Study Skills 3 Taking Notes From Lectures and Reading'

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Study Skills 3Taking Notes From Lectures and
Reading.

• Jim Kelly
• j.kelly_at_abertay.ac.uk
• Student Academic Support Advisor

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Note taking at University

• At university you may feel that you are
  overwhelmed with a huge amount of information.
• You may think that you have to copy down
  everything you hear or read.
• When you are in a lecture it is sometimes
  difficult to tell what is important and what is
  not.
• When preparing for an exam or assignment, it is
  tempting to write a massive amount of notes.
• Note taking like this is exhausting, time
  consuming and ineffective.

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What is the Purpose of the Lecture.

• Traditionally the student was meant to reflect on
  what was being said in lectures.
• The student used the information from the
  lecture for their own philosophical development.
• When paper was expensive and teaching staff were
  rare in Medieval times, it made sense for one
  lecturer to speak to hundreds of students at
  once.

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Usefulness of a Lecture.

• Such a method of knowledge transfer can
  criticized for being passive.
• The lecturer speaks and the student either writes
  down or does not write down some notes.
• The words written down may or may not be used
  again.
• The success of the lecture lie in the hands of
  the student.
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Purpose of Modern Lecture.

•  
• In modern British universities the lecture is
  supposed to give students access to a researcher
  who is an expert in their field.
• The lecture gives the student an overview to a
  volume of valuable information.
• The lecture gives basic ideas about a topic, the
  student is then meant to read and study more
  about these ideas.

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Why make notes?

• Taking notes
• keeps you active/aids concentration
• increases your understanding
• helps you plan and structure your ideas
• acts as a written record for future reference
• can serve a specific purpose e.g. coursework
  writing, exam revision

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Linear Notes

• Single words or short phrases are organised in a
  way which clearly identifies the relationship
  between the main points. For example
• Lists using headings, sub-headings and
  indentations
• Table to compare and contrast the main factors

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Linear NotesCause and Effect of World War 1
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Diagrammatic Notes (e.g. Mind Maps, Structure
Bubbles etc)

• These methods use arrows and circles to connect
  the key words/ phrases.
• Start at the centre of the page with a bubble
  outlining the main topic/ theme- preferably
  something that will jog your memory
• Sub topics are written on in bubbles branching
  off from the main topic

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Mind Map on the Cause and Effects of World War 1
Long term
Imperialism

Nationalism
Militarism
Balkan War
World War 1
Short Term
Causes
Trigger
Sarajevo
Moroccan Crisis
Effects
Geographical
Social
Political
Economic
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Benefits of Diagrammatic Notes

• Its quick to do- so you can record more
  information in the same amount of time.
• You can add in ideas or links later.
• It helps you to concentrate on relationships
  between ideas, rather than disconnected facts.
• It can act as a tool for revision for exams.
• It can help you to plan and structure courseworks

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Effective notes

• Your notes should be brief and pick out the key
  points, issues and facts.
• Make good use of headings, key words, key
  sentences and signposts to select what to record.
• Always date, label and put name and nature of
  source
• Dont write in full sentences.

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Effective Notes 2

• Abbreviate commonly used words e.g.
• hours h
• Underline and/ or reorganise notes as soon as
  possible after making them
• Leave room to add in your own thoughts.
• Write notes on loose-leaf paper so they can be
  easily filed.
• Make links to other sources of knowledge in your
  notes.

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What Information is Important?

• Think about what you need the information for
  study, coursework etc.
• For understanding you may need descriptive
  information, explanations, perhaps general facts
  and figures.
• For a coursework you will probably need
  criticisms of arguments and perspectives.

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Lecture Summaries.

• The lecturer should sum up their main points
  somewhere during the lecture.
• During the introduction the lecturer may give a
  list of the topics to be covered.
• Look out for breaks in the lecture where the
  lecturer might summarise the most important
  points they have just covered.
• At the end of the lecture, another summary should
  be provided that may help you review your notes
  and determine if you have missed any important
  information.

