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Unit 6 - Note-making Methods

Objectives

- Importance of making notes (HUST_LMS & F2F)

- How to make notes effectively (F2F)

- Using methods of note-making (HUST_LMS)

6.1. Why making notes? (f2f)

(University of Leicester, 2017)

Notes are a permanent record of information that will help you prepare for seminars,
presentations, assignments, and examinations.

Note-making helps you concentrate on what you are reading, watching, or hearing;
it helps you to understand new information and new ideas; noting things down in your
own words helps to place them in your long-term memory.

Effective note-making is a key academic skill; it is invaluable in helping you avoid

plagiarism and study more efficiently.

6.2. How to make effective notes (f2f)

Task 6.1. Read Text 6.2., highlight and annotate it.

How to take effective notes

(University of Leeds, 2021)
Many of us struggle to make notes that are meaningful when we need to refer to
them. You need to adapt strategies that work for you to help you take and make
effective notes.
Prepare yourself

To take effective notes, you should prepare for the lecture or reading. You should think
about what you want to know, what the lecture or material is about, and how it is
relevant to your own work.
If you are preparing for a lecture, you can start by reading your module handbook to
find out what the lecture will be about and what the learning outcomes are. Make
sure that you familiarize yourself with new ideas, terms or language by consulting

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recommended texts. Your tutor may have recommended some preparatory reading,
and Wikipedia can also be helpful for an overview of unfamiliar topics. Consider how
the lecture material relates to your assignments and identify the key points that you
need to note down.
It might also help to review your notes from previous lectures so you can make
connections between each lecture.
If you are preparing to read texts, ask yourself what you need to get from your reading.
Do you need an overview, case studies and examples, definitions, or ideas and
evidence to support your own argument?
The purpose of your reading will influence your reading technique as well as the way
you take notes.
Tips for making notes from lectures

Be ready to listen actively during a lecture. Pay particular attention at the beginning
and end of lectures, as this is where the lecturer will set out and then summarise the
main points.
Don't try to write everything that is said. Listen for key words and phrases, like “there
are three main causes of…” or “on the other hand…” to help you identify key ideas.
Listen out for references to other sources that you may wish to follow up.
Most lectures are recorded using lecture capture technology. Watching the lecture
again can help you fill in any gaps in your notes.
Find out more about using lecture recordings for note making.
Microsoft OneNote is great for annotating lecture materials on your tablet or laptop,
with a stylus you can even convert scribbled notes into digital text. OneNote can be
downloaded for free as part of the student advantage Office 365 pack.
Tips for making notes from reading

There are three main strategies you can use when reading for university:
• Scan for key information such as statistics, dates, facts and keywords
• Skim the introduction, conclusion, and the beginning and end of
paragraphs to get the main idea and a general overview of the text
• Read carefully, slowly, and possibly repetitively to interrogate the text and
raise questions.

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If you are scanning the text, highlight the text and note down the key information and
full details of the source.
Only highlight what you need. Highlighting too much is a waste of your time as when
you go back you will have no idea why you highlighted those sections.
If you are skimming the text, then you should highlight key parts and also annotate
the text. A good annotation will include keywords, ask questions, and include related
ideas and comparisons with other texts. Use the annotations to help you make more
detailed notes that summarise the main ideas.
Spreeder is an online tool for skim reading text, allowing you to adjust the number of
words presented and reading speed. It helps to keep your place in the text.
Critical in-depth reading requires detailed notes. You need to concentrate, ask
questions of the text, and make critical comments to assess and evaluate the ideas
and evidence.
When making detailed notes you still need to be selective and ask questions to help
you think critically. See our critical reading guide for more information.

6.3. Types of note-making methods (HUST_LMS) ONLY FOR SELF-STUDYING

There are different ways in which you can make notes, and each has its advantages
and disadvantages. There is no right or wrong way to make notes, but, as above,
there is good and bad practice. Thus, it’s worthwhile experimenting with different
styles to see which work best for you and are best for the subject you’re studying, and
the activity you’re engaged in lectures, reading, revising, preparing an assignment,
etc. Alternatively, you might choose to create different styles of your own, using the
best features of the following note types:

- Note type 1: Linear notes

- Note type 2: Mind-map notes
- Note-type 3: Cornell notes

The Cornell Method

(Cornell University-Learning Strategies Center, 2017)

What and how to do:

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(Adapted from How to Study in College 7/e by Walter Pauk, 2001 Houghton Mifflin
Company)

There are five steps in the Cornell method of taking notes, as follows:

(1). Record: During reading a text or listening to a lecture, use the note-taking
column to record the key words of the text or lecture using telegraphic sentences.

(2). Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on the
notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify meanings, reveal
relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory. Also, the writing of
questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying later.

(3). Recite: Cover the note-taking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the
questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own
words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words.

(4). Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example:
“What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on? How can
I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know? What’s beyond them?

(5). Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes.
If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the later revision.

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Example:

(AVID Tutorial Support Activity Guide, 2018)

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Task 6.2. Note-taking Practice

Select ONE source of the references for your group presentation and use the Cornell
method to make notes. Write your answers in the space provided below.

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Task 6.3. Note-taking Practice

Select ONE source of the references for your group presentation and use the mind-
mapping method to make notes. Write your answers in the space provided below.

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References

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References

AVID Tutorial Support Activity Guide, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018 from

http://imgus.me/img/

Cornell University-Learning Strategies Center. (2017). The Cornell Note Taking

System. Retrieved October 10, 2017 from http://lsc.cornell.edu/study-

skills/cornell-note-taking-system/.

University of Leeds. (2021). Note-making techniques. Retrieved

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/85/note_making/3.

Preparation for Unit 7 – Teamwork (1)

Do activities in Unit 7 in f2f and on LMS classes.

“Introduction to BA. in English for Science and Technology”

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