How  can  I  make  useful  notes?    

Clare  Hardman,  Study  Skills  Adviser  

We’re  going  to  cover:  •  The  purpose  of  note  making  

•  Different  note  making  styles  

•  AcDve  reading  and  criDcal  selecDon  

Notes  Why?  

When  /Where?  

How?  

How  can  I  make  useful  notes?    

‘make’  Vs  ‘take’  

What  makes  useful  notes?  

ü  Your  own  criDcal  thinking  

ü  You  understand  them  

ü  You  remember  them  

Different  note-­‐making  styles  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  

Linear   PaNern  

Linear  notes  

Disadvantages  Advantages  

•  Can  be  very  clear,  with  highlighDng  

•  Divided  well,  they  can  easily  be  added  to  

•  Useful  when  there  is  a  clear  structure  

•  Can  be  boring  to  look  at  and  hard  to  read  

•  Risk  of  transcribing  what  is  said.  

•  Risk  of  passive  note  making  

PaNern  notes  Disadvantages  Advantages  

•  Visual  impression  can  be  very  easy  to  understand  and  remember  

•  Not  fixed  in  any  order  •  Links  are  made  obvious  •  Less  likely  to  write  too  

much    

•  May  be  hard  to  decide  what  order  your  notes  are  in  

•  You  may  run  out  of  space  as  it  is  hard  to  expand  once  space  is  filled  

Split  Page  /  The  Cornell  System  involves  dividing  up  the  page  into  3  secDons:  1  Standard  notes  on  the  right    2.Your  own  comments  /quesDons  on  the  leY  3.  A  summary  at  the  end    Advantages  •  Specifically  designed  for  taking  notes  in  

lectures  •  Provides  a  way  of  organising  notes  •  Generates  revision  topics      Disadvantages  •  Visually,  not  very  sDmulaDng  •  TemptaDon  to  write  down  too  much    

AcDve  reading  strategies  

•  How  do  you  decide  if  a  text  is  relevant?    

•  How  do  you  idenDfy  the  key  points?  

•  How  do  you  know  what  to  note  down?    

Note-­‐taking:  criDcal  selecDon  •  Discard  -­‐  Get  an  overview  of  the  text  first  to  decide  if  it’s  relevant  

(skim  and  scan,  idenDfy  the  argument/theory/posiDon)  

•  Select  -­‐  Only  choose  what  is  relevant  and  useful  to  your  purpose  

•  Summarise  the  main  ideas  in  your  own  words  –  that  way  you’ll  know  whether  you’ve  understood  the  content  

•  Reference  -­‐  Note  reference  details  and  page  numbers    

What  do  you  think?  –  brainstorm  your  ideas  before  reading  

Use  clear  headings  /  different  colour  /  space  on  page  to  add  your  own  notes  

Adapted  from  CoNrell  (2011)  CriDcal  Thinking  Skills  Chapter  9  

Recap:  AcDve  note  making    ü  Leave  space  in  your  notes  for  your  own  

quesDons  ü  Try  different  note  making  styles  ü  Use  images,  pictures,  diagram  or  highlighters  

to  make  your  notes  memorable  ü  Test  your  understanding  by  summarising  the  

key  points    ü  Ask  quesDons:  How  does  what  you've  learnt  

fit  with  what  you  already  know  about  the  topic?  Did  anything  surprise  you?  

•  Workshops  How  do  I  think  read  and  write  criDcally  –  Today  at  3pm      Digital  note  making  and  bookmarking  –  Tomorrow  at  1:30pm    

•  Skills  Hub  www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub/  •  Student  Mentors  •  SCLS  –  workshops  and  tutorials  •  Royal  Literary  Fund  –  45  minute  tutorials  www.sussex.ac.uk/library/guides/rlf    

Study Skills Resources