Skl 001Dr SaMeH1 Study Skills (Skl 001) Associate Professor of Environmental Eng. Civil Engineering Department Engineering College Almajma’ah University /2011 Sameh Saadeldin Ahmed

5.1 Introduction 5.2 The five benefits of note taking Concentration and understanding Now I remember Refer and revise 5.3 The best way to take notes Sequential note taking Summary notes Outline notes Mind maps Skl 001 Dr SaMeH2 Note Taking

5.4 In your own words 5.5 Use your own shorthand 5.6 Writing on writing 5.7 Note with care 5.8 Now where did I...? 5.9 Taking notes at work 5.10 Quick reminders for striking the right note Individual styles Methods of taking notes Keep a record of sources Noting down quotations Skl 001Dr SaMeH3

Everyone would have taken notes on all sorts of occasions. Day-to-day living includes: –taking messages, – making shopping lists, or –reminding ourselves to do something because Learning to take good, useful notes is, however, an essential skill simply because there is so much information you have to process. You need to reduce information come from: seminars, lectures, written texts, journals, and the Internet. The sooner you can apply good note-taking skills, the smoother your academic life will be Skl 001Dr SaMeH4 5.1 Introduction

There are five major purposes for taking notes: concentration understanding remembering referral revision Skl 001Dr SaMeH5 5.2 The five benefits of note taking

Sometimes in a dull lecture, your mind may wander, especially if you are tired, or pre- occupied. Taking notes definitely helps you to focus – it makes you active rather than passive and – keeps you involved in learning –It also looks better in the eyes of a lecturer than does a snoring student. If you are concentrating, you are more likely to understand what you are reading. If you take notes you can pay special attention to points that are important or difficult to understand. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Concentration and understanding

How often have you written something down and found that simply writing it makes it easier to remember? –shopping list… Taking notes acts as reinforcement. It means you immediately receive and store the information twice rather than once. so you have already started the process of committing something to your long-term memory. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Now I Remember

If you have made good notes, They act as an excellent reference for future work to refer back for reports, essays, projects, presentations, or any other course assignments. They make it far easier to revise before exams. You do not need to go through the text book or the whole lecture (notes will help you remembering) Just you, a folder, or electronic organizer of easily understood, clear, thorough notes, a cup of tea, and a calm mind, and there you are. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Refer and revise

There is no best way to take notes. It depends on what works for you and what kind of material you are working with The three main ways of taking notes are: 1.linear or sequential note taking 2.summary note taking 3.outline note taking and mind mapping You will find that using different techniques makes note taking more interesting. Skl 001Dr SaMeH9 5.3 The best way to take notes

Sequential or linear note taking is the most common way of taking notes. It is by take down notes in our own words on what we have been reading or listening to. The advantage The advantage of this sort of note taking is that it is relatively easy to do and you do get an accurate record of what you have been attending to. xThe disadvantage xThe disadvantage is that you can end up with copious notes to deal with, especially when it comes to revising for exams or working on a major project. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Sequential note taking

Making summary notes probably demands that you think a good deal more about the notes you are taking, possibly spend time reorganizing them, and writing summaries in your own words. The advantage The advantage of this technique is that you really have to think about the ideas and concepts that you are dealing with so that your summaries are clear and accurate. xThe disadvantage xThe disadvantage is that it can be rather time consuming to put in all this extra work on your notes. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Summary notes

This is quite a popular way of taking notes. You only note the key words and phrases from lectures or reading material. Outline notes, can be done by using numbered headings, lots of sub headings, and indentations. The advantage The advantage that they are quick to take and they are easy to read through and memorize. xThe disadvantage xThe disadvantage is that you may sometimes find it difficult to fill in the detail of what seemed very obvious at the time that you took your brief outline notes. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Outline notes

Mind maps are diagrammatic representations of the subject material you are learning about. A few hints on mind mapping Use A4 paper and turn it to a landscape orientation. Write down the title of the topic you are covering in the centre of the page and draw a circle round it. Draw a line out from the circle, in any direction and write the first main heading for the topic on this line. For each sub-heading, draw lines coming from the main line with the main topic heading on it so that it is obvious where the connections lie. Use single words, short phrases, or images for ideas. Try using different colors for different ideas. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Mind maps

