Note taking 101

CONCENTRATION

Am I making this easy on myself?

In class

Don’t write down every word

Come up with your own shorthand

Pay attention to cues: pauses, repetition, changes in delivery

Visuals: If teacher underlines it, so should you

Find the thesis

Where could it be?

-There is no golden rule for finding where a thesis statement will be located

-Multiple readings will be required

-Don’t assume. Highlighting on the first read through might not be the best idea

About Point

1. In one sentence tell what the paragraph is about.

2. Go back and find the one sentence in the text that most resembles what you said. Highlight that sentence.

Cornell Method

= More organized notes

=Allows students to quickly identify key words and concepts

=You have created your own study guide

Cornell Method Step 1

1. Record main ideas and concepts on the right side. These are general notes. Put them in your own words

2. Skip one line between ideas and several lines between topics

3. Don’t use complete sentences

Cornell Method Step 2

Review and Clarify1.Review your notes

2. Pull out key words, concepts, terms, places, dates, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and Put these in the left hand column

Cornell Method Step 3

◦ Summarize

1. Take all of the info and condense into a short summary. The summary may be in sentences or short phrases.