Note Taking Strategies

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Note Taking Strategies

• Top 5 Tips for Effective Note Taking

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Tip 1 Come to Class Prepared

• "Always have a plan and believe in it. Nothing
  good happens by accident." - Chuck Knoll,
  NFL football coach

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• Use a 3 ring binder instead of a spiral notebook.
• Bring highlighters to class.
• Read assigned material and review notes before
  class.

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Tip 2Improve Your Listening Skills

• "Learn how to listen and you will prosper even
  from those who talk badly." -- Plutarch
  (A.D. 46 - 120). Greek biographer and
  philosopher

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• Enter class with a positive attitude.
• Make a conscious effort to pay attention.
  Concentrate on concentrating.
• Adapt to whatever direction a class takes.

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Tip 3Develop a Note-taking Method That Works
For You

• "Learn, compare, collect the facts." Ivan
  Petrovic Pavlov (1849 - 1936), Russian
  physiologist

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• Start each class with a new page.
• Date and number each page.
• Write on one side of the paper only.
• They can be set side by side for easy reviewing.
• Leave blank spaces.
• This leaves room for adding comments or questions
  later.

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Tip 3 (cont.)

• Make your notes as brief as possible.
• Never use a sentence where you can use a phrase.
• Use abbreviations and symbols wherever possible.
• Note all unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts.
• This reminds you to look them up later.

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Tip 4Pay Close Attention to Content

• "There is a great difference between knowing a
  thing and understanding it. -
  Charles Kettering (1876 - 1958), American
  electrical engineer and inventor

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• Knowing what and how much to write down is
  sometimes difficult.
• Rely on some of the following tips for what to
  include in your notes.

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• Include details, facts, or explanations that
  explain the main points.
• Don't forget examples!
• Include definitions, word for word.
• Make lists of things discussed in class.

• Include information written on the overhead or
  board, including charts.
• Include material that is repeated or carefully
  described.

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Tip 5Review and Edit Your Notes

• Ideas won't keep something must be done about
  them." - Alfred North Whitehead
  (1861 - 1947), English mathematician and
  philosopher

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Reviewing and editing class notes are the most
important part of note taking.

• Review your notes within 24 hours.
• Edit words and phrases that are illegible or
  don't make sense. Write out abbreviated words
  that might be unclear later.
• Edit with a different colored pen to distinguish
  between what you wrote in class and what you
  filled in later. 

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• Fill in key words and questions in the left hand
  column.
• Note anything you don't understand by underlining
  or highlighting to remind you to ask your
  teacher.
• Compare your notes with your textbook and fill in
  important details in the blank spaces you left.
• Consider rewriting or typing your notes .

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Resources

• Popular note taking formats http//www.sas.calpoly
  .edu/asc/ssl/notetaking.systems.html
• Additional Techniques for Study and Test
  Preparation http//www.cod.edu/people/faculty/fanc
  her/STUDY.HTM

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Bibliography
All information retrieved from http//jerz.setonhi
ll.edu/writing/academic/notes-tips.htm