NOTETAKING STRATEGIES

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NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES

• By Lora Williams

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Why is it important to take notes?

• Helps keep you focused.
• Improves retention of material.
• Helps pinpoint what will be on exams.
• Serves as a study guide for exams and papers.

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5 most important rules

• Attend class regularly and arrive on time.
• Keep up with reading assignments.
• Have materials organized ahead of time.
• Come mentally prepared.
• Keep notes organized.

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Materials needed to take good notes

• Notebook
• Pencils / pens
• Eraser / White out
• Highlighters
• Flash cards
• Stapler
• If possible, recording device

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Tips for effectively pulling out information

• Dont write down everything you hear.
• Use key words, short sentences and abbreviations.
• Stay consistent.
• If you miss a point leave a blank space for it
  and look it up or ask later.
• Always write down unfamiliar vocabulary or
  concepts.
• Listen and look for patterns in
  lecturer/textbook.
• Ask yourself questions (ex. What is Einsteins
  Theory of Relativity?) then look for the
  answers.

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Organization is EXTREMELEY important!
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MYTH BUSTEDThere is only one way to take
notes.
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Different styles of note taking

• Outline
• Highlight
• Cluster
• T-notes
• Visual

Taken from http//www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/
notemaking.html
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OUTLINING
Image taken from http//www.taft.cc.ca.us/newtc/A
cademic/INCO48/images/outline2.gif
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HIGHLIGHTING
Image taken from www.lib.uchicago.edu
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CLUSTER
Image taken from http//www.fife-education.org.uk
/Inspiration/Images/Inspirationviews/inspacrosscur
r.gif
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T-NOTES
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VISUAL
Image taken from http//www.cs.cmu.edu/tom7/csno
tes/spring03/notes-for-exam.gif
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Whats worked for me

• Math Writing out problems step-by-step,
  summarizing instructions.
• History Highlighting in my text and t-notes.
• Sociology Outlining and clustering.
• English/Speech T-notes and outlining.
• Biology Outlining and visual notes.

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Lets try it!
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Useful Websites

• http//www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/ACCDitg/SSn
  ote.htm
• http//www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.h
  tml
• http//extend.unb.ca/wss/notetext.htm

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THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!