LEARNING BY LISTENING

1. Determine why what the speaker is saying is important to you. If you don't have an immediate, vivid reason for
listening to a speaker, you are an unmotivated listener.

2. Remember: the responsibility for interest and understanding lies with you, not with the speaker. Learning is up to
the learner. If you simply want to sit passively and blame the speaker for your lack of success, then you're not a
serious learner.

3. If you can't hear, arrange things so you can. Move away from sources of noise-human or mechanical. Sit where
you can see the speaker easily, and where other distractions are at a minimum.

4. Listen to what the speaker is saying. Don't tune the speaker out because you don't like something about him/her or
the message. Be sure you understand something before you reject it.

cc

Making effective notes

Taking notes

MAKING EFFECTIVE NOTES

So, you're taking notes. But are you wasting your time, or are these notes going to be
'effective' notes? How useful is the information you have gathered? Are you finding that your
notes are almost as long as the article you are taking notes on? What's the etiquette on citing
someone else's work? Read on to see how to maximise the usefulness of your notes.

How do I find important points in sources of information?

How do I write my assignment without plagiarising what others have written?
How do I avoid making my summaries of information almost as long as the original source?

In this chapter we show you how to summarise the usefulness of each piece of information you have
collected in your search, how to evaluate the information you have gathered to make effective notes,
and how to use your mind map as a plan for your written assignment.

In Chapter 7 you learned how to catalogue the bibliographic details of the books, reports and articles
you gathered in your search. Now it's time to read more closely through these sources and to make
effective notes from your reading. Before you start you need to identify what parts of the book or
journal article you have collected are relevant to your topic. If this is not immediately obvious from
headings, you might need to skim read your book or article. Here's how to check for relevance
quickly.

Skim reading
For a book, go by the headings on the contents page or in the index and turn to the relevant section
in the text. Read the introduction and conclusion of each chapter and note the content. Also, check
the preface or introduction of the book which might contain a useful summary of each chapter. When
you have identified the relevant parts, read the first and last sentences of each paragraph of a
section to make you aware of the scope of the section's contents. Why the first and last sentence?
The first sentence of a paragraph is usually where the author outlines what they are going to discuss
in the paragraph. The last sentence usually links that topic to the topic of the next paragraph. If you
use this technique, be aware that what you will get is an outline of the content covered, rather than
any detailed information. Let's see how well this technique works, by looking at an example of the
first and last sentences of a paragraph in a chapter about a health grouping known as 'allied health'
and their struggle for professional status in the health system.

Second, subordination affects the autonomy of the allied health professions.... This indicates limits to
real autonomy.

From the opening sentence we might expect that the paragraph will discuss the way in
which subordination affects the autonomy of the allied health professions. From the last
sentence we could expect that this discussion will link on to a further discussion of
factors affecting autonomy. Now read the entire passage for yourself to check that the
skimming was accurate.

Second, subordination affects the autonomy of the allied health

professions. Autonomy is defined as control over one's own work, and
has been identified by Freidson (1970) as the most important feature
of professionalisation. An important question is the extent to which
allied health professionals have autonomy in delivering care to
patients. An Australian study looked at issues of dominance,
autonomy, and authority for nursing and for four allied health
professions (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology
and psychology) within the hospital setting (Kenny & Adamson 1992).
They found that allied health professionals, on average, believe that
they have professional autonomy, but that this was truer for
practitioners with more years of experience. A staggering 20 per cent
of health workers in their first year of practice did not feel able to
make recommendations on patient care to referring doctors. This
indicates limits to professional autonomy.

A factor limiting real autonomy is that, in the present hospital system,

the ultimate responsibility for the care of the patient lies with the
doctor.

(Williams, L. 1998, 'In search of profession: a sociology of allied

health' in J. Germov (ed.) Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health
Sociology, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

You can also skim read journal articles. Most articles have abstracts, which do the work for you-you
simply read the abstract which summarises the content of the article, usually in about one sentence
for each section of the article. If there is no abstract, use the skimming technique and key headings
to get a flavour of the content.

By the end of skimming you should be left with a pile of books and articles which
contain relevant information. Those which don't look promising-either because they do
not contain as much detail on the topic or because the same information is contained in
other sources-you should set aside. Before you do so, however, make a note on your
index card or computer index system of the scope of their content if you think they
might be useful for future purposes. Then return those books you aren't using currently
to the library and file the articles away. Now go back to the sources that did look
promising and read these pieces of information in more detail, starting with any
secondary sources, and make notes as you go. But before you make extensive notes it
is wise to evaluate your information.

