Note Taking
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UNIT 1: MAKING NOTES
Making use of your notes
Why make notes?
What styles of notes can you use?
Storing notes
How do you order notes?
UNIT 2: NOTES FROM TEXT
When do you need to take notes from the text?
How should you take notes from text?
What should notes from text include?
Notes from math's and science texts
UNIT 3: NOTES FROM SPEECH
When do you need to take notes from speech?
Why do you need to take notes from speech?
What are your notes like?
Getting the most out of lectures and talks
Introduction
During your studies at Bournemouth University you will find it
necessary to take notes from a variety of sources.
Notes may be taken from texts, such as books and journals, at lectures
and seminars or from audio or visual media.
Whilst note making is an important part of your learning process
at University it is likely that you will be asked to collect and
retain information later in your career. This means that the note
making skills you establish and develop now are 'transferable' or
'life skills' which you will use beyond your studies at Bournemouth
University. Therefore the aim of this booklet is not only to help
you with note making at University but also to prepare you for the
workplace.
'Note-taking' is part of a range of student managed learning materials
designed to help you to improve your skills by learning actively.
The booklet is divided into units and further subdivided into numbered
sections. You will notice that the format of the booklet is not
continuous text. At regular intervals you will be asked to complete
exercises and answer self-assessment questions.
These tasks are designed to assist your learning, so if you do
not complete the exercises or answer the questions you will not
gain fully from the experience. You will also find activities, offering
you an opportunity to apply the techniques to your own situation,
and suggestions for further reading.
UNIT 1: Making notes
Use this unit to help you:
- decide why you need notes
- identify ways of using your notes
- compare different styles of making notes
- evaluate different ways to store notes
- identify ways of ordering information
Introduction
We often make notes in our daily lives, usually to use as lists
or reminders. At University you will be taking notes from a variety
of sources, for example books, journals, lectures and seminars. Although
you own notes are private and personal, and therefore differ from
other's notes, an analysis of the techniques involved in note making
will be useful to you.
Making use of your notes
When are you likely to find your notes useful in the future?
Try to think of two ways you might make use of notes later in
your learning.
After you have thought of a few of your own answers you can
find some suggested answers here.
Notes taken from any source are usually intended for future use
It is therefore important to make sure they are legible.
Immediately after you have made your notes you may wish to read
them again to check that you have understood the main points
and to check whether you have missed anything revise them, particularly
if you have had to write them in a hurry add them to a folder
of work for your next assignment store them for future reference,
revision etc discard them - if you feel they will not be useful
in the future, don't clog up your systems
Why make notes?
Making notes is an important part of the learning process
because you are actively involved. Think about one or two ways
in which making notes can help with your learning. Think of
ways notes can help and if it helps write them down.
After you have thought of a few of your own answers you can
find some suggested answers here.
What styles of notes can you use?
We have suggested that you will take notes on different
occasions for different reasons. It follows that you may well
need to adopt different styles of notes in different situations.
There is no one best method for making notes, although an outline
of your reading or lecture is probably easier to create than
a summary. Summaries are written in continuous prose and simply
condense the original material. However outlines focus on the
essential points. Outlines also look different to summaries,
as you will see in the following examples which show two distinct
styles of outline notes.
Example 1: Listed notes
Why make notes?
1. Notes help:
- remember
- summarise
- plan
- reorganise
- highlight
- concentrate
2. Use when:
- watching demonstrations
- listening to talks
- reading books, papers.
- listening to radio
- watching TV programs
- discussing with others
Go to this page for some advantages
and disadvantages of note styles:
Storing notes
Before you store your notes label them to allow easy access
in the future. You can do this by:
- giving a clear heading
- noting the date
- describing where you took the notes from.
- How do you store your notes now? and write down one thing you
like about this way.
After you have thought of a few of your own answers you can
find some suggested answers here.
How do you order notes?
Everyone has their own way of arranging or ordering notes. The
commonest methods are:
- chronological ordering - by the date on which you make the notes
- alphabetical ordering - A - Z
- numerical - using some system of reference numbers (for example
you might number your main topics or units 1 - 6, and number your
notes within each topic 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 etc)
- conceptual - by topic or subject
Look at your notes. What method do you use? Have you arranged
them in a way that makes it easy for you to find what you want?
Many people find it most useful to combine ways of classifying
notes. Whatever method of ordering you use, the important questions
are:
- Is it easy to decide where to put new notes in your system?
If not, you may need to think about using different categories.
- Is it easy to work out where you put your notes at a later stage?
If some of your categories are not clear, then you may find you
filed something in an unexpected place.
- Can you find things quickly within each category? There is sometimes
a risk that each category can get too bulky to be manageable.
If this happens, you can always split a category into a number
of smaller ones.
- Is your system flexible enough for you to be able to update
it? You may find that the initial categories you choose are not
the best, in which case you can always change.
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UNIT 2: Notes from text
Use this unit to help you:
- decide when you need to take notes from text
- evaluate notes you take from text
- ensure that your notes from text contain the key points
- take notes for math's and science courses
Introduction
If you own your own textbooks or journals you may prefer
to 'mark' these texts by underlining and writing in the margins.
However students often wish to resell books or rely on the library
for supplementary material. In these cases efficient and effective
note-making skills are essential.
When do you
need to take notes from the text?
During your learning you may well read a wide range of texts,
such as:
- textbooks
- reports
- handouts
- tables
- journals
- encyclopedias
- manuals
- syllabuses
Make sure the text you select contains the appropriate material
for your notes. For example textbooks can be `surveyed' by following
this six step method:
- Read the title
- Read the table of contents
- Skim over the introductory material chapters
- Look at the first and last chapters
- Read the first paragraph of the other
- Look for an index or glossary
You may even like to make a brief review of any text you think
might be useful for future notes.
