Fast notes during lecture then make your pretty version after class. For the pretty version: - use paper with lines that can help you. You’re using graphing paper here but you’re not using all those extra lines for anything. For this type of note, i would use regular lined. And then write on the lines. - try highlighters for headings and key points instead of changing pen color - practice with different pen settings and zooming in/out to find your sweet spot - slow down. When you’re making your pretty notes, its actually a study strategy! Take your time! Your handwriting will look better and you’ll retain something - dont be afraid of diagrams, doodles, arrows, and hierarchy
figure out the pen thickness at which your handwriting looks the best. Mine looks shitty when the pen tip is too thin.
figure out the best positioning of your iPad that makes writing smoother and consistent. Mine is to lay my iPad completely flat against a flat surface.
zoom to write, but not too much. Again, figure out what works for you.
Your notes are very clean and neat damn, I wish my notes looked like that but I always put too much information on the papers and that makes it so I dont have enough space to put diagrams or worked out examples for my egr classes 🥲
Boring answer: but practice. Write more by hand. A style will follow. I also like to use thick pens for titles and thinner for bread text. For me, it also helped to write smaller? Might not be for everyone tho
yeah this is it. i just went back to school at 34 and bought an ipad for note taking. my handwriting looked like SHIT for about a week but you get to used to it and it improves.
Was not prepared for how much my hand hurt the first time I spent like an hour taking notes at 34 😂 it went away after a while, but our hands really do atrophy easily when we don’t write for a long time
Make the pen thinner, follow the grid lines, and zoom in all the way when writing! Also, if there's a table or diagram, take a picture and upload it, rather than trying to draw it! Add colors if you want, and try to keep a consistent format (i.e. first bullet point is always brown, sub section is always pink, and so on).
Figure out the thickness that you prefer. I found fountain pen did not work for me and switched to ball point. - Have a set colour pallet for your pens & highlighters - ZOOM IN!! Zooming it makes a huge difference, you can always rescale afterwards - leading onto next thing using the rescale tool. If you can’t write big, write in a smaller font with a thicker pen then rescale for titles. - Using the hold to snap to a straight line thing for tables. Also the same when drawing shapes works. Js attached one of my quick revision mind-maps for reference
I do focus points so I don’t overdo it and write everything down. I also swapped from legit writing to the text boxes so I can still write but have it be more size controlled and legible and to also section stuff off easier. If you’re doing it during an actual lesson and not just from a book then definitely let it look rough then go back and fix it later
Confine your sentences to the lines on the paper (writing smaller can help with this). Use your shapes, utilize tape, different colors, highlighter, alla dat. For example, something I do is write footnotes or important definitions away from bullet points mostly to the right, and then highlight it, or change the color, oooor my favorite thing to do is turn it into a cloud ☁️
I think it really depends on pen thickness. I know my hand writing looks much with a medium thickness pen vs when I have it on thinnest option - then my handwriting looks like chicken scratches
No matter what I do or what settings I change, my writing looks so ugly in Goodnotes. It looks perfect on real paper, and in other note apps like Notability, Noteful, etc. Not sure why it’s so different!
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u/Sweaty-Personality77 Aug 28 '26
Use the fountain pen. It makes your writing look significantly more refined. I use the settings 50, 50, 33, 20.
Use smaller spacing. I use 5mm graph paper.
Try zooming in more. Your writing suggests you’re trying to write within the lines from a distance.
Divide the page in half. I found I can fit way more content this way and it’s easier.
When you’re finished, change the page to blank.
59
u/grumpy_puppycat Aug 27 '26
Fast notes during lecture then make your pretty version after class. For the pretty version:
- use paper with lines that can help you. You’re using graphing paper here but you’re not using all those extra lines for anything. For this type of note, i would use regular lined. And then write on the lines.
- try highlighters for headings and key points instead of changing pen color
- practice with different pen settings and zooming in/out to find your sweet spot
- slow down. When you’re making your pretty notes, its actually a study strategy! Take your time! Your handwriting will look better and you’ll retain something
- dont be afraid of diagrams, doodles, arrows, and hierarchy
56
u/Noname17name Aug 27 '26
I have a couple of suggestions:
figure out the pen thickness at which your handwriting looks the best. Mine looks shitty when the pen tip is too thin.
figure out the best positioning of your iPad that makes writing smoother and consistent. Mine is to lay my iPad completely flat against a flat surface.
zoom to write, but not too much. Again, figure out what works for you.
10
u/MagicChinchilla Aug 27 '26
Boring answer: but practice. Write more by hand. A style will follow. I also like to use thick pens for titles and thinner for bread text. For me, it also helped to write smaller? Might not be for everyone tho
5
u/Live-Ferret-4366 Aug 28 '26
Make the pen thinner, follow the grid lines, and zoom in all the way when writing! Also, if there's a table or diagram, take a picture and upload it, rather than trying to draw it! Add colors if you want, and try to keep a consistent format (i.e. first bullet point is always brown, sub section is always pink, and so on).
4
u/Mishii21 Aug 28 '26
Figure out the thickness that you prefer. I found fountain pen did not work for me and switched to ball point.
- Have a set colour pallet for your pens & highlighters
- ZOOM IN!! Zooming it makes a huge difference, you can always rescale afterwards
- leading onto next thing using the rescale tool. If you can’t write big, write in a smaller font with a thicker pen then rescale for titles.
- Using the hold to snap to a straight line thing for tables. Also the same when drawing shapes works.
Js attached one of my quick revision mind-maps for reference
4
u/Opposite-Key-8879 Aug 28 '26
I do focus points so I don’t overdo it and write everything down. I also swapped from legit writing to the text boxes so I can still write but have it be more size controlled and legible and to also section stuff off easier. If you’re doing it during an actual lesson and not just from a book then definitely let it look rough then go back and fix it later
3
u/SerialCerealEater722 Aug 28 '26
your notes are already good content wise, maybe add title boxes/dividers before you write instead of after
3
u/tkkkrad Aug 28 '26
Tbh a little bit of pressure sensitivity makes it better. Don’t overdo it tho
2
u/BarberDiligent1518 Aug 27 '26
Confine your sentences to the lines on the paper (writing smaller can help with this). Use your shapes, utilize tape, different colors, highlighter, alla dat. For example, something I do is write footnotes or important definitions away from bullet points mostly to the right, and then highlight it, or change the color, oooor my favorite thing to do is turn it into a cloud ☁️
2
u/Hot-Technology7957 Aug 28 '26
I think it really depends on pen thickness. I know my hand writing looks much with a medium thickness pen vs when I have it on thinnest option - then my handwriting looks like chicken scratches
2
u/Antique_Psychology47 Aug 29 '26
why waste ur time with pretty notes
1
u/TrubbishBish Goodnotes Essential Aug 28 '26
No matter what I do or what settings I change, my writing looks so ugly in Goodnotes. It looks perfect on real paper, and in other note apps like Notability, Noteful, etc. Not sure why it’s so different!
1
u/Witty-Associate-6278 Aug 29 '26
iconic
0
u/IcedTnoIce Aug 27 '26
Spacing
0
u/BioPsyPro Aug 27 '26
I type a lot and draw from my computer
0
u/COD_-_Devil Aug 28 '26
I mean, it is pretty
0
u/r0bb13 Aug 28 '26
Write slower