Handy hint 21: Clearing mind clutter to focus your thoughts

and concentration

The technique of mind mapping outlined in Chapter 2 is also a

useful way to clear your mind so that you can focus more clearly on
your reading and note taking. As you are no doubt aware, you can't
just flip through academic sources of information like you would a
magazine. You need to really concentrate on the argument and
evidence presented. Mind mapping can help you to focus your
thoughts. Take a clean sheet of paper and draw a circle in the
centre. This time, write something like.
My mind today
Then quickly jot down all the individual thoughts which you will be
amazed to find 'hiding' in your brain.

Wonder if those boots will be on special in the sales

Need to go to my tute at 2 o'clock
I'd rather be at the beach
Must remember to phone Mum later for her birthday
The cat doesn't look very well today
What should we eat for dinner

Once you get these thoughts down on paper you can relax because you are no longer at risk of
forgetting them. Your brain can trust that you will come back and deal with the issues at a later time,
so they can be erased from your conscious mind-allowing you to focus on the task at hand. Keep
that mind clutter map handy, though, for any other stray thoughts that pop back in.

How to evaluate the information you find

How you evaluate your information will depend on the purpose for which it is intended but there are a
number of guidelines you should always keep in mind. As we noted in Chapter 1, it is important not
to accept the information you find on face value. You can always find information about a topic, but
turning that information into knowledge requires you to critically evaluate the source and content of
the information. The information evaluation process comprises two stages.

In the first stage of evaluation you determine the general relevance and credibility of the information
source by checking:

 The date and place of publication. Determine how up-to-date the information is and to
which country it applies.
 The publisher. Determine if it is a credible publishing house or has been produced by a
particular corporate or political organisation which may generate bias.
 The perspective of the author. Scan the contents and index pages, the references cited,
and the subheadings used to determine the author's likely perspective. Always read the
preface or introduction of a book as this often summarises the author's perspective.
 The scope of the information. Does it address who, what, where, when, and why/how?
 The academic discipline base of the information.This can be determined
sometimes directly from the title, but also by checking the preface, introduction,
 concepts and references used. This is an important criterion since a discipline-
based approach may focus on particular issues and ignore those that fall outside
the scope of the discipline. For example, a medical book on occupational health
and safety may overlook the political aspects of the topic.

Handy hint 22: Unreliable sources: radio, television and the

Internet
There are many sources of unreliable or biased information. The
way to protect yourself is to always use a number of information
sources in your work, and where possible refer to the original,
primary source of the information to ensure accuracy. By using a
number of sources you ensure you encounter varied and
alternative viewpoints and therefore avoid unintentional bias.

In general, unless it is specifically relevant, avoid relying solely on

the media for your information, particularly radio and television
programs. Tapes of radio and television programs are not easily
accessible and therefore neither is any information obtained from
them, which makes it difficult for people to easily verify your
source. Furthermore, there are many errors of fact and opinions
expressed as facts in the media (see Chapter 1).

The same caution should be applied to information obtained from

the Internet. Anyone can publish information on the Internet,
meaning there is plenty of misleading and inaccurate information
around, along with plenty of useful information. Apply the same
standards to the Internet, as you would to any other source of
information-judge it like you would an academic written source (see
Chapters 5 and 6).

The second stage of evaluating your information involves adopting an in-depth analytical approach.
Depending again on the purpose for which you require the information, you should consider the
following questions in determining the strengths and weaknesses of your information:

 What is the author's main argument or reason for producing the information?
 What kind of evidence is presented? Is it persuasive? Does the data support the conclusions
drawn or could alternative conclusions be made?
 What key concepts, explanations and/or theories are addressed?
 Is anything left out of the author's account? Are some issues neglected? What assumptions
does the author make?
 Could the author have approached the topic from another perspective? How might this have
affected our understanding?
 How does the information presented relate to the issues covered in the wider literature or to
the other information sources you have found?

Now that you have weeded out any sources lacking credibility, you have in front of you high quality
information from which to make notes.

Making the best of your notes

Reading and note-taking are closely linked. Some people take notes as they read, others like to read
first and write later. Some only highlight rather than take notes. Our first piece of advice is to avoid
How much is enough?
Students often ask how many pages of notes make a good assignment? The aim is for quality, but a
rough guide is that you should double the word count of the task in notes-that is, take 3000 words'
worth of notes for a 1500 word essay. This allows for you to condense sections and get rid of
repetition while cohesively linking your argument. When you find the same information coming out of
several sources you have either explored the full breadth of that key term, or you did not collect
enough of a breadth of information in the early stage.

