Notes

How to Improve your Note Taking & Note Making Skills

Aims of the Session

The following slides will help you to understand the basics of successful note

taking & making

At the end of the session you should be able to:

• Understand the difference between note taking and note making

• Be able to successfully take notes from an audio source• Be able to identify and highlight important parts of a piece

of text • Be able to create a concept map from highlighted notes

Before we start however, there is no right or wrong

way of taking notes!

Try to keep your notes brief and succinct.

Don’t try and write everything down. Just focus

on the important bits.

Your notes should reflect the main themes and

areas you have identified as important

You should leave out any bit of information which is not

useful to your work

Some useful questions are posed by Stella Cottrell

(2003):

• Do you really need this information? If so, which bits?

• Will you really use it? When, and how?

• Have you noted similar information already?

• What questions do you want to answer with this information?”

Cottrell S. (2003) The study skills handbook. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave

Macmillan

Note Taking and Note Making

Note TAKING and note MAKING are two different things….

They refer to two different processes in using notes for study

The next 2 slides will explain the differences

Note TAKING

This process involves taking notes from general speech

(lectures, videos, audio tapes and dictation) and

writing them down as the person speaks

The note taker has less control of this process as

you are dependent on being able to decipher,

interpret and write down what is said

This process is also done at someone else’s pace –

not at your own!

Note MAKING

This involves reorganising your

thoughts and ideas and putting them into your

own words

Note making is usually something you do after

the event eg. after a lecture you may rewrite the notes you made in

class.

It also refers to when you make notes from

another source eg. when you make notes from a textbook or a website

This process allows more control for the student as you can do it in your

own time

Reasons for Note Taking & Making

1. To engage/interact with the material being studied

2. To assist in writing essays and assignments

3. To formulate ideas

4. To remember and make sense of material

5. For revision purposes

6. For reviewing and reformulating ideas

7. Enables you to avoid unintentional plagiarism

Only write on one side of paper, double space the lines and leave plenty of space (you can then add points later)

Write source

references and

page numbers

in the margin

Leave out unnecessary words (and, a, the)

Use arrows to link

information and to show connections

Post-It notes

are excellent

for bringing

specific facts

to your

attention

Use bold or different

coloured letters to highlight

words and phrases you do

not understand

Note Styles

There are many different styles of

note taking and making that you

can use

It is entirely your personal preference and you may use a

combination of more than one type

Some types may suit visual learners better, whilst some

may suit audio or kinaesthetic learners

So experiment until you find a type of note taking/making

that works best for you!

We will look at 4 of the best known types next….

Linear NotesTaking notes in a linear or sequential fashion is probably the most common way of laying out your notes. A wide left-hand margin is used so that you can add material at a later date.

Advantages

• Conventional, as it is similar to other writings such as essays and reports

• Organises material effectively• Neat• Chronological, as it should reflect

logically the argument and points made in the order they were made

Concept MapsThis method can also be known as mind maps or brain patterns. It is a way of organising your notes using images, colours, symbols, arrows and capital letters. It helps to convey meaning by showing the relationship between concepts and highlighting important points. Using concept maps can help you to think creatively and is especially good for visual learners.

Advantages

• Using images and colour can stimulate the mind and aid memory

• Limited use of words leads to conciseness

• New ideas and information can easily be inserted

• It promotes the free flow of ideas by being open-ended

• Revision is made easier as their uniqueness aids recall

Four Quarter MethodThis is where you divide your pages into quarters, each quarter representing a 15 minute slot of an hour lecture. Psychologically and visually this is a satisfying method, since you are always aware of just how far into the lesson you are. Furthermore, because space is limited, it encourages you to use abbreviations and key words. Once the notes have been written they will become a user-friendly and efficient tool for revision as all the information you want is written on just one side of paper.

Advantages

• Encourages interactive note taking

• Encourages you to be concise and brief

• Psychologically encouraging as it helps keep concentration throughout a lecture

1st Quarter 15 mins 2nd Quarter 15 mins

3rd Quarter 15 mins 4th Quarter 15 mins

The Two Column Method

This method is also known as the Cornell method. You divide the paper into two columns:1. The left hand column is smaller and is used to record the main

points/keywords2. The right hand column is larger and is used for taking notes and

expanding on your keywords.

Advantages

• It can be used as a useful study aid. Simply cover up the right hand column and see if you can recall the information using the keyword prompts

• It is efficient and encourages you to think about your subject in more detail

• Creates efficient study sheets

Using Highlighters

You can use highlighters to identify and highlight key terms and phrases in a piece of text

This allows you to be an active learner. This is much more effective than simply reading a piece

of text as you then have the danger you will glaze over and miss the important parts!

Active learning will help you to remember and retain the information much more successfully

Congratulations!

You have now completed your Study Skills session on Notes