STUDY SKILLS Made easy

Chapter 4:Note Taking

Note Taking 1
 Chapter outline
4.1 The Importance of Note Taking
4.2 Listening Attentively
4.3 Effective Note Taking Strategies
4.4 The Outline Method

Learning Styles 2
 Chapter outline

Learning Styles 2
 Introduction

Information presented in class often contains the central concepts of

the course and the material most likely to be included on exams. Yet,
students frequently do not realize the importance of note taking and
listening.

The following resources provide tips on how to recall more

information from your lectures through active listening and
purposeful note taking. In addition, lecture notes can be a critical tool
for preparing for exams.
Introduction
Effective note taking should have a purpose, should be well
organized, and can be a time saving skill. This information sheet
outlines the basic lecture and written source note taking skills.

Firstly, we will try to understand

why notes are an important part of studying.
How to take, organize and store notes.
At the end of this information sheet you will find an activity that can be
used to test yourself. Your tutor or the Student Support Officer can provide
feedback on this activity.
When you’ve finished this study skills package, you should be able
to:
List the reasons why students should take notes
Evaluate which information is useful and important and which
is not
Organize lecture or reading notes using a mind-mapping tool
Demonstrate good note taking practice in the context of your
subject area
Understand how to effectively store and review your notes
 Activity 1

First, let‘s find out whether you have good note taking skills.

Read the following questions and Put a tick ( ) in the appropriate

column.
Activity 1

If you have answered "No" to three or More of the questions above ,

then you need to improve your note Skilling.
 Activity 2

In Groups discuss the differences between note Taking and

note making and Write them here.

Note Taking Note Making

4.1 The Importance of Note Taking

Based on your answer it can be seen that while there are some
differences between note taking and note making, they Actually
complement each other.

After you have taken some notes from your classes you make extra
notes through your reading of other literature to supplement your
existing notes so that your notes are comprehensive.
 Activity 3

Now that we understand the difference between note taking and

Note making,

Why do we need to take notes ?

Discuss with your friends and write your reasons here.

Activity 3
 Why take notes

Taking notes for each of your classes is important as it encourages

you to pay attention to your lecturers.

It helps you to concrete, and will be able to understand the lessons
better as it will stimulate you to think about what the lecturer have
taught and to distinguish between the main and the supporting
points.

Once you understand it, you can organize the information and
transfer it into your writing.
 Why take notes

In addition, most students often complain that their classes are
boring and that they feel tired and Sleepy listening to their lecturers
in class. Instead of wasting their time daydreaming or having an idle
conversation with their friends, they should take down some notes as
it would force them to be attentive and alert. While taking notes,
they are actually doing something.

Most importantly, the notes will be very useful to them later in

the semester as they will have something concrete to refer to
while revising for their final examinations.
 Why take notes

Those who do not take any notes will face much difficulty later as
they will have nothing to read before the examinations.

Hence instead of complaining and blaming the lecturers for being

boring, students should actively take notes to improve their learning
experience.
Why take notes

To summarize.

To highlight important information.

Most importantly, to review and study from

later.
 Listening Attentively

Discuss in groups some of the problems you face when taking

notes during classes. List them below.
 Listening Attentively

Taking notes in class is easy when we are copying whatever lecturers

are showing on the overhead projectors or the boards.

However, most of us would agree that it is not easy to take notes

when the lecturers are explaining something verbally without the
help of text written on board or elsewhere.

 often, we are frustrated when the lecturers speak too fast and we
cannot write down every word the lecturers say.

Remember that taking notes does not mean that you must write
down every word. the key to taking effective notes is to listen.
 Listening Attentively

listening is not an easy thing to do . just because we can hear

does not necessarily mean that we listen well. there may be
distractions that may affect our ability to listen attentively and
take notes.

Therefore, to listen and

take notes effectively,

we need to apply the

following steps:
Listening Attentively

1. Sit close to the front of the room

Activity 5

What are the advantages of sitting near the front of the room,
and how does this help us to listen and take notes effectively?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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Listening Attentively

2. Avoid distracting friends

Avoid sitting with your friends who are distracting. These friends
may tempt you with idle conversation. Thus, instead of listening
attentively to your lecturers and taking notes, you may end up
laughing away with your group of friends.

At the end of the class, you would have done nothing but disturb
your lecturers and others who are there to learn.

Is this your main objective of attending class?

 Listening Attentively

3. Pay close attention to verbal signals

Pay attention to your lecturer’s style of delivery as they may
indicate important information by using some verbal signals such
as:
Pausing
Repeating the same point
Slowing down their rate of speaking
Increasing their volume of speech
Using certain words or phrases, e.g most importantly,; there are
three vital factors, etc.
 Listening Attentively
4. Ask, ask, and ask
Most students keep quiet in class, with their hands busy taking notes
whether they understand what they are writing or not.

If this is you. Take a moment to ask yourself, “Do I understand what I
have written so far?” if you are unsure of something, find an appropriate
time to stop your lecturers and ask them for further clarifications.