Now that you have completed your note taking and evaluated your information, it is time to reference
your sources. Why don't you check out the handy hints in our Referencing module?

TOP

TAKING NOTES

What's the best way to organise all those notes you've taken? They won't be any good to you
unless you know where they came from and what they are relevant to. So, you need to work
out a 'filing system'. Here are a few simple steps on how to set this up.

Once you start detailed reading, it is time to take notes. How you go about taking notes is up to you.
Different people will use different methods. The most common and effective method is the filing
system which can be used on paper or with a computer. The main advantage of this method of note
taking is that it keeps all related material together, so you do not have to search through all of your
notes to find a point you vaguely remember noting somewhere! The filing system has three easy
steps.

Step 1.Use a computer or piece of paper and place a heading on the page indicating a key term,
concept or theory. Repeat this for all the basic parts of your essay which you identified in your essay
plan. In effect, what you are doing is making sub-plans of your essay, broken up into various points
you will cover. This is especially useful if your essay involves a complex or lengthy topic.

Sub-plans are particularly helpful when explaining and applying theories. Since theories can be
complex and confusing at first, it may be better to break down your theory content in the form of a
sub-plan. Are key words defined and referenced? Is there enough detail explaining the key aspects
of the theory? What evidence exists to support or contradict the theory? What criticism of the theory
are made by the authors? What alternative theories exist? By mapping out these sorts of questions,
you not only clarify these issues to yourself, but ensure your essay content is relevant and logically
expressed. The diagram on page 58 provides an example of the filing system of note taking.

Step 2.On another sheet of paper or page on your computer, put the heading 'bibliography' or
'references'. As you take notes, write down the details of each book and article you use and give it a
number. Then when you record your notes in each section, simply refer to the source by the number
you gave it. This saves you rummaging through your notes trying to find the details of a particular
book or article. Be sure to keep your reference list in a safe place. Instead of using a numbering
system, an alternative is to write the full reference of each book or article you use on the page on
which you take your notes.

When taking notes, you must record where you found the information. In academic essays you need
to acknowledge your information; this is called referencing. Referencing means accurately noting the
relevant bibliographic details of each source you use: names, titles, places and years of
publications,using highlighting pens in reading and note-taking. This may come as a rude shock to a
lot of you-some people may need their highlighting pens surgically removed! Why go through such
pain? Because highlighting can be one of the biggest time wasters in getting great information. Think
about it. You might feel like you've done a lot of work if you highlight words or sentences as you read,
but if all you end up with is a more colourful page, you haven't really achieved anything.

If you really must highlight, restrict it to direct quotes you want to use in your writing.
Make a note on your index card that the article/book/chapter has a useful direct quote
and note the pages. This is essential for most referencing systems which require page
numbers to be cited alongside a direct quote (see Chapter 9).

Handy hint 23: When to take direct quotes

You should only use direct quotes when:
 the original material is expressed in a powerful, innovative,
provocative or memorable way
 when it is important to provide evidence supporting your
interpretation of what that author said.

Keep direct quotes to a minimum. They should take up no more

than 10 per cent of any written work. As a general rule first try to
reword the quote in your own words and only use it as a direct
quote if it fits one of the above criteria.

If you can read without using highlighters, take notes by writing on a separate piece of paper as you
read. (Some people may be able to take these notes straight onto the computer screen instead.) The
risk in doing this is that you end up writing down nearly everything from the passage. This risk is
intensified if you write something as you go. The quick and effective way of making notes is
summarised below:

1. Skim read to determine how much of the passage is relevant to your work.
2. Take a fresh sheet of paper (or a new computer document) and write a single word or
phrase which represents the topic covered in the passage. It's best if this is one of the
keywords/phrases identified in the mind-mapping stage of your information plan (see
Chapter 2).
3. Skim through the article to get the meaning of what the author is saying.
4. Read through a small section, for example, from one sub-heading to another, or even one
paragraph, without writing anything down. Stop reading, and consider the meaning of what
the author has said.
5. In your own words, write a sentence which summarises that section. Only look back to the
passage if there are facts or technical terms you need to copy.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are through the passage.

