Note-Taking Skills Academic Advising

Content Why take notes? Preparation Tips on Taking Notes What to write down Review Note-Taking Systems Conclusion References

Q&A Do you take notes? Why, why not?

Why take notes? Making yourself take notes forces you to listen carefully and test your understanding of the material When you are reviewing, notes provide a gauge to what is important in the text Personal notes are usually easier to remember than the text The writing down of important points helps you to remember then even before you have studied the material formally Taking Lecture Notes –Dartmouth College Ask peer advisors here say why it is important to take notes

thus, “… the best student takes the best notes!” Why take notes? “Few people realize how fast memory fades. Studies on memory have shown that, without review, 47% of what a person has just learned is forgotten in the first twenty minutes and 62% is forgotten after the first day. (University of Texas). Therefore, having good lecture notes to review can determine how well you are able to perform on exams.” thus, “… the best student takes the best notes!” Taking Notes – 5 college tips

Preparation Have a comfortable type of notebook Bring your highlighters or different colored pens Record all the relevant information (date, place, topic/title and presenter) Preparation

Tips on Taking notes Don’t write down everything that you read or hear Keep notes in order and in one place Use a double entry Write neatly. Make notes complete and clear enough to understand when you come back to them Use shorthand and abbreviations (“=“ for equals etc.) Leave plenty of white space for later additions. Skip line. Leave spaces between mane ideas

What to write down? Definitely: Anything written on the board Any info that is repeated or emphasized. Ways to emphasize include: tone or gesture, repetition, illustration on board, reference to text, and use of cue words such as: finally, remember, most important, another cause, etc. Taking Lecture Notes – Dartmouth College Taking Notes for Someone Else- Darmouth College

What to write down? All numbered or listed items

What to write down? All terms and Definitions

What to write down? Examples New words and ideas Reviews given in the beginning of the class Summaries given at the end of class

Review Shortly after making your notes (within 24 hours, otherwise 50% will be forgotten), go back and rework (not redo) your notes by adding extra points and spelling out unclear items. If you will spend 10 minutes every week of so in a quick review of these notes, you will retain most of what you have learned. Fill in any blanks you left and answer any question you may have from lecture. Note anything you do not understand

Note-Taking Systems 1 The Outline Method 2 The Mapping Method 3 The Charting Method 4 The Sentence Method

The Outline Method What is it Placing major points farthest to the left. Indent each more specific point to the right. Levels of importance will be indicated by distance away from the major point Advantages Well organized if done right Disadvantages Requires more thought in class for accurate organization. The system cannot be used if the lecture is too fast

The Outline Method (example) You could demonstrate on the board

The Mapping Method What is it Mapping is a graphic representation of the content of a lecture Advantages Helps visually track your lecture regardless of conditions. It is easy to edit your notes by adding numbers, marks etc. Disadvantages You may not hear changes in content from major points to facts

The Mapping Method (example) Demonstrate it on the board

The Charting Method What is it Determine the categories to be covered in lecture. Set up your paper in advance by columns headed by these categories. As you listed to the lecture, record information (words, phrases, main ideas, etc.) into the appropriate category. Advantages Reduces amount of writing necessary. Provides easy review mechanism for both memorialization of facts and study of comparisons and relationships. Disadvantages Locating the appropriate categories

The Charting Method (example) Demonstrate it on the board

The Sentence Method What is it Write every new thought, fact or topic on a separate line Advantages Gets more or all of the information Disadvantages Can’t determine major/minor points. Difficult to edit without having to rewrite by clustering points which are related. Difficult to review unless editing cleans up relationship.

The Sentence Method (Example)

Exercise Assign to people which note-taking system they should use Show the video

References http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl.html Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academicl/taking-notes-5-college-success-tips/ Center for Teaching and Learning, Sweet Hall, Stanford University http://www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/library/for-students/great-notes/