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Making effective notes

Why take notes?



Think about any reasons you might have for taking notes in everyday life, and
any occasions when you do so. Its a skill we all use, to some extent, as part
of organising daily life and routines, recording useful information, and
identifying key points within it.

As a student, you will need to develop this skill for use in specific contexts,
such as lectures and reading for assignments.
Its important to be pro-active about this spend some time thinking about
your reasons for taking notes as part of your studies. Why are notes useful?

This nuclear or spider plan sums up some general reasons for you as well.

A. Useful record B. Helps writing
1. of important points for 1. Helps ideas flow
future use 2. Helps planning-you can see
2. of where the information what info. you have
comes from 3. Assists organisation-you
can rearrange and renumber
notes in a new way
C. Helps understanding 4. Helps you get started
1. If you focus on selecting
info. to note
2. if you think through where
everything fits D. Helps memory
1. Summing things up briefly
helps long-term memory
E. Helps exam revision 2. The act of writing helps
1. Material is well organised motor memory
2. More info. is already in memory 3. Pattern notes can be more
Memorable visually
WHY
TAKE
NOTES?
2





General principles of note-taking



Good note-taking is based on a clear sense of why you are taking notes in the
first place. Once you are clear about this, whether you are in a lecture or
reading a text, you can make notes that will be useful, rather than jotted down
randomly because everyone else seems to be doing this.
Its important to keep checking: Why am I taking notes on this? What kinds of
points are useful to note? Why?



Effective notes should be:

In a format that suits you try different methods linear, nuclear,
patterned

Be brief and clear use underlining, colour, your own shorthand

Should help make sense of the material, break it down

Should link to previous knowledge and information on the subject going
over them after a lecture, say, and thinking about the links is important

Should be useful so in a format that will bring it all back when you get
them out ready for the next essay, or revision

Be legible, but only for you no-one else needs to read them

Should contain any useful names, dates, statistics that you need to use
again

Be filed somewhere appropriate, even if its just a cardboard box with a
label on it


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Strategies for note-taking



These strategies can apply to different note-taking situations and the
strategy you use depends on the situation and your own preferences. These
are ideas that can start you off developing your own strategies











1. Good note-making: general
1.1 Think before you write
1.2 Keep notes brief
1.3 Keep notes organised 3. Unhelpful strategies
1.4 Use your own words 3.1 Copying chunks or phrases
1.5 Leave a wide margin and spaces 3.2 Writing more notes than you can use
to add notes later 3.3 Writing out notes several times to
make them neater

2. Useful strategies
2.1 Note key words and main ideas 4. Tidying messy notes
2.2 Write phrases not sentences 4.1 Draw a square around sections of
2.3 Use abbreviations notes in different colours to make
2.4 Use headings them stand out
2.5 Number points 4.2 Use a ruler to divide the page up
2.6 Make the page memorable with between sections
Colour, illustrations and so on 4.3 Draw a ring around floating bits of
2.7 Link up points using arrows, dotted information
lines, colour, numbers, boxes 4.4 Link stray information by
2.8 Note sources of info. exactly colour-coding it
2.9 Write quotations in colour
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Taking notes in lectures


Think about the subject of the lecture beforehand, however briefly. It helps
you have a sense of what might be covered, so you can grasp ideas quickly.

Develop good listening skills

Concentrate on the big picture in lectures - dont try to write
everything down.

Watch body language. You can usually tell when the lecturer is
starting a new topic, or winding up the old one.

Listen for speech cues for changes of topic or main ideas e.g.

The important point here is...
I repeat that
It is important to note that
The next point is crucial
On the other hand, an alternative view is



Keep notes brief

Making brief notes helps you concentrate on the lecture long notes dont
help your understanding of the lecture at all

Use a format that suits you keywords as headings, spider diagrams

Dont write things down that you dont understand - if you do, put a big
question mark next to them so you follow it up later

Make key words stand out - underline, capitals

Use your own abbreviations, but make sure you can de-code them
afterwards

Use handouts highlight keywords etc

If you are a natural doodler, turn doodles into mind maps of things
related to the lecturego over them later and de-code them


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Be pro-active

Note anything you wish to query

Ask yourself was that clear? Do I agree with that?

