Note Taking & Study Skills… Purpose: To organise the major points and ideas of a topic into easier to memorise notes.

Note Taking & Study Skills… Overview: Why study. Organise your study. How to take notes.

Why Study…?  To help YOU achieve YOUR best in the exams…  To help you identify the key points of a section/chapter that you need to remember.  To help you to organise this info in a way that best helps you remember it.  To help you to be more prepared coming up to exam time.

Why Take Notes…? Well organised notes can be reviewed and revised in a lot less time than reading an entire chapter of a book!

Why Take Notes…?  You can skim well taken notes to help refresh your memory.

Why Take Notes…?  Good note taking skills help you to use your study time better and more effectively.

Why Take Notes…?  Having well organised notes can help reduce your stress levels coming up to exam time.

Organising Your Study…?  STICK to your study timetable

Organising Your Study…? Break each subject down into Chapters, Topics, Sections, Points…

Organising Your Study…?  Find a note-taking method that best suits your style of study and work through each subject using this style.

Organising Your Study…?  Keep all your notes together in one place so you can revise at a later stage.

Organising Your Study…?  When all sections are complete you can revise your notes instead of having to read the whole chapter through.

Organising Your Study…? Revise each section on a regular basis: THE MORE OFTEN YOU SEE A PIECE OF INFO THE EASIER IT IS TO RECALL IT IN AN EXAMINATION!

Note-Taking Skills…? All styles require the following: Record the date, topic/title and book page. Write neatly. Make notes complete and clear enough to understand when you come back to them. Use shorthand, feel free to develop your own set of abbreviations.

Note-Taking Skills…? Definitely copy: Anything written on the board or presented on an overhead. 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. All numbered or listed items. All terms and definitions. Examples New words and ideas.

Note-taking Skills…? P = Preview Begin your reading task with a quick skim (2-3 minutes) of the text, trying to get an overview of the chapter or text. Look for section headings, illustrative charts and diagrams, signposts or key words. Don't start highlighting text at this point.

Q = Question Note-taking Skills…? This is the key to active learning. Look for answers to the basic questions of Who? What? Where? Why? When? Identify the main theme or learning point of the particular text.

Note-taking Skills…? 3. R = Read Now read the chapter carefully, with these questions in mind. Your mind will be actively looking for answers as you read. Work with a pen and paper, make brief summary notes, look for 'topic sentences' that summarise the most important point in a paragraph or section and highlight them, if necessary. Vary your reading speed – move quickly over lighter, less important material and slow down when you come to a difficult section.

Note-taking Skills…? 4. R = Review Always check your understanding of the material by reviewing and testing your recall before putting the text away. Look at the notes you have taken and check that they answer your initial questions. Summarise your findings from this study session.

Note-Taking Skills…? There are 3 types of notes… Cornell note-taking method. Mind-mapping. Index cards

Cornell note-taking method Uses a foolscap page Divide page as follows; Sub. Title/Topic Take down the notes from each class here… Main Points Summary….

Cornell note-taking method Record notes in class Reduce notes to points in margin Recite cover notes, use points Reflect summarise at the bottom of the page Review look over notes regularly

Mind-mapping: A colourful, visual, abbreviated representation (spider-web or brainstorm) of what you have learned about a particular topic or an entire subject. Requires prior note taking but is easier to revise!

Point 1 Topic Point 4 Point 2 Point 3

Mind-mapping: Subject topic in center page; ‘root’ Main themes as ‘trunks’ Each theme gets ‘branch’ Cover branches with ‘example leaves’! Use different colours for each idea. Use abbreviations or symbols as ‘leaves’ New map for each topic – new map for all topics!

Index Cards/Foolscap Notes: Index cards are cheap and easy to use for revision coming up to exams – they can be kept in a box with subject tabs.

Index Cards/Foolscap Notes: Each Subject gets its own Overview card which outlines the main chapters to be studied. Subject Topic Card no. Chapter Main Point

Index Cards/Foolscap Notes: Then break each chapter down into relevant sections. Tick off the sections as you study them. Subject Topic Card no. Chapter Main Point A. Introduction/Background B. Themes/Ideas C. Explanations D. Quotations/Examples   

Index Cards/Foolscap Notes: Tick off the Chapters as you study them. Keeping your notes together this way ensure all work is completed! Subject Topic Card no.  Chapter Main Point  