Effective Note Taking By Michael Mubaiwa Adopted from Charles Darwin University Study Skills

Note Taking • Effective note making• Effective note makers are efficient learners. Effective

note making is a skill that each person develops over time and with practice to suit their own style of working. You will find some ideas to help you start on this path in this section.

• Effective note makers:• can recognise the main ideas• know which information is relevant to their purpose• have developed a system that works for them • can keep it brief and may also use visual

diagrams/mindmaps/flowcharts

Note Taking • Effective note making• mostly use their own words (as well as specialist words) • record details of the source (bibliographic information

such as author, date etc.) • capture the ideas and thoughts that come to mind as

they listen or read. This could be how it relates to an assignment and how they might use it, questions to follow up, or critical comments.

Note Taking • In summary, here are some 'do' and 'don't' tips:• Do • Practice! Try taking brief notes from a television show you are

watching, (e.g. a news item; short documentary), or from a short magazine article.

• Translate information into your own words (paraphrase) and summarise

• Record the bibliographic details of the source • Organise notes in some form (it could be as outlines, flowcharts,

diagrams, lists, column styles) • Review your notes while the text or lecture is still fresh in your

memory. Fill in any gaps you see or further thoughts.• Try other methods to record your notes such as recording your voice

or typing on a laptop • Research note taking skills and experiment to develop a system that

works for you!

Note Taking • Don’t • Don’t try to write every word – select the major points and

important information (especially if you are taking notes in a lecture)

• Don’t write complete sentences, streamline with abbreviations and symbols, organise – leave out the small connecting words (such as was, the, this).

Making notes from texts• In most subjects, books and scholarly journals will provide

the largest source of material for your notes.• What you decide to note, and the amount of detail will

depend, to some extent, on your purpose for taking notes. However, there are some common features that you might wish to include:

• main points & relevant supporting details• topic specific terms, phrases and key words• definitions• diagrams• formulae (and their derivations if appropriate)• calculations• quotes

Note Making Techniques• There are many different ways to take and make notes and

some tools you may want to try, bearing in mind copyright issues. Thinking about how your notes can be used for revision and for writing your assignments is also important. Using abbreviations for common words will save you time so you can focus on essential ideas and information.

Note Making Techniques• Techniques• Annotation involves you adding comments to a text that

explain or critique what you have read. These can be written in the margins and may accompany words you have highlighted to identify key information. Of course, this would not be on borrowed texts!

• Diagrams are a more visual form of taking notes. They could be mind-maps, charts, tables, graphs, or perhaps a drawing to capture a process or cycle for example.

• Paraphrasing is expressing the ideas and information of others in your own words. Transforming the original source material helps you to understand it.

• Summaries are focused on the main points of the source material so they are a shorter overview.

Note Making Techniques• Tools• Pens, pencils, coloured highlighters and paper note pads

are familiar tools for hand written notes. However, there are other effective tools for recording lecture material and for making notes electronically on a computer, tablet, iPad or smartphone for example. A variety of note-taking software and mobile applications are also available.

• It can be useful to audio record lectures for later review and follow-up note making. Digital recorders are increasingly affordable and files can be transferred to a computer. Many mobile phones also enable audio recording. Mobile devices such as iPads and other tablets and smartpens are becoming popular options. Please note that you must first have the permission of the lecturer to make such digital recordings.

Note Making Techniques• Issues• Intellectual copyright is a crucial issue to consider when

recording audio or photographing presentation slides in lectures. You must have the permission of the lecturer to record these. Some lecturers may provide students with a copy of their lecture and/or presentation slides on their unit site or by request.

Note Making Techniques• Using notes for revision• Your notes are a key part of your revision strategies when

preparing for exams, or indeed, for preparing for active, informed participation in tutorials and when researching for and writing your assignments. Organising and reviewing your notes can also help you make connections between individual ideas and gain an overview of the whole subject.

Note Making Techniques• Using notes for revision• You will need to revisit and work on the notes you have taken

throughout the semester. • Organise notes in a logical way so you can find important

information quickly • Read them again, highlighting key words and ideas• Summarise your notes to help remember ideas and

information – your goal now is to minimise them to serve as a memory aid

• Consider creating mindmaps or brief outlines to summarise.• Remember, revision is best done throughout the semester,

not just when exams are scheduled. Time management is very important as your semester plan should include exam preparation and dates, supported by specific weekly plans for the week leading up to and during your exams.