Let's see how this system works for the passage listed above. Turn back to that example on allied
health practitioners. Read the paragraph. Imagine summarising it in one sentence. That sentence
might look something like this:

Autonomy, or control over work, for the allied health professions is limited by subordination to
medical authority in the Australian health care system (Williams, 1998).
This sentence conveys the main point of the passage and is adequate as a record.

Handy hint 24: Don't forget to springboard

Note that if your essay requires more than this general mention of
allied health professional autonomy, you could use the chapter as
a secondary source to springboard into the primary sources cited in
the passage by looking up articles on the reference list of the
chapter (see Chapter 2).

The advantage of putting each note into your own words at the time of note-taking is that you won't
need to worry about plagiarising the work of another author when it comes time to reproducing the
material. If you use the notes you have made, instead of the original work, the material has already
been paraphrased.

As you do more reading you will build up several pages of notes. You can organise these pages in
one of two ways:

1. Have a page for each keyword and when you read something of relevance to that key word note it
down on that page no matter which piece of information it comes from, but remember to note the
bibliographic details with each quote.
2.Start a new page for each information source (that is, each article or book chapter). Write the
relevant keyword at the top of each note you take. At the end cut up each note and place it into a pile
on the one topic, for example, `autonomy'.

Use whichever system suits you. The aim of the exercise is for your notes to paraphrase your
reading under convenient keyword headings, so that the compilation of your notes into a piece of
written work is an easier and quicker process.

When you are making these notes you might also record your own critical comments. Use a different
coloured pen or font type so that you can easily recognise that they are your own comments when
you come to writing up. For example:

 The conclusions of this author disagree with those of Smith, 1998.

 This author is likely to be biased in their conclusions because of their employment.
 This argument overlooks the fact that Australia is a multicultural society.
 These conclusions are not justified given the limitations of the methodology noted by the
author.

Academic reading can be difficult and requires plenty of concentration. Some authors make it even
more difficult than it needs to be by writing in a non-user-friendly style. To some extent this is
because academic disciplines use jargon, and jargon can be useful as a shorthand method of
communicating complicated concepts. However, many authors believe if they write too simply the
work may not appear 'academic'. So don't feel disheartened if it takes you a couple of attempts to get
the meaning of the passage. publishers, editions, names of journals, volume numbers and page
numbers. The 'how and why' of referencing is explained in Chapter 10 (pp. 94-113).

Step 3. As you take notes, enter them on the topic headed pages. This way you immediately
organise your notes into topics related to your essay. Grouping your notes in this way makes it easier
to cut and paste various bits of information as you begin to draft your essay. Automatically organising
your notes into distinct sections makes it easier to decide on the order of your material.

Alternatively, you can write up the notes of each section individually and then place them in essay
order.

Beware the highlight trap

Some people like to photocopy pages and highlight as they read, perhaps making brief notes in the
margin. You can use highlighting as long as this is not where your note taking ends. Sometimes you
end up with most of the page coloured by a highlighter! Avoid trying to write your first essay draft
from highlighted notes. You must take written notes because just highlighting parts of a photocopy
from an article or book is not enough. By summarising the relevant parts of what you have read you
begin to understand and remember the material. In addition, summarising your material in your own
words actually saves you time, since once you put the information in your own words you don't waste
time working out the meaning of a passage you have highlighted, every time you re-read it.

A final work of caution about highlighting is that if you copy highlighted information you
may forget it was a direct quote and fail to acknowledge it, therefore falling into the
plagiarism trap (for more information on plagiarism see Chapter 10 (pp. 95-6)).

Example: Note taking

The topic headings are an easy way for you to organise your notes
automatically as you take them. Some headings may be discarded,
revised, added or deleted as more reading is done and notes are
taken.

CLASS
Ref 2
page 5:
Karl Marx argues:
"The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas"

Note that the direct quote has been clearly identified in the notes
by using quotation marks

GENDER
Ref 1
page 23:
the sexual division of labour represents the way in which various
jobs, tasks and roles in society are divided between men and
women

The numbers (e.g. Ref 1) correspond to the reference list on a

separate page containing all the bibliographic details (such as
author, date, publisher . . . )

ETHNICITY
 Ref 3
pages 123-124:
there is not such thing as an 'ethnic'. It is derogatory and assumes
all people of an ethnic origin are the same. Many members of
ethnic groups in Australia have significantly different cultures,
religions

Paraphrased information (in your own words) should still be clearly

identified by page number and source of information

Paraphrasing
As mentioned above, most of the notes you take should be paraphrased-that is, you should
summarise the relevant information from your reading in your own words. Do not simply copy slabs,
'word for word' from books or articles you read. This is time-consuming and you may later find it
difficult to write your essay in your own words. Summarise in your own words what you have read
after finishing a section of a chapter or article (see the paraphrased information in the previous
example).

