Charting notes

The charting method organizes notes into a table: one row for each thing being studied (a theory, a country, a product, a period) and one column for each question asked of all of them (date, key idea, strengths, weaknesses). Filling the grid forces the same questions on every item, so gaps show up as empty cells and differences show up when the eye runs down a column.

It suits material that is already a set of comparable items: schools of thought, historical periods, drug classes, competing tools. It is a poor fit for a narrative or an argument, where the order and links between ideas matter more than side-by-side facts.

When to use it

• A lecture or chapter covers several items of the same kind.
• Someone is comparing options to make a decision.
• They are studying for an exam that asks "compare and contrast".
• They ask for a chart, a table, or the charting method.