When might it be useful for you to take notes from what you
read? Note down one or two reasons.
After you have thought of a few of your own answers you can
find some suggested answers here.
How should you take notes from text?
One specific point that may be important when taking notes from text is this:
- When should you use your own words for your notes?
- On which occasions should you take a direct quotation?
Think about an example of each:
After you have thought of a few of your own answers Click
here for some suggested answers
Notes as a memory aid
Few people realise how difficult it is to listen to someone
speaking. You can never retain and remember everything that
has been said. At the time you often think you can, but very
soon after the speaker has finished, much of what they have
said will be lost.
Notes as an aid to concentration
Even the most motivated learner can switch off or become
distracted when someone is speaking. Taking notes makes you
actively involved with what is being said, which makes you try
to understand and extract meaning as you go along. This also
helps you to retain and retrieve the information, as does the
physical act of writing, which helps to embed information into
your memory.
What are your notes like?
Assess your note taking skills. Look through an example
of notes you took recently from speech and check whether they
are:
- brief - to remind you, not a blow-by-blow account
- clear - you need to be able to look for a specific point if necessary
- easy to read
- easy to understand
- organised in the way you learn
- relevant - it is no good making a note of all the anecdotes
and trivia, but not knowing what the main points were.
Getting the most out of lectures and talks
Here are some suggestions that might help you to get more
out of lectures and talks. Add any other ideas you have or any
methods you have found successful in the past:
A. You can prepare yourself before the lecture or talk:
Be familiar with the topic. Read as much as you can in advance.
This will make the lecture easier to understand and help you
to recognise the main points.
- Make sure you understand and can define the common terms and
specialised vocabulary of your subject
- Devise a system of abbreviations, these can be:
Standard:
greater than < because equals =
less than > therefore compare cf
and & or + that is i.e. for example e.g.
does not equal , is different from \= and the rest etc
remember NB
Your own creation
You can create your own abbreviations for terms in your
subject area. However remember to be consistent and make sure
the abbreviation is obvious enough for you to remember what
it means when you go back to your notes at a later date.
Sit where you can see and hear the speaker
Make a note of:
- the subject/title of the talk/lecture
- the lecturer or speaker's name
- the date
What should notes from text include?
When you take notes from the text always:
1. Check the text is relevant
2. Make a note about what you will use the notes for
3. Write down the reference for the text, including:
• title
• publisher
• author
• place and date of publication
If you borrowed it from a library, write the classification
number and name of the library in case you want it again.
4. Write in a way you will find easy to use and understand
later. You could include:
• chapter heading
• page reference
5. Arrange your notes in a logical order for your use, e.g. on
cards with topic and possible use at the top.
Perhaps the most common problem with note-taking is deciding
what to include and what to leave out. Although it is easier
to take notes from a book rather than a lecture, because you
have more time, there is a danger that you will take too many
notes. Therefore keep to the essentials, which may include:
- important points
- key ideas
- relevant supporting detail
- author's line of argument
- quotations, in inverted commas
- your interpretation of what the author has said
- your reaction to the authors ideas
You may find that writing your notes after you have closed
the book lets you know whether you have grasped the main elements
of the material. Also, to help your understanding, note definitions
of concepts or common words in your subject area; perhaps compile
your own glossary.
Notes from maths and science texts
It is likely that you will take more notes from maths and
science text books than for other subjects. Your notes in these
areas should include:
- definitions of symbols and vocabulary used in your subject area
- rules, laws and theorems
- problem solving strategies
You can keep all of these details on index cards so you can
refer back to them. You may also want to keep notes of examples
of the problems you find in the text and the steps you took
in order to solve them. Mathematical and scientific notes should
be well ordered, for example = signs should be directly below
each other to avoid confusion
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UNIT 3: Notes from Speech
Use this unit to help you:
- decide when you should take notes from speech
- examine the effectiveness of what you do at present
- recognise ways to get the most out of lectures and talks
Introduction
Because your time is limited when you take notes from speech
it is important to cultivate a note-taking style that helps
you to recognise the key points and get down the main ideas.
When do you need
to take notes from speech?
Begin by noting down here two examples of occasions when
you learn by listening
After you have thought of a few of your own answers you can
find some suggested answers
here.
B. During the lecture or talk
- Listen for the structure and purpose of the lecture during the
introduction
- Try to work out a plan. Some speakers are very good at giving
you a structure, telling you how many points there are, etc. Some
will give you an outline, perhaps on an overhead projector or
handout, that you can add your own notes to.
- If you are not given a clear structure listen for clues during
the lecture, for example pauses, changes of tone in the speaker's
voice or signpost phrases
such as:
"Today I want to talk about..................."
"I'm going to point out three................"
"Another example is............................."
"Now we'll move on to.........................."
- Number all the different points in your notes
- Differentiate fact from fiction
Note your own questions and contradictions but indicate they are
YOURS and not the speaker's
- If you lose concentration make a note so you can fill in the
gap afterwards
- Don't be afraid to ask questions
- Make a note of any further reading that is recommended
Ideas
C. After the lecture
- Read and revise note within 24 hours - psychologists have discovered
you keep it in your mind longer and it is easier to relearn later.
- If you do not understand part of what you have written clarify
it with other students
- If none of you have understood, check with the speaker!
- Re-read your notes from time to time, to aid your learning.
Your ideas
Finally, if you have taken down about a third of what you hear
you will have plenty of material to work from. However the quality,
in terms of selecting appropriate material, is more important
than the amount.
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