Direct quotes
Direct quotes can be used in essays to emphasise a particular point or to provide an example of
another author's perspective or theory. If you actually write down a direct quote (word for word from
the author) in your notes, ensure that you have recorded the passage exactly as you found it. Identify
the direct quote in your notes by quotation marks. Record the page number of the source. It is
important you do this in your notes so that you avoid losing marks for not showing direct quotes
because of sloppy note taking.

How many notes?

It is difficult to answer this often-asked question; the number of notes will depend on the topic, the
nature of the question and the word limit. A rule of thumb is to aim for double the word limit. So for an
essay of 2000 words, or around 10 pages, you should have 20 pages of notes. You should not have
fewer notes than the required essay word limit. In other words, do not try to expand your notes to fit
the essay length; this just results in padding the essay out, or what essay markers refer to as 'waffle'
(see Chapter 8 (pp. 76-8)). Too few notes mean you are forced to make generalisations with little
proof or detail, and your essay will be unconvincing because there is no evidence to support the
statements you make. On the other hand, if you have too many notes, your essay may be confused
and unclear because you have been unable to clearly arrange your information, and you may find it

5. Look for the speaker's pattern of organization

You can learn a lot through listening. In college, it will be a prime source of information. Unfortunately, people do
not instinctively listen well. Quite the reverse! Listening is a skill which must be developed.
If you apply the following suggestions, you will find yourself listening more effectively, both in class and out.

source of information. You can understand much better if you are able to recognize what the speaker's driving at and
how the speaker's getting there.

6. Look for the main idea or ideas of the presentation. Facts are important only as they support the speaker's points.
If you have trouble distinguishing between the important and the trivial, a friend or a tutor in the Academic Skills
Center can help you.
7. Don't let your mind wander. Your thoughts move far more rapidly than the swiftest mouth, and the urge to stray is
tempting. Your attention span can be increased, however, through deliberate effort. Continue to practice the habit of
attention and don't be discouraged by early failures.

8. Take notes while you listen. even if you recognize everything being said, jot it down, because
you won't remember it later unless you do.

Taking Notes
Hearing something once is not enough to really learn it, and that is
why note taking is so important. Clearly written, accurate notes help
to capture information for later study and review. Taking notes also
helps you to focus and learn during class time.
Taking notes in class
1. Sit close to the front of the class to minimize distractions.
2. Be prepared to keep your notes neat and organized. Use a
separate spiral-bound notebook for each subject, or use dividers in
your loose-leaf notebook to make separate sections for each
subject.
3. Begin each note taking session at the top of a fresh page. Start
by writing down the date.
4. Do not try to write down everything the teacher says, but do try to
record as many facts and ideas as you can. Mark important facts or
main ideas with an asterisk or star or underline them.
5. Use short sentences and phrases and easily remembered
abbreviations and symbols. Some commonly used abbreviations
and symbols are:

1. cf (compare)
2. ie (that is)
3. eg (for example)
4. w/ (with)
5. w/o (without)
6. &, + (and)
7. = (equals, is)
2. Write clearly, and leave lots of blank space in the left margin or
between ideas in case you need to add information later.
3. Read over your notes as soon as you can after class. If there is
anything you don't understand, ask the teacher at the next class.

Taking notes from textbooks

1. Organize your paper the same as for class notes.

1. Put the date at the top of the page.

2. Write down the name of the book and the chapter or
 section you will be taking notes from.
3. Leave space in the left margin or between ideas for your
own comments or questions.
2. Keep textbook notes separate from class notes. Use a separate
notebook or a separate section in your loose-leaf notebook.
3. Get a general idea of what the reading is about.

1. Read the introduction, headings and subheadings,

and any paragraphs that summarize the content.
2. Look at any illustrations or graphs and charts and
read the captions.
2. Go back and read the chapter or section carefully. Look for the
main ideas.
3. Try not to copy information directly from the textbook into your
notes. Instead, summarize the information in your own words. This
will help you to concentrate and learn.
4. If you do copy directly from the textbook, use quotation marks to
indicate that it is a direct quotation. Take care to copy the quotation
exactly.

5. Summarize the main ideas at the end of your notes and circle
them.