Make notes of anything you want to follow up

Ask questions, if you can

Ask for copies of any OHPs used

Reflect on the style of the lecture was it clear? Easy to follow?

Demanding? Could you deal differently with this type of lecture next time?

Exchange notes (not literally) with other students. A twenty minute chat
after a lecture can transform your understanding of what it was about. Try
and find people to do this with over a coffee?




Review and recall

Check over your notes as soon as you can after the lecture. You may need to
add points, check you understand them, ask yourself questions to clarify your
understanding, note anything you need to follow up.

File them do this as soon as you can, in an appropriate file, folder, or
whatever you use


A good aid to understanding is to turn your notes into a mindmap.
(see last section)






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Taking notes from reading


Effective reading skills are linked to effective note-taking, so its worth thinking
about your reading skills at the same time (see Active Reading booklet).

Before you start

Why are you reading something? Do you need a general summary of
the reading? An overview for future reference?
Identify the purpose of your notes and break down the note-taking task
by asking specific questions.
Specific information? References for an assignment? Names and
dates?
Are these notes for an assignment? Revision?
Spend more time thinking, planning and focussing before you even
start the reading and note-taking


Taking useful notes


Decide how much to read/note at once
Break the text down into chunks to help concentration know your
limits
Skim-read each section first-get an over-view
Note key points, ideasusually at the start of a section or paragraph
Keep checking the purpose of the notes to stay on-track
Include references (page numbers, etc for finding/checking back)
Keep notes brief number, highlight, make them useful leave space
for adding other points later
Use your own words where possible to help understanding
If using a photocopy, highlight and underline key points
Develop your own system

Make notes useful


Check you can read/understand your notes
Organise use numbers, highlighter, headings to make notes more
useful later on
Note down queries, places where you disagree
Think about how the information relates to previous knowledge/data
you have-how could you use this? What else do you need? What was
missing?
File somewhere useful and easy to find


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Mindmapping as a strategy for understanding


Some people find mindmaps invaluable as a way of exploring connections
within subject areas, and as a useful tool for planning a task like writing an
essay but other people find them messy and inconclusive.

These are some note-taking occasions when they can serve a useful
purpose. Its worth finding out a bit about their uses and trying them out.


After lectures, as a way of getting an overview of what was said, and
expanding on your basic notes. They also help your understanding of
the topic, as the connections with previous knowledge can be made

After reading, for the same reasons. Try asking yourself what the
reading was about, jotting down ideas and making the connections with
other aspects of the topic

Planning an assignment-a way of brainstorming around a title and
exploring aspects of the subject. A series of mini-mindmaps can help
break down a seemingly huge topic into manageable sections which
you then organise and write up

Exam revision a way of recalling a subject and making connections
also, working out which aspects you need to look at more carefully

Exam essays a quick way to plan an exam answer which gives a structure,
however sketchy, for your writing


On the next page is a quick mindmap that represents the points above




For more on mindmapping, see:

Buzan, T. 2002 How to Mindmap London: HarperCollins


If you would like this leaflet in an alternative format, contact:

[email protected]

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Sample Mindmap































USING
MINDMAPS
GROUP
WORK
AFTER
LECTURES


EXAM
REVISION
EXAM
ESSAYS
PLANNING,
ASSIGNMENTS,
ANY TASKS
AFTER
READING
Good for
getting ideas
Starting
point for
selection
Represents
everyones
views
Get an
overview
Expand on
notes
Help
understanding
Connects
with previous
knowledge
Get a
structure for
essay
Quick
plan
Helps
memory
Slot in
names
and dates
Check
gaps
Make
connections Recall on
a topic
Overview
Own
words
Understanding
Explore the
question
Decide
reading
Prioritise
tasks
Make
mini-mindmaps
around each
aspect
Make
connections