

This is how it happens.

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The Big Lie: “Good Students Take Lots of Notes”

You were trained for 15+ years that “real” academic work looks like:

• Underlining key phrases
• Rewriting definitions
• Making margin notes
• Creating mini-outlines on the fly

That works (sort of) in lecture-based classes, where time is flexible and you’re rewarded for recall and regurgitation.

The MCAT is not that. The MCAT is a timed reasoning exam. The game is different, and the habits that helped you in undergrad can quietly destroy you here.

The most common lie I hear:
“I take notes because it helps me focus.”

No. For most students, they are scribbling because they are anxious. The pencil becomes a security blanket. Writing gives the illusion of control while the passage clock keeps bleeding.

And the worst part? You do not notice the cost in the moment. The passage still gets done. The section still finishes. But your accuracy plummets or you race through the last questions with garbage time management and blame “hard passages.”

The culprit was your pen the entire time.

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Hidden Time Sink #1: Transcribing the Passage

This is the most common and most damaging mistake: treating the passage like a dictation exercise.

You know the move. You read:

“Researchers analyzed the effect of Enzyme X on substrate Y in the presence of inhibitor Z at three pH levels…”

And your scratch paper ends up with:

• Enz X + Sub Y
• Inhib Z
• pH: 5, 7, 9
• Rate ↑ at pH 7 with EnzX, ↓ with InhibZ

You have literally rewritten a simplified version of what is already on the screen.

Here is what you think you’re gaining:

• “I’ll remember it better if I write it”
• “It will be easier to refer to later”
• “I’m building a map of the passage”

Here is what you are actually doing:

• Spending 20–40 seconds per passage on duplicate information
• Shifting attention away from structure and main idea
• Convincing yourself you “understand” because the page looks neat

On a 59-question science section, that can easily add up to 5–7 minutes wasted. That is an entire passage and question set.

Let me be precise: If your scratch paper looks like mini-lecture notes, you are doing it wrong.

What should you write instead? Only what is:

• Not already visible on-screen
• Directly helpful to answer multiple questions
• Easy to misremember or confuse later (e.g., flipped relationships, multiple conditions)

If you are copying more than 1–2 short symbols or phrases per paragraph, you are not note-taking. You’re stalling.

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Hidden Time Sink #2: Drawing Every Single Diagram

Some diagrams are gold. Most are vanity.

I have watched students in CARS draw:

• Full family trees for a single example in a humanities passage
• Timeline charts of historical events that the author only mentions once
• Flow diagrams of “author’s argument” that look like a philosophy textbook

In science passages, they proudly sketch:

• Every step of a metabolic pathway that is already provided in a figure
• Perfectly labeled circuit diagrams that match the figure exactly
• Graphs that are basically clones of the screen, just uglier

Here is the problem: the MCAT already gives you diagrams. Once you redraw them, you now have to remember both your version and theirs. And you still must look back at the screen to answer the questions correctly.

So you just paid a time penalty and got no clarity in return.

A good rule: if the information is stable, clear, and easy to re-check quickly on the screen, you probably do not need to reproduce it on paper.

When DO you sketch?

• When the question is forcing you to mentally integrate multiple pieces that are not shown together (e.g., two different figures + a new hypothetical scenario)
• When you must track multiple conditional cases systematically (e.g., genotypes/phenotypes across generations, logic of parallel circuits with multiple branches)
• When you struggle consistently with a specific visual skill (like rotations in physics) and a simple diagram makes your accuracy jump

Even then, your drawing should be ugly and minimal. Straight lines, shorthand labels, no arrows you do not strictly need.

If your diagrams could be used as teaching aids, you drew too much.

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Hidden Time Sink #3: Turning CARS into an English Essay

CARS is where bad note-taking goes to really sabotage you.

The classic errors:

• Underlining multiple sentences in every paragraph
• Writing micro-summaries in the margin for each paragraph (“P1: Intro to argument,” “P2: Author challenges conventional view”)
• Marking up every rhetorical flourish like you are in an AP English class looking for symbolism

That might feel sophisticated. It is not. It is slow and mostly cosmetic.

The MCAT does not care whether you can annotate like a literature major. It cares whether you understand:

• The main point
• The author’s tone and attitude
• The structure of the argument
• How specific examples support or oppose claims

You do not need elaborate notes to do that.

A faster, cleaner way: focus on mental summaries, with only occasional marks.

