Note Taking...

Contents

Note Taking

Why bother?

Good notes can be invaluable to you for the following purposes:

Preparing for exams

Jotting down ideas

Personal reference

Revision for exams

Memory joggers

Preparing a talk/seminar presentation

Students take notes, so that they may be able to understand the subject and use these notes as a source for revision.

Each person's style of note taking varies and it really isn't something that one can be taught. However, note taking is a skill that can be improved upon with practice, and by perhaps applying different techniques.

Remember notes need to be coherent and organized

The following strategies may help you to improve or even change the way in which you usually take notes.

Remember why you are taking notes.
Record the source and date of the notes.
Be selective in what you record. Do not try to write down every word the teacher says.
Instead structure your notes: use headings. Arrange a summary of the information under a series of underlined subheadings.
Leave spaces between paragraphs for later corrections or extra examples, etc.
If writing down quotes - write down who said them, when and from what source. Be accurate.
Use abbreviations where possible. Develop a personal useful shorthand for frequently used long words. This could be symbols.
Number the points.
Use spacing and layout to make notes readable.
Use trigger words, key concepts.
Use indicators for key ideas: capitals, punctuation, highlights, brackets, etc.
Use colour to help you to retain a mental 'picture' of the page.
Star or Web diagrams can be useful for some kinds of note taking.
Sometimes it is helpful to write-up notes afterwards; if you are going to do this, it should be within 2/3 days (at the most) of taking the notes.
Amplify your class notes as often as you can by your own reading.
Use standard A4 paper with margins. Write on one side of the paper only. This will allow you to insert additional material of your own at appropriate points.
Keep all notes tidily in a hard-backed ring-binder file - well-marked with your name.