 • Tips on Note-Taking and Outlining It may be helpful to discuss the following information with students before they view the program. 1. Question: A good note taker is someone who: a) writes down every word; b) uses a tape recorder; c) listens more than he/she writes; d) listens half the time and writes the other half. Note to teach: If your students answered a, b, or d, this program is for them. Actually, they may be happy to learn that in a lecture, the ratio of listening to writing should be 90-10. 2. Some reasons for taking notes in class are: a) Organized notes will help you recognize the core of important ideas. b) Notes provide a permanent record to help you learn and remember later. c) The underlying organization and purpose of a lecture will become clear through note taking. d) The lecture may contain information not available anywhere else. Discuss these reasons in class. 3. One note-taking skill is the ability to write down important facts quickly and accurately. Here are some hints about the mechanics of note taking. a) Set up each page in an orderly format; label the top of the page with the date, course and topic of the lecture or reading. b) Split the page in half; take notes only in the right half. The large left-hand margin will come in handy later for organizing your notes or making additions and corrections. c) Take notes in your own words. By doing this, you are simultaneously reducing information and putting it into terms which are easier to understand. d) Never use full sentences. Eliminate unnecessary words such as a, an, the. e) Don’t erase a mistake. Draw a single line through the material. This saves time and you may discover later that you want the material. f) Emphasize important words: underline, capitalize, circle, box and draw arrows. g) Abbreviate as much as possible. Create your own form of shorthand or code system. 4. Taking down every word you read or hear is not an effective note-taking (or outlining) technique. One way of developing the ability to get down only the most important ideas is to anticipate. In a lecture, for example, try to be one step ahead of the lecturer by asking yourself questions about the material before it is presented. For instance, if the title of the lecture is “The Lost Empire of the Incas,” you might ask questions such as: Who were the Incas? Where did they live? How long did the Empire exist? Why did it collapse? Your notes can then consist of answers to these questions. 5. One way of determining the most important information in a lecture is to pay attention to the way in which it is presented. For example, some teachers use word signals to indicate that an important idea is coming up. Word clues include phrases such as: “a major development”; “it is essential for you to know”; “remember that…” Some teachers use facial gestures or body movements when they are making an important point. With your teacher’s permission, discuss some of the word signals or body signals he/she uses. In the next lecture, use these clues to pick out the important ideas. 6. In reading assignments, there is so much information that determining what is important and unimportant may be the difference between confusing notes (or outlines) and orderly ones. Knowing how to read your textbook effectively is crucial to your note-taking (and outlining) skills. Before beginning to read, you should survey the chapter you are about to read. To survey: • Read the chapter title and think about what it means. • Read the chapter headings and subheadings. • Read the summary. • Read picture captions, charts and illustrations. • Check the bibliography. Open one of your textbooks to the next chapter assignment. Be sure to use a chapter not yet read. Using the above check list, survey the chapter. Then, discuss what you know about the chapter. Note to teacher: Reasons for surveying are as follows: • focuses student attention; • prepares students—they know what material to expect; • helps students determine what they already know about the material: • prepares students for the length of time required to read the material. • Follow-up Exercises 1. Ask students to organize the following word list into an outline form: South America, Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Europe, Western Hemisphere, Canada, North America, Arizona, United States, Columbia, Asia, Eastern Hemisphere. 2. Ask students to organize the following word list into an outline form: Rhinoceros, ostrich, gopher, goldfish, bass, Hummingbird, whale, falcon, mouse, chipmunk, bat. Note: In this exercise, student must supply their own headings. 3. Note-taking requires review if it is to be effective. Notes should be reviewed immediately after class, or as soon as possible, to be sure they are: a) Readable: Clean up your notes. Write out abbreviations, illegible words, unfinished sentences. Make them readable while they are fresh in your mind. You may not look at them again for a while and the next time, you may not be able to read or understand them. b) Clear:Add comments to make notes clearer. Fill in details, add examples. Mark important ideas for emphasis. Add a summary. c) Organize: Arrange notes into lists, columns, compare/contrast, cause/effect or outline form to make them better organized. Practice these suggested review skills. Reread, organize and revise a section of your own notes. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. 4. Basically, there are five steps in the note-taking or outlining process: a) Preview: Preparation for taking notes. Before you go to class, or before you begin a reading assignment, think about all the things you already know about the subject. b) Select: Write down only the most important ideas. Listen to everything, but do not try to copy it all. Search for the core of the material c) Question: Be one step ahead of the teacher or text. By asking questions, you can focus in on the most important ideas. d) Organize: Put your notes into understandable patterns (simple list, chronological lists, cause/effect, compare/contrast, outline). Organized notes are easier to remember and provide more help in studying. This is the most important step in the note-taking process. e) Review: Put your notes shortly after they have been taken. Divide the class into two groups. For a full week, students who want to should take notes using the five steps. The remaining students may take notes any way they want. At the end of the week, give a short quiz. See which group learned and remembered the most, without studying. 5. One method of note taking involves creating a word or sentence that you can easily remember. The word or sentence—called an acronym—represents a series of items in a particular order. For example, EGBDF represents the notes on the lines in a musical staff. Some people remember the order by using the sentence Every Good Boy Does Fine. What are some acronyms you’ve used? Do you find them an effective note-taking method? |
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