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Reviewing notes

• Re-read and revise your notes shortly after you
  have taken them to understand them and that they
  are meaningful to you
• When reviewing your notes
• Make a note of the areas where you need to
  improve your understanding
• Consider the further reading/ follow up work
  needed
• Re-write your notes in a different form e.g. mind
  map, key words.

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Taking notes for Study.

• Taking notes from reading material will help you
  to extend your attention span.
• When reading, your mind may tend to wander off.
• Taking notes helps keep you focussed on your
  subject area and to the task at hand

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Taking notes from reading.

• Some courses or even individual modules have long
  reading lists.
• You cannot be expected to read all these books
  and in same way as you read for pleasure.
• You read books for different reasons at
  university for writing a coursework, preparing
  for a tutorial or studying for exams.
• You have to be selective in what you read.
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Learning from notes.

• Taking notes will enhance the memory of what you
  have read.
• We learn more efficiently when we use several
  senses.
• When note -taking we are using reading and
  writing skills and we are using our brain and
  muscles.

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Learning from notes.

• When writing down notes you should paraphrase
  the reading material into your own words
• You should put them in a writing style that you
  are more likely to understand when you review the
  notes.
• You are more likely to remember what you have
  read if you take an active part in your learning.
  
• Rather than being a passive listener or reader,
  note taking makes you an active learner.

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Taking Notes for a coursework.

• Look at the coursework question and keywords
  then check each book from cover to cover.
• Look at the contents page, the introduction, and
  conclusion and have a quick look at each chapter.
  
• Looking at the bibliography at the back of the
  book, this may lead you to further books on the
  subject.

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Read most up to date sources.

• Always select the latest information from the
  most up to date books and journals.
• Journals have the advantage of being published
  several times a year and contain the most recent
  cutting edge research.
• If you were writing an essay on stem cell and
  took out books all dated before 2000, you would
  probably write an essay on stem cell research
  without much information on the recent ethical
  debate about this research.
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Referencing

• When taking notes from books you must decide what
  information you need.
• If you are data mining for a coursework, make
  sure that any notes you take are put into your
  own words.
• Try to avoid copying word for word from a written
  source.this would not be referenced properly.
• When using a direct quote from a source always
  note beside it that it is straight from a book.

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Photocopying versus Note taking

• Photocopying everything is an obvious way of
  getting around taking a lot of notes..could be
  very expensive.
• If you photocopy everything remotely connected
  with the subject without reading itcould be
  mostly irrelevant.
• Taking notes is better for learning the topic and
  helps you to discern what information is
  important and what is not.
• You could do a bit of both photocopying and
  reading.

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What notes to take.

• When taking notes from sources record main ideas
  or facts, figures and results of experiments.
• Remember you only need information that will
  answer a coursework question or for an exam.
• Always ask yourself if you need this information,
  have you taken down something like this already.

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Make sure you can identify the origin your notes.

• Always remember to note down in full all the
  references of the sources you have taken notes
  from.
• There is nothing worse than taking really good
  notes that are important for your coursework
• Then discovering that you do not know the source
  of the information.

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Taking Notes From Books and Journal Articles.

• Remember to take the full reference of book,
  Author, title etc.
• Identify passages you want to take notes from.
• Note page passage of text is on.
• If copying whole sentences put these in your own
  words.
• If want to use a direct quote use quotations
  marks to distinguish.

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Paraphrasing and direct quotes.

• The decline of Fordist mass production methods
  was brought about in the late seventies by steep
  rises in oil prices, labour unrest, over
  production of goods that could not be sold and a
  desire of the public for more differentiated
  consumer choice. From Source
• Warehouses of unsold surplus goods, consumer
  demand for specialist products, high oil prices
  and striking workers all contributed to the fall
  of the Fordist style production line by the end
  of the seventies. Own words

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