What you should avoid:

• Stopping at the end of every paragraph to write a summary sentence
• Circling every “however,” “thus,” and “therefore” like it’s a game
• Taking notes “just in case” there is a question about that detail

What you can do instead:

• Very quickly bracket major contrast / shift points if they are easy to lose
• Jot 2–3 words max if the passage structure is complex and you tend to get lost (“old view,” “new view,” “counterargument”)
• Keep your pen still while you read, unless your eyes truly need a visual anchor

If your CARS timing is consistently tight, there is a high chance you are over-marking. You think you have a comprehension problem. You actually have a pencil problem.

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Hidden Time Sink #4: Writing Out Full Calculations

Another quiet killer: doing math like you are in a classroom, not a high-speed exam.

Common math note-taking sins:

• Writing every single algebra step, even for trivial manipulations
• Rewriting the entire equation from the passage before using it
• Calculating precisely when an estimate would be sufficient to pick the right answer
• Doing long multiplication or division the “school” way instead of using approximations and cancellations

I have seen this in practice:

Student stares at a kinetics question. Writes:

Rate = k[A]^2[B]
Given: rate = 0.02, [A] = 0.1, [B] = 0.5
0.02 = k (0.1)^2 (0.5)
0.02 = k (0.01)(0.5)
0.02 = k (0.005)
k = 0.02 / 0.005 = (0.02 / 0.005) × (1000/1000) = 20/5 = 4

That is almost 30 seconds of writing for a question you could have done mentally:

0.1^2 = 0.01, times 0.5 = 0.005.
0.02 / 0.005 is 4. Done.

Note-taking is dragging your math speed down, not helping it.

If you cannot do any steps in your head yet, that is fine. But your training goal should be: reduce written steps over time. If you cling to full detail, you never build mental math.

A useful test: if your math work for a problem takes up more than 2–3 small lines, you probably wrote too much.

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Slow-Down Trap: Over-Organized Scratch Sheets

This one looks “disciplined” from the outside and wrecks people on timed exams.

You know you are in this trap if your scratch paper:

• Has clean section headings like “C/P Passage 3”
• Keeps neat boxes around each question’s work
• Has a “legend” or key for symbols (“↑ = increase, ↓ = decrease, ∆ = difference”) written on every page
• Shows you flipping to a new sheet just because the current one is “too messy”

You are not a court stenographer. The exam never asks you for your work. No one is grading your layout.

Every time you pause to make the scratch paper pretty, you are pulling mental resources away from the only two jobs that matter: understanding the question and choosing the correct answer fast.

Better: let your scratch work be messy but targeted. Group the work for a passage in the same region. Use quick symbols. Cross stuff out. Move on.

If you are embarrassed to show someone your scratch work, you are probably doing it right for timing.

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The Only Three Things Worth Writing Consistently

(See also: Self-Studying the MCAT: Red Flags That You Need Outside Help for more details.)

Let me reset before you misinterpret this as “never write anything.”

You should use the scratch paper. You just need it to work like a scalpel, not a security blanket.

For most students, these are the only three categories of notes worth taking on almost every passage:

1. Tracking moving parts in multi-step logic problems
   Short notations for conditions, cases, or variable relationships that are otherwise easy to mix up. Example: in genetics, a quick table of genotype vs phenotype; in circuits, equivalent resistance for each segment.

2. Quick anchoring of high-confusion information
   Very similar names (protein X1 vs X2), flipped cause-effect relationships, or unusual definitions that contradict your intuition. One tiny line: “X1 inhibits Y; X2 activates Y.”

3. Necessary intermediate math
   Only the minimal numbers and algebra you cannot reliably do in your head without error. No full rewriting of given equations unless they are heavily manipulated.

Everything else is optional, and most of it is quietly harmful.

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How to Retrain Yourself: A Concrete Drill Plan

You will not fix this by vaguely “being more aware.” Habits that have 15 years of reinforcement need direct attack.

Here is a simple, aggressive structure to break bad note-taking patterns.

MCAT Note-Taking Retraining Plan

Step	Description
Step 1	Take untimed passage with no notes
Step 2	Review accuracy
Step 3	Repeat with light notes only
Step 4	Time a single passage
Step 5	Compare timing and accuracy
Step 6	Scale to full section with new rules

(Related: MCAT Day Logistics Errors That Add Stress and Cost You Points)

Step 1: No-Notes Passages (Yes, Zero)

Pick a few practice passages (ideally from AAMC Question Packs or Section Bank). Do them untimed but with one rule: your pencil stays on the table unless math is absolutely required to get a numeric answer.

