How can I make useful notes?
Clare Hardman, Study Skills Adviser
We’re going to cover: • The purpose of note making
• Different note making styles
• AcDve reading and criDcal selecDon
Notes Why?
When /Where?
How?
How can I make useful notes?
‘make’ Vs ‘take’
What makes useful notes?
ü Your own criDcal thinking
ü You understand them
ü You remember them
Different note-‐making styles Advantages and Disadvantages
Linear PaNern
Linear notes
Disadvantages Advantages
• Can be very clear, with highlighDng
• Divided well, they can easily be added to
• Useful when there is a clear structure
• Can be boring to look at and hard to read
• Risk of transcribing what is said.
• Risk of passive note making
PaNern notes Disadvantages Advantages
• Visual impression can be very easy to understand and remember
• Not fixed in any order • Links are made obvious • Less likely to write too
much
• May be hard to decide what order your notes are in
• You may run out of space as it is hard to expand once space is filled
Split Page / The Cornell System involves dividing up the page into 3 secDons: 1 Standard notes on the right 2.Your own comments /quesDons on the leY 3. A summary at the end Advantages • Specifically designed for taking notes in
lectures • Provides a way of organising notes • Generates revision topics Disadvantages • Visually, not very sDmulaDng • TemptaDon to write down too much
AcDve reading strategies
• How do you decide if a text is relevant?
• How do you idenDfy the key points?
• How do you know what to note down?
Note-‐taking: criDcal selecDon • Discard -‐ Get an overview of the text first to decide if it’s relevant
(skim and scan, idenDfy the argument/theory/posiDon)
• Select -‐ Only choose what is relevant and useful to your purpose
• Summarise the main ideas in your own words – that way you’ll know whether you’ve understood the content
• Reference -‐ Note reference details and page numbers
What do you think? – brainstorm your ideas before reading
Use clear headings / different colour / space on page to add your own notes
Adapted from CoNrell (2011) CriDcal Thinking Skills Chapter 9
Recap: AcDve note making ü Leave space in your notes for your own
quesDons ü Try different note making styles ü Use images, pictures, diagram or highlighters
to make your notes memorable ü Test your understanding by summarising the
key points ü Ask quesDons: How does what you've learnt
fit with what you already know about the topic? Did anything surprise you?
• Workshops How do I think read and write criDcally – Today at 3pm Digital note making and bookmarking – Tomorrow at 1:30pm
• Skills Hub www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub/ • Student Mentors • SCLS – workshops and tutorials • Royal Literary Fund – 45 minute tutorials www.sussex.ac.uk/library/guides/rlf
Study Skills Resources