TAKING AND MAKING

EFFECTIVE NOTES
Coverage
An overview of note-taking and note-making
Defining note-taking and note-making
Why taking and making notes
Guidelines for note-taking
What to include in your notes taken
Methods of taking and making notes
Overview
Note-taking and note-making are among many
essential skills for success at college and university.
Good notes are essential for effective learning and the
development of understanding.
If you have taken time tthat you can use as you revise
for tests and exams, but you are also more likely to
have confidence in your knowledge of the topic, make
good notes, you not only have a personal resource
What is note-taking and note-making?
Note taking is the process of writing down
information from different sources such as lectures,
labs and textbook or any other reading materials.
 It involves taking a summary of what you have read or
heard, jotting down the key points, main arguments,
ideas examples and evidence to support these. It is the
first stage in making notes.
In contrast, note-making is the process of
assembling more detailed information about a whole
topic from several lectures and labs and the text books.
It involves a process of personal understanding.
It is a compilation of different notes taken from
various sources
When you make your own notes, you are learning
about the topic and so you are much more likely to
remember it.
This may sound time-consuming, yet, it is much more
efficient and effective in terms of learning than trying
to sort out lecture notes and read text books in great
haste before an important test or exam.
It provides you with a well-prepared personal resource
of information.
Why taking and making notes so important?
concentrate
remember important information
process information
clarify learning material
stay awake
keep your brain active through multi-tasking
(listening, watching, writing, paraphrasing)
have material to discuss with other students
gather material for assignments
prepare for examinations and other tests
Guidelines for note taking
concentrate on the lecture or the reading materials
Take notes consistently
Take notes selectively. DO NOT try to write down
every word.
Translate ideas into your own words
Organize notes into some sort of logical form
Be brief. Write down only the important information
and major points.
Write legibly. Notes are useless if you cannot read
them later.
Don’t be concerned with grammar and spelling.
Things to include in your notes
Pertinent information i.e. relevant information to the
matter being addressed.
Valid information.
Questions you have about things you don’t understand
and the topics that you need clarification on later.
Points to study later.
The source of information.
Ideas that you come up with during discussion in
class, points read in the text or even ideas for
upcoming test or exam.
Verbal clues from the instructor – e.g. about future
exam or future implication of the material from the
text
Note-taking strategies
The strategies/techniques employed in taking notes
from readings are not the same strategies employed in
taking notes when listening. Each of the two needs its
own strategies.
Strategies for note-taking when reading
Why do reading and note taking matter?
We have all had the experience of reading a sentence,
paragraph, or even a whole page, without being able to
remember what we have just read
There are different things needed to be done before
reading, while reading and after reading
Before reading
Make a note of the source:
You will need this information to complete your
footnotes/endnotes and references. Record the full
bibliographic details (author, date, name of
article/book/website, publisher, where published,
etc.). Making an accurate record at this point will save
you time later.
Critically survey your reading material
Look at the introduction, titles, headings and contents,
the author, date of publication, and the index. Read the
introductions, abstracts or chapter summaries first.
Briefly examine any lists of key points, dates or events.
If you are reading a textbook and it includes end of
chapter questions, review these. The questions give you a
good idea of what the chapter covers and what is
important to remember. Don’t be concerned if you can
answer only a few or none of the questions.
This technique will save you time and allow you to
quickly discard any materials that are not relevant.
After you have gained a superficial understanding of
the material, note down any questions that comes
to mind based on your survey.
Also ask yourself: What do I want to find out? What
do I think now? Why do I think this? What do I
already know?
These questions will help you focus and keep your
concentration.
Select the section to read
- Once you have decided that the material is relevant,
select the most useful sections to read in more detail.
 Have another look at the contents and headings to
help pinpoint the sections to focus on.
 If you are looking for a particular piece of information,
scan the section for the required details.
While you read
Question the writings:
- Asking questions as you read helps you focus on what
you are trying to find out.
 It’s a good idea to think of some questions before you
start reading the material in depth.
 As you become familiar with the author’s ideas and
arguments, you may think of others.
 The type of material you are reading will affect the
questions you ask.
Here are some general questions to get you started:
What is this about?
Is it a concept, an event, a theory?
How does it build on concepts /facts/theories I’ve
already learned?
Who is involved?
Who did this?
When did this happen, will it happen?
Where did this happen, will it happen?
Why did this happen, will it happen?
How did this happen, will it happen, did they do it?
What are the bare bones of the author’s argument?
What is the author’s evidence for her/his ideas?
What would I like to ask the author?
Highlighting or annotating:
- Many students report that highlighting readings
with highlighter pens or annotating the text by
writing in the margins helps them to recognize
key points and their significance.
- Just deciding what to highlight or annotate
encourages you to concentrate, ask questions
about what you are reading and develop your
own views or judgment about what you are
reading.
NOTE:
1. Highlighting and annotating are not a replacement for
making your own notes – use the items you’ve
highlighted or annotated as the basis for making notes
of the material you’ve read.
2. NEVER highlight or annotate in a book that is not
your own copy.
After reading
Revisit the questions you asked yourself
 Can you answer them?
 If you can, you’re ready to make notes, setting out the
main points as you remember them.
