A Note About Notes

Making Notes That Are Useful For You

Making a Note

When making a note, it is important to remember that copying the entire text is not your end goal. Though this will give you a written copy of the entire slide, sheet or page, it takes a very long time and may cause you to miss something important. Copying everything word for word also does not necessarily convey meaning. That is to say what you write might not help you understand what it means.

What Do You Do?

Look for the Point of Each Sentence

When making a note, it is important to remember that copying the entire text is not your end goal. Though this will give you a written copy of the entire slide, sheet or page, it takes a very long time and may cause you to miss something important. Copying everything word for word also does not necessarily convey meaning. That is to say what you write might not help you understand what it means.

When making a note, it is important to remember that copying the entire text is not your end goal. Though this will give you a written copy of the entire slide, sheet or page, it takes a very long time and may cause you to miss something important. Copying everything word for word also does not necessarily convey meaning. That is to say what you write might not help you understand what it means.

Look for the Point of Each Sentence

• Making a note– Copying the entire text is

not your goal

• Copying text takes a long time– Might miss something

important

• Copying word for word does not convey meaning– Might not help me

understand what it means

When making a note, it is important to remember that copying the entire text is not your end goal. Though this will give you a written copy of the entire slide, sheet or page, it takes a very long time and may cause you to miss something important. Copying everything word for word also does not necessarily convey meaning. That is to say what you write might not help you understand what it means.

Write the Meaning, not the Words• Making a note

– Copying the entire text is not your goal

– Don’t copy, just write

• Copying text takes a long time– Might miss something

important– Avoiding copying helps me

work faster and not fall behind

• Copying word for word does not convey meaning– Might not help me understand

what it means– Writing meaning helps me

remember what I need to know

When making a note, it is important to remember that copying the entire text is not your end goal. Though this will give you a written copy of the entire slide, sheet or page, it takes a very long time and may cause you to miss something important. Copying everything word for word also does not necessarily convey meaning. That is to say what you write might not help you understand what it means.

Use Short Form, Abbreviations or Symbols to Help You Write

= (equals, equal to, the same as)≠ (does not equal, not equal to, not the same as) (leads to, becomes, results)>/< (greater/less than, more/less important…)/ (up/down, increases/decreases)★(key points, pay attention to…)~ (about, approximate)

Example: About 4.6 billion years ago, the Earth began to form as matter colliding together lead to the building of a mass large enough to pull in other materials which composes our Earth today.

Ex. ~ 4.6B yrs. Ago, Earth began to form as colliding matter => a mass > enough to pull in other materials which makes the Earth today

Give it a Try:

Demography is the study of a combination of people and places. When we talk about demographics we are discussing the characteristics of a population or group, which can be defined as one or more persons in an given situation, space or place. Demography can be used to help us understand the human aspects of geography and better help us help all humans by having useful information about ourselves.

• Make some notes about what you read here:

Keep Your Notes in Order!