In certain situations, particularly in lectures, one of the biggest temptations is to write too much. This means all your concentration goes into writing fast and hearing what is said. But at a superficial level, rather than listening, taking it in, and cutting it down.  Try to write brief phrases that summarize long sentences.  Try paraphrasing the opening paragraphs of a few of your favorite novels, articles, or sports reports to help develop this technique. Skl 001Dr SaMeH In your own words

While there are standard abbreviations for many words, it makes sense to invent your own shorthand so long as you can understand it yourself.  Note those words, concepts, technical phrases, and names that are central to your subject and find quick ways of writing these.  It makes sense to write a list of these so that you become familiar with them. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Use your own shorthand

A fundamental rule, if you are taking notes from written texts, is to write on and annotate those texts only if they belong to you. You should not write notes in a book you have borrowed it from the college library. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Writing on writing

 Cut down your essential reading and note taking by making intelligent use of your reading material. Look at introductions and summaries to help you take notes on key points.  Make notes on margins, or highlight/underline important words, phrases, formulae, or ideas.  Don’t just put a vague mark or tick in the margin, thinking you will remember what it refers to when you look at that page again; you probably won’t.  Make brief notes of your notes and list important chapters, sections, pages, etc., so that you can refer back to them quickly. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Note with care

 Your notes are of any use to you only if they are well organized and you can find them and use them easily  Try to file them as soon as possible after you have made them.  How you store them is purely a matter of personal preference.  If you keep everything electronically, do not forget to make back-up copies.  If you keep your notes on paper you may like to try using small cards, ring binders, or ordinary note pads.  make sure that items are numbered, properly headed, and stored in order. This will save you so much time in the future. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Now where did I...?

Elephants may never forget, but employees do Elephants may never forget, but employees do. It is easy to think you will remember the content of a telephone call or the main points from a meeting and then find that even an hour or two later, other enquiries, problems, or tasks have driven important information out of your head. Getting into the habit of taking good brief notes is likely to improve your relationships with colleagues, clients, and customers and to make your own working life more organized and enjoyable. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Taking notes at work

Try to stick to the suggestions below: they are quick reminders for striking the right note.  Try to use both words and diagrams as it makes your notes easier and more interesting to refer back to.  Read over your notes as soon as you can after you have made them; this is another way to memorize them.  Look at them again within 24 hours; it may seem a pain at the time, but it will really contribute to effective and successful revision.  File them and organize them well. There is nothing worse than taking excellent notes and then losing them.  Remember, good note taking is a great life skill to possess. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Quick reminders for right note

Everybody makes notes in their own ways. They are for your purposes so the most important aspect is that they suit your purposes. Your notes may be neat or messy, or ordered lists This does not matter as long as you can make use of them. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Individual styles

Headings and bullet points Double notes Pattern notes Annotations Summaries Lists Read the details of the above notes in the lecture notes and apply the techniques of note taking over all the sections. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Methods of taking notes

It is important to keep a very good record of where you gained each piece of information so that you can find it again quickly and easily if you need to check something about it. You will also need this information when you make reference to the information in your work. If you do not state where you get ideas, material and quotations, then you may be accused of plagiarism and cheating. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Keep a record of sources

Record the: Author's name and initials. The full name of the chapter, book or article. The name of the journal for printed articles or of the book for chapters. The place of publication. The date of publication. The publisher. The shelf reference or web address. It is also useful to keep a record of the ISBN number at the back of the book. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Cont.

Take special care when copying quotations. To avoid plagiarism: Copy only very small phrases or very short sections to quote in your work. Use a different color pen to copy these. Make very few such quotes. Write down details of the source of the quotation and reference these in your text and list of references. Skl 001Dr SaMeH Noting down quotations

Thanks for your attention Get ready….. Quiz 4 will be Next Week in Chapters 1 and 4 Skl 001Dr SaMeH26