When it comes to notes, I'm usually a bullet-pointer. It's easy and effective for me, and I highlight stuff that is important. It may not be pretty (in fact, it's not pretty at all), but it works. It, however, isn't that great for math notes.

The first math teacher I had (last semester) gave us the tip of numbering our note pages, but since his teaching style was so disorganized it didn't help much. I've taken that advice into account this time, and researched a few ways to write notes, but found something that blended my bullet-point style with math.

First, set aside a few pages to create a Table of Contents.
This will help you later when you are studying and are trying to figure out what the heck you are supposed to study without flipping through a million pages.

Formulas on the left, Table of Contents on the right. I had screwed up the order but it still works.

I update this page with important page info, like Chapter Titles and the pages they are on, or where something specific is. It's an ongoing list! If you end up not using a few pages, tear them out for scratch paper later.

Next, set aside a few pages for Formulas and other important notes.
I write down all the formulas I encounter on these pages and what they are for. I then mark "Formulas" on the Table of Contents as the first few pages, with Formulas being the first page.

I keep a list of Formulas for easy reference at the front of my notebook!

I also have a page where I marked perfect squares and cubes, like an easy reference guide you see on the back of Pee Chees.

I bold and highlight each Chapter and Section.
I also mark them in the table of contents.

Left hand side has the work, right hand side has the explanation with important bits highlighted. Note the page numbers at the top!

Even though I note them in Table of Contents, if I am flipping through the notes, the Chapter and Sections will catch my eye. It also helps them stand out from the rest of my scribble-scrabble.
 
I write down definitions under the Chapter and Sections.
We are never quizzed on them, but it helps to know what is what. I don't usually mark these in the Table of Contents.

My previous teacher quizzed us on definitions, so now I'm a bit paranoid about knowing them. I note them and read them over, which actually does help with figuring out examples.

When showing examples, I do the work on one side and explain what I am doing step by step on the other.
Even if I always remember the order of operations, or to FOIL, or whatever, I always spell it out because I know when I go back to these notes later, I'm going to spend forever trying to figure out what I did where. This will save me time when I am reviewing before a test.

Here's the basic template without my messy handwriting! I don't color-code my notes like this, but you can if you want to.

The book doesn't do a good job in explaining each step. I think it assumes that I understand what its talking about, which can hinder my progress because 1) half the stuff they talk about is from Beginning Algebra which I took in 2002, which I don't remember much of, and 2) they over explain some steps and don't explain others at all.

"Dumbing it down" in notes may seem a little extra, but during review time, as I said, it's a life-saver!

That's it!
As you can see, this is rather utilitarian. There's no fancy colors or zentangles or coding system (all those colors will make my ADD mind go nuts anyway). Just the facts and explanations in an easy to find format. The only other way I think to make my notes better would have been to do them on graph paper. However, since I put all my classes in one notebook so I wouldn't lose any of them like I did last semester, I have to do with plain lined paper.

How do you organize your class notes? Are there any tips or tricks that you use that I haven't mentioned here?