Note Taking

Background on Notetaking Verbatim note taking is the least effective way to take notes Notes should be considered a work in progress Revise & add to notes AFTER lecture during study periods…NOT just prior to a test Notes should be used as study guides for tests

Why Take Notes? If you do not write anything down, –42% of the information will be forgotten after 20 minutes –56% after 1 hour –66% after 1 day –75% after 1 week –80% after 1 month

How to write? If something is confusing, put a big ? In the margin BOX or CIRCLE vocabulary words Draw pictures of important ideas Write key words or phrases Use symbols and abbreviations to save time SPREAD OUT your writing – fill in important information LATER One fact per line Paraphrase when possible – get the GIST

Note taking is an important part of academic life. To be successful at note taking, you need to: Improve your listening skills. Develop your note taking skills. Be able to use your notes to study.

What to write? If it’s on the board, write it down Listen for words that signal important information (i.e. “pay attention,” “I want to emphasis this…”). Listen for clues that tell you how many details will be listed (i.e. “there are three major themes in this story…”).

Practice. Develop your own style. After the lecture, rewrite your notes and fill in any missing info ASAP

Note taking = Dictation Note taking is writing complete ideas; dictation is writing complete sentences.

Dictation: Examples History 1002 meets 2 days a week, from 10:00 am to 10:50. Hist d/wk 10 – 10:50 am Notes:

Successful Note taking: 3 keys to green environ 1- educate public 2- improve techn. 3-help demand for rcylng Three keys to green environment – educate public, improve techno., and help increase demand for recycling. Use space. Indent.

Use space to show relationships. 3 keys to green environ 1- educate public 2- improve tech. 3-help incr. demand for recy.ing Use vertical space. Use horizontal space. Classes to Take 9 th 10 th 11 th 12 th

Use headings to organize ideas. To create headings, use - CAPITAL LETTERS BOXES underline - - indent below the heading

Bad Example: Stimulants are drugs that increase energy and alertness. They include cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines. DON’T rewrite what’s already there. Waste of time.

Good Example: STIMULANTS – energy/alertness Cocaine: Meth. Amphtamines:

Use symbols and abbreviations. Mr = ! Mrs % w/ ‹ pop › & #  w/o x

Example If you’re taking notes on statistics, use symbols. Example for the following: Methamphetamine use increased from 1990 to 1998, while Amphetamine use dropped from 2000 to Use: Meth fr Amph. fr

Get the BIG PICTURE! What’s the speaker’s main point? What does he want you to learn?

One More Point Quantity is important! Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty jskdfjfijeirjeww Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe Ehuwehfweweoi weor Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty js kdfjfijeirjeww Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgpor ojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Sjkjdfoweui voifof wero w pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Sjkjdfoweui v oifofwerow pskfpkfdfghh jrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty jskdfjfijeirjeww Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty jsk dfjfijeirjeww jkjdfoweu voifofwerow Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyo lweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor fjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty jskdfjfijeirjeww Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpk Fdfghhjr ttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyutyuyuty js kdfjfijeirjeww Sjkjdfoweui voifofwerow pskfpkfdfghhjrttrrtyry Asddadereegghhjyjhytyuty uyuty jskdfjfijeirjeww Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor Dfjfjiefjwekglhkglhkgportyolweojwe ehuwehfweweoirweor

Now let’s change sentences to ideas...

Change dictation into notes: Studies on worldwide literacy* rates show that almost 80 percent of the world’s population over the age of 15 is now literate. This includes more women than ever before. *Literacy = ability to read

One way to write this info Studies ww literacy rt = almost 80 % world pop over 15 yrs now literate + grtr # of women than bef

Change dictation into notes: UNESCO’s study shows a drop in illiteracy from twenty-two and four-tenths percent of the world population in 1995 to twenty and three tenths in 2000.

One way to write this info UNESCO’s st shows fr 22.4% ww pop in ’95 to 20.3% in 2000 What important information is missing? What is the decrease in? The LITERACY rate INCREASED – the drop was in the number of people who CANNOT read – the ILLITERACY rate dropped.

Another way to write it. WW literacy rates - almost 80% of ww pop 15+ yrs - literate - more women than bef - illiteracy % (ww pop) 20.3%

Remember Use Key words Space Headings Abbreviations and symbols Complete ideas Quantity!

Remember Get the big picture! Rewrite your notes. Develop your own style and Practice, practice, practice.

Notes from Listening and Reading Practice We will listen to a few clips and you will practice taking notes Much easier to take notes off of a PPT than a verbal presentation PPT dev by Debra A. Wilson27