Otherwise, mark that a particular point and do your own background

reading at home or ask the lecturers after classes. If you do not ask, you
will never know.
Listening Attentively

5. Use a tape recorder for your classes

As a form of courtesy to your lecturers, it is advisable to inform
them about your use of a tape recorder in their classes.
Activity 6

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a

tape recorder in your classes?
Advantages Disadvantages
Effective note taking strategies

Activity 7
How do you take notes?

Do you have any useful ways of taking notes?

Discuss them with your friends and write them below.

Effective note taking strategies

There is no one best way to take notes. you need to try a few
ways and stick to those that work best for you.

listed below are a few useful strategies that will help you to take
notes effectively.
Effective note taking strategies

1. Read and prepare advance

Activity 8

•How do reading and preparing in advance

help you to take notes effectively ?
Effective note taking strategies

2. Become an active listener

listen attentively to your lecturers and summarize the information
presented by writing in your own words.

keep your notes short and simple.

Always remember that you can always fill in the necessary

information from your own reading or research later.
Effective note taking strategies
3. Write Down important points only
Note down the important words only .

leave out examples and unnecessary details as you may not have
sufficient time to take everything down.

you must learn to be selective.

Effective note taking strategies
4. Use headings and Subheadings to organize your ideas

Use the following numbering system to organize your points

systematically . this Will help you when you are revising your notes .
Effective note taking strategies
5. Use Symbols and Abbreviations to take notes Quickly
Do not use too many symbols and abbreviations as you will be
confused when you review your notes. ensure that one symbol or
one abbreviation stands for one word.
•& And
•> more than
•< Less than
•= Equal to
•W with
• W/o Without
Effective note taking strategies

6. Number the pages

• Number each page of our notes. Alternatively, you may also put
the dates on your notes so that they can be systematically
arranged.
Effective note taking strategies

7. Take notes on one side of the paper only

Write on one side of the paper. The other side can be used for
additional notes when you review your notes or do more
background reading.
Effective note taking strategies
8. Leave some space

Leave plenty of space around your notes so that you can more
points later. Do not cram the whole page as it may be difficult for
you to read.
Effective note taking strategies

9. Use sticky labels

You may want to use sticky labels for important points. You can
also make your notes more interesting with multi-colored labels.
Effective note taking strategies

Once you have taken your notes, remember that it does not end
there. You need to review your notes within 24 hours if possible.

This will help you to make sure that what you have taken is
accurate while the information is still fresh in your memory after
class.

In addition, you may need to support your notes by referring to

other sources and make extra notes to make your existing ones
more detailed and comprehensive.
Note taking = Dictation

Note taking is writing complete ideas;

Dictation is writing complete sentences.
 Examples
Dictation:

History 1002 meets 2 days a week,

from 10:00 am to 10:50.
Notes:
Hist 1002
- 2 d/wk 10 – 10:50 am
Successful Note taking:
Listen for KEY WORDS

cau FACTO
s es RS
First - costs
o p men t
dev el
s o f
St a g e
technol n ces
ogy diff ere
 Successful Note taking:

Use space. Move your hand.

Three keys to 3 keys to green environ
green environment
– educate public, 1- educate public
improve techno.,
and help increase 2- improve tech.
demand for 3-help incr. demand for
recycling. recy.ing
 Change dictation into notes:

UNESCO’s study shows a drop in illiteracy from twenty-two

and four-tenths percent of the world population in 1995 to
twenty and three tenths in 2000.
 One way to write this info

UNESCO’s st shows fr 22.4% ww pop in ’95 to 20.3% in 2000

What important information is missing? What is the decrease in?

The LITERACY rate INCREASED – the drop was in the number of people
who CANNOT read – the ILLITERACY rate dropped.
The outline method
There are many ways of taking notes . As mentioned before ,there is no one
best way of taking notes .

It is a matter of individual preference and basically reflection of your own

learning style .what works for you may not works for others and vice versa.
you need to try them out and see what you are most comfortable with.

In this section , you will be shown how to take notes using the outline
method. Mind mapping, another popular method , will be covered in the next
chapter.

 
The outline method

The outline method is a popular way of taking notes among

lecturers and students.

Most lecturers will use this method to prepare their materials on

transparencies, on PowerPoint or when they are writing on the
board.

The following is a sample of note taken in the outline method.

The outline method
The outline method

This Method may be one of the most effective ways of Taking

notes.

This method is very organized and systematic as your note are

arranged in a particular order which will facilitate easy reading.

The main points are highlighted clearly with supporting points . On

other hand, it can be quite dull as everything Is written and
presented from left to right , the same way we normally write our
essay.
The outline method

In addition, instead of writing only the main points and key words,
most students usually end up writing larger chunks of sentences,
thus defeating the purpose of taking notes.

Taking notes is not an easy task. You may struggle at first,

especially in the first semester of your studies. However, with more
practice, you will be able to master this skill in no time. So listen
attentively in your classes and start taking notes now
Chapter 4: Taking Notes

49