 If not, it may be useful to re-read the material or it may
be that the material is not relevant and you should
discard it.
Always note definitions, key words and technical
terms.
Try to write the points in your own words so that you
understand the reading.
Do not copy large chunks of the original, instead
paraphrase or summarize the important ideas.
Note any page numbers for direct quotes.
Keep direct quotes to a minimum and ensure they are
copied exactly.
In your writing, quotes are used to support your
argument, not to form the argument itself.
Leave space for your notes and comments
e.g. things that are not clear; contradictions; points of
agreement/disagreement with other readings on the
same topic; controversial statements/viewpoints
presented; whether you agree with what is being said.
Review your notes.
 After you’ve completed your notes, review them,
especially those you expect to use later for a writing
assignment or exam.
Evaluate your notes by asking yourself:
Note-taking when Listening to the Lecture
Students sometimes have difficulties when noting
from lectures.
The lecturer may speak very quickly, giving lots of new
information, while some lecturers may have an accent
that is difficult to understand.
Others may have a lecturing style that does not seem
to follow a logical order, or they may give many
examples for a particular issue, making it hard to get
down all of the details.
There are, however, many things you can do to help
yourself become a more efficient and accurate note
taker in lectures.
 These things are categorized into three stages:
1. Before the lecture
2. During the lecture and
3. After the lecture
Before the Lecture
Revise the previous lecture or tutorial
Pre-read about the topic
Check the pronunciation of any new words or
discipline-specific language when pre-readings.
Rule up pages according to your note-taking system.
This saves time in the lecture
Some ways used to take notes are:
1. The Cornell method
2. Outline method
3. Chatting method
4. Mapping method and
5. Sentence method
NOTE: Read more about methods of note taking the
handout given.
During the Lecture
Be on time and sit near the front or at a place you can
well hear.
Distinguish between main points, elaboration,
examples, repetition, ‘waffle’, restatements and new
points by:
Listening for structural cues (signpost/transition words,
introduction, body and summary stages)
 Looking for non verbal cues (facial expression , hand
and body signals)
Looking for visual cues (copy the content of any visual
aids, note references to names and sources)
Listening for phonological cues (voice change in
volume, speed, emotion and emphasis) which often
indicate important information.
Develop an abbreviation system that works for you
Use quick diagrams or graphs to summarize
information where possible
After the Lecture
Revise your lecture notes within 24 hours;
Add information that you have missed;
Expand on information that helps further, or a more
complete understanding
Summarise the whole page by writing a paragraph
summary.
Attach any handouts to your lecture notes.
These post-lecture activities help you to:
make the notes more useable for revision
test your understanding and
aid retention of the information (e.g. for recalling in
exams).
Note-making
Note-making is the process of compiling the notes you
have taken from multiple sources, lectures, readings,
etc. in an organised way.
Making notes is an important skill that will enable you
to summarise key information and focus your
thoughts from both your lectures and your readings.
It is more than just writing what has been said or
written.
It requires critical thinking and it is an interactive
activity.
Why should you make notes?
Helps you see the “big picture” of a subject.
Helps you to actively process information so that you
remember and understand it better.
Helps you to prepare for exams.
How to make notes?
Organise your material so that it makes sense for you.
For example, try to:
make links between ideas;
use punctuation (such as exclamation marks),
highlighting of certain words, underlining, capitals, etc;
organise your material visually – sometimes pictures or
diagrams are easier to remember;
write a summary page for each topic (a bit like a
contents page.
Some possible ways to make/organise notes
There are various ways to organise your notes,
however, what works for one students, may not always
work for another.
Some methods suit some learning styles better than
other.
Some common ways to make and organise notes are:
a. Summaries: using lists of bullet points
b. Tables: for clearly structured information e.g.
groupings, typologies and categories
c. Mind Maps: good for capturing a lot of information
in a visual way
d. Concept maps: same as mind map, but more
structured with less colour and no pictures
e. Timelines: for information where sequences or
events occur chronologically
e. Cause and effect diagrams: are good to map a
complex variety of contributing causes to an effect,
problem, or a particular situation or event. They can be
used, for example, to chart problems, or events, or to seek
contributing causes that result in a diagnosis.
Stages for making notes
1. Preparing for lectures and labs
Read the recommended readings before the lectures.
This will provide you with a general overview of a topic
and the areas that might be difficult to understand.
2. Taking notes from single sources such as a lecture,
lab or the text book
Record information from a particular source using a
strategy that suits you.
This will provide you with understanding of part of a
topic, making links with knowledge you already have –
building on that knowledge.
3. Reviewing lecture
Review notes made during the lectures (individually
and/or in small group) by correcting, adding to, and
summarising notes. This will aid further consolidation
and understanding of notes made during the lecture,
and provides a good basis for revision
4.Making notes i.e. assembling more detailed
information about a whole topic from several lectures
and labs and the text book.
This is done by constructing your knowledge about the
topic; identify the structure of the topic, the main points
or key ideas.
It helps in developing a network of sub-topics or parts
and the links between them until you get a sense of the
whole, and how the whole and the parts relate together
to make meaning.
5.Constructing a working synthesis, precis or summary
sheet.
Summarise or synthesise your knowledge in ways that
you can remember it.
This Provides basis for revision in preparation for
assignments and exams