Do not write passage summaries. Do not underline. Nothing.

You will feel naked. Anxious. Slower at first. Good. That means you are facing the dependence head-on.

Then review your accuracy. You will be surprised how often your performance does not drop. For some, it actually improves, because they are finally reading instead of mechanically annotating.

Step 2: Reintroduce Only High-Value Notes

Next round: allow yourself to add only:

• Quick symbols to track moving parts (e.g., A+, A−, B+, B−)
• One- or two-word structure anchors if you get lost in CARS
• Minimal math work

Force yourself to justify each mark: “What exactly is this helping me answer?” If you cannot give a concrete reason, don’t write it.

Step 3: Time Individual Passages

Now put the clock back in, but just for single passages. Use realistic per-passage time budgets:

Section	Questions	Target Time (min)
Chem/Phys	4–7	8–9
CARS	5–7	9–10
Bio/Biochem	4–7	8–9
Psych/Soc	4–7	8–9

Run a passage with your new minimalist notes. Immediately after, reflect:

• Did I write anything I never looked at again?
• Did my notes actually help me answer a specific question faster?
• Where did I hesitate to write but did it anyway “for comfort”?

Then do the same passage again without those low-value notes. Compare time and accuracy.

Step 4: Scale to Full Sections

Only after a few rounds of this should you take full-length sections with your new rules. Write them down explicitly before you start:

• “I do not rewrite passage content.”
• “I only draw diagrams when I need to integrate information not already shown together.”
• “I keep math to bare essentials.”
• “No paragraph summaries in CARS.”

You are rebuilding your default under stress. It will feel uncomfortable. That is the point.

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Watch Out for the “But It Helps Me Focus” Excuse

The most stubborn rationalization I hear is, “But if I don’t take notes, my mind wanders.”

If that is you, let’s be honest: the notes are not the solution. They are a crutch for a different problem—poor mental stamina and low-quality engagement with the passage.

Real focus comes from:

• Reading with clear questions in mind (“What is the main claim?” “What is the experiment actually testing?”)
• Forcing yourself to predict what might come next or how the author will defend their point
• Actively connecting information to what you already know, not passively copying it down

Note-taking can coexist with that kind of engagement. But copying lines from the screen is not focus. It is busywork in disguise.

If you suspect you are using notes to stay “busy,” that is exactly where you need to cut back first.

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Where More Notes Are Actually Justified

There are edge cases. I have seen a few students who truly benefit from slightly more notation:

• Significant ADHD where a minimal physical anchor keeps eyes from drifting
• Severe anxiety that causes them to re-read the same sentence three times unless they underline one thing
• Specific learning differences that make holding multiple items in working memory genuinely tough

Even then, the key word is slightly. They still need to test, under timed conditions, how much is enough and where it crosses into self-sabotage.

And here is the hard rule: if your version of “it helps me focus” consistently leads to bad timing or last-minute guessing, it is not helping you. It is hurting you. Regardless of diagnosis, preference, or comfort.

You are not graded on how at-ease you felt during the section. Only on how many answers were correct.

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The Quiet Habit That Separates High Scorers

High scorers are not magic. They are ruthless about one thing: they do not spend time on anything that does not move their score.

That includes notes.

I have sat next to 520+ students doing practice sections. Their scratch sheets look almost boring:

• Short arrows for key variable relationships
• Tiny ratios or approximate numbers
• A quick list of conditions on a particularly confusing logic/methods question
• Maybe a single word marking a big contrast in CARS, if that

No color-coding. No miniature lecture notes. No passage outlines. Just problem-solving residue.

They did not get there by being naturally fast. They got there by aggressively pruning anything that wasted seconds without adding accuracy. Note-taking was usually the first thing on the chopping block.

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Final Warnings: What Not to Forget

If you made it this far, keep these few things burned into your brain:

1. Most MCAT note-taking is performance art, not performance improvement. If your notes duplicate what is visible on the screen, you are wasting time.
2. Pencil comfort is not the same as real focus. If your “I need to write to concentrate” habit consistently wrecks your timing, it is a crutch you must break.
3. Minimal, purpose-driven notes win: track moving parts, anchor confusing info, and support necessary math—nothing more.

Protect your time. The MCAT is already hard enough without you fighting it with one hand and writing a novel with the other.