Note Making Techniques• Abbreviations for making notes• Whichever note-making layout you choose to use, you may

find it useful to use abbreviations and shortened versions of commonly used words. This will help you save time with writing so that you can concentrate on noting the essential points or ideas. Some common abbreviations are listed below.

Note Making TechniquesNote making abbreviations About, regarding, concerning reAgainst, opposite, versus vsAgree ☺

And &, +And others et alAnd so on, so forth etcApproximately, roughly, round about ≈

At @Because ∵Before b4Can't, couldn't cxChange ΔCharacteristics chx

.

Note Making TechniquesConfused, clarify ?Confused totally ???!!!Copyright ©Definition defnDon't, does not dxDown, declining, decreasing ↓Each way ↔Equal to or greater than ≥Equal to or less than ≤Especially ≡Example egFrequency frGreater than >Important *

.

Note Making TechniquesInfinity, forever, always ∞Less than <Man/men, male(s) ♀

Member of ∈Micro µNegative, bad, not —Necessary, necessarily □Not nx or —Not a member of ∉Note nbNot the same as, does not equal ≠Number #Parallel ‖Percent %

.

Note Making TechniquesPlus or minus ±Positive, good, plus, in addition +Possibly, possible ♢Same as, equals, identical =Should be s/bSum of, collectively ∑Therefore ∴That is ieUnequal, not the same as ≠Up, rising, increasing ↑Very important **With w/ or cWithout w/oWoman/women, female(s) ♀

.

Notes Layouts • There are many ways you can lay out your notes. Some

common approaches are demonstrated in this section: linear notes, key word trees, mind maps, networks and the herringbone technique. Links to other ideas for layouts, including the Cornell Method, are also provided.

Notes Layouts • Linear notes• Taking 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 to your notes at a later date.

Notes Layouts

Details of lecture, book or article.Wide left hand margin. Approximately one third of your page.

This allows you to add material either •during the lecture. •when reviewing your notes. •when doing other research.

A. MAJOR TOPIC 1.Key point

1. supporting point. 2. supporting point. 3. supporting point.

2.Key Point 1. supporting point. 2. supporting point. 3. supporting point.

B. MAJOR TOPIC

Linear notes

Notes Layouts • Key word trees

Notes Layouts • Mind Maps • In this style of note taking the information is represented in

a diagrammatical form. Many different types of diagrams can be used such as key word trees, networks, and herringbone techniques. As a general rule the main idea or topic is written in the centre of the page (or in a prominent position) with key points added around it in a cluster fashion branching out from the central idea.

Notes Layouts • Mind Maps

Notes Layouts • Mind Maps • Mind maps are extremely useful ways of organising ideas.

However, you are restricted to using key words. This requires you to be concise but it can be difficult if there is a large bulk of information and it cannot easily be condensed.

• Mind maps are also very effective in helping you organise material when you are planning an essay outline.

Notes Layouts • Networks• This basically makes use of a slash pattern to organise

ideas. It is especially useful if you are trying to map out the ideas in a debate or controversy. It enable opposing ideas to be mapped e.g. pros/cons, costs/benefits, advantages/disadvantages, and so on.

Notes Layouts • Networks

Notes Layouts • Herringbone technique• The herringbone technique, so-named because it

resembles a fish skeleton, is useful for analysing a single idea. You ask of the main idea Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?, and How? In so doing you are able to represent the key idea and aspects of its supporting data.

• Each of who, what, when, where, why and how help you interrogate the key idea thereby assisting you to understanding it. There will be times when one or more of the six questions will not be relevant or appropriate.

Notes Layouts • Herringbone technique

Notes Layouts • Column Approach

This example comes from Monash University, Language and Learning Online, and is part of an excellent interactive resource on note making. Visit http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/reading/taking-notes/4.3.xml

Organising your notes• You may have explored some note layouts you can use to

record, review and annotate what you read and hear as part of your learning, but it is also important to organise and store your notes effectively for easy access.• Here are some useful tips:• Use a separate file for each subject area• Use file dividers to separate major topics• Use a separate page for each minor topic• Label files and dividers clearly• Number and label pages so you can find and re-file them quickly• Keep an updated contents page at the front of each file.

Organising your notes• If you are making notes electronically, either by creating

documents or audio recordings for example, you also need to manage your digital media. • Create a separate digital folder for each subject area• Create separate folders within the subject folder for major topics• Create separate documents saved in the appropriate folder for each

minor topic• Name your folders and files meaningfully and logically• Include page numbers and document labels in headers and/or

footers.• You'll find more information about managing and protecting your

work in Managing Your Studies.

Thank You