Note Taking& Critical

Reading

Note Taking- Making notes from printed sources- Taking notes in lectures

Critical Reading-Deciding if sources are relevant-Deciding if sources are reliable

Why take notes?Notes make you concentrate on what you are learning

Notes make you put ideas into your own words and so aid understanding

Notes help you remember things better

 

Note Taking What does it involve?

Extracting relevant information

Being concise

Understanding Understanding what you are writing at the time

Understand notes when referring back in future

Note Taking

WHAT TO WRITE DOWN

Key words

Summarising

Paraphrasing

Diagrams/bullet points

Quotes in full 

Note Taking - Lectures Make a note of the speaker/date

How will you lay out your notes?

Preparation

Rewrite/review your notes

Note Taking - Lectures Use own words

Don’t panic! - Pause to listen

Make a note of things you don’t understand

Leave space to return to a section

Abbreviate/use shorthand

Record facts and statistics accurately and mark quotes clearly

Colour coding

Note Taking - Lectures

NOTE TAKING METHODS Cornell Method

RecordReduceReciteReflectReview

Walter Pauk

Mind Maps………

A graphical representation of what is in your brain

Start with the key term and create connections

Creative

Allows you to make links and connections between subjects

Room to add more information to each topic

More important points nearer the middle

One keyword per line

Don’t think about it too much!

Critical Reading WHAT TO READCheck publication details

Check contents page/index

Check foreword/preface

Read first/last paragraphs in chapters

Check summaries/abstracts

Reading methods HOW TO READSkimming reading for the general gist of

passage

Scanning reading quickly to locate specific information

Reading in-depth reading the text fully and taking notes

 

Reading methodsREADING AND NOTE TAKING METHODS

SQ3RSURVEYQUESTIONREADRECITE/WRITERECALL Francis Pleasant Robinson

1941

Note Taking – Written Sources

TOP TIPS!!Paraphrase or summarise what you are reading

Note down publication details

Make sure you understand what you are writing! 

School of Education & Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter Step One: For future reference, record the bibliographic details of your reading in the boxes below.

Title Author Year and place of publication

Journal details (if any) Pages read Other bibliographic details

Step Two: Surface read the readingand complete the following tasks.In your own words, briefly describe themain point or argument the author/s of the reading is trying to make.   List three minor arguments that the author uses to support his or her main point or argument.1.2.3.

Step Three: Read the reading more comprehensively and find quotes or ideas from the text that supports each argument and point that you’ve listed in step two.

Critical Reading

QUESTIONS TO ASK

RelevanceDoes the source give specific information about the topic I am researching?Up-to-date?Right level?

Reliability Fact or opinion? Sufficient evidence to support statements? Produced by a reliable and author/organisation; is the author an expert in this field?Is the source trying to convince me of something? Does it give a balanced view?

Critical Reading

What am I asked to think or believe?What evidence is produced to convince me and is it sufficient?Are there any hidden assumptions?