Taking Good Notes
Taking Good Notes
Sources
- Before you even start, make a note of your source(s). If this is a book, an article, or a journal, write the following information at the head of your notes: Author, title, publisher, publication date, and edition of book. If it is a lecture or broadcast, note the title and the date.
Materials
- Use loose-leaf paper or a spiral notebook for each subject.
- Don't use small notepads. You will find it easier to keep track of your notes if they fit easily with your other study materials.
- Take and keep notes in a large notebook. The only merit to a small notebook is ease of carrying and that is not your main objective. A large notebook allows you to adequately indent and use an outline form.
Spacing
- Write clearly and leave a space between each note. Don't try to cram as much as possible onto one page. Keeping the items separate will make them easier to recall and will allow you to assess the importance of each detail.
- Leave a few spaces blank as you move from one point to the next so that you can fill in additional points later if necessary. Your objective is to take helpful notes, not to save paper.
Notation
- Use some system of tabulation or numbering. This will help to keep the items separate from each other.
- Even if the progression of numbers doesn't mean a great deal, it will help you to keep the items distinct.
Brevity
- Notes should be abbreviated and compressed. Full grammatical sentences are not necessary.
- Develop and use a standard method of note-taking including punctuation, abbreviations, margins, etc. Use abbreviations, initials, and shortened forms of commonly used terms.
- Do not try to take down everything that the lecturer says. It is impossible and not everything is of equal importance.
- Spend more time listening and attempt to take down the main points. If you are writing as fast as you can, you cannot be as good a listener. There may be some times, however, when it is more important to write than to think.
Layout
- Devise a logical and a memorable layout.
- Use lettering, numbering, and indentation for sections and for sub-sections.
- Use headings and sub-headings.
- A good layout will help you to absorb and recall information.
- Some people use colored inks and highlighters to assist this process of identification.
Topics
- Don't string the points together continuously, one after the other on the page. You will find it very difficult to untangle these items from each other after some time has passed.
- Make each item into a separate topic.
Pages
- Use a new page for each set of notes. This will help you to store and identify them later.
- Keep topics separate and have them clearly titled and labeled to facilitate easy recall.
- Write on only one side of the page and number the pages.
- Leave the blank sides free for possible future additions and for any details that may be needed later.
Copy down everything on the board
- Copy down everything on the board, regardless. Every blackboard scribble might be a clue to an exam item. You may not be able to integrate what is on the board into your lecture notes, but if you copy it, it may serve as a useful clue for you later.
What to Avoid
Wrong sized paper
- You are much more likely to lose your notes or get them mixed up if they are written on the wrong sized paper. If some notes are on small notepaper, they cannot be filed along with letter size notepaper. In such cases, take the trouble to copy them out onto sheets of letter size paper.
Too much information
- The value of your notes is not measured by the quantity of what you have written, but by the quality of your analysis and discrimination.
- Only record the main points, plus selected examples or important details.
- Raise questions if appropriate. Listen for cues as to important points, transitions from one point to the next, repetition of points, inflections, enumeration of a series of points, etc.
- Many lecturers attempt to present a few major points and several minor points in a lecture. The rest is explanatory material and samples. Try to see the main points and do not get lost in minor points that do not seem related to each other. Be alert to cues about what the professor thinks is important.
Too little information
- Don't forget to do the work of summarizing and recording.
- Some people listen very attentively - but then discover that they only have two or three topic headings. Pay attention to both the subject and taking notes on the subject.
Missing key points
- This often happens when too much detail is recorded and small illustrative points are allowed to occupy too much prominence in the notes. The details swamp the key issues.
- Listen or think carefully, then make a note of only the most important ideas. Listen actively - if possible think before you write - but don't get behind.
Illegibility
- You should leave 'white space' on the page around each entry.
- Do not write on every line and record your comments as clearly and carefully as possible. Your notes will be more useful later.
Poor labeling
- Don't attempt to record everything.
- Highlight the important issues with underlining, capital letters, boxes, or colored ink.
- Don't run everything together. Clear labeling will help you to see the structure of the material.
Too much of original text
- Don't waste your time copying out long quotations. Too much of the original quote means that you have not digested the material and translated it into your own terms.
Poor layout
- Let the ideas breathe and stand clear of each other. Use plenty of 'white space' around your text.
- Good page layout will help you to see the overall scheme of the information and help you to remember it.
- Make your original notes legible enough for your own reading, but use abbreviations of your own invention when possible. The effort required to re-copy notes can be better spent in re-reading them and thinking about them.
Poor storage
- Keep separate folders for different subjects. Use ring binders, simple dividers, and numbered pages to store your material efficiently.
Front of the class
- Sit as close to the front of the class as possible, there are fewer distractions and it is easier to hear, see, and attend to important material.
- Get assignments and suggestions precisely - ask questions if you're not sure.
Commonly Used Symbols and Abbreviations