1. Mastering Your Notes

2. How to master your notes
Review them carefully
Recite them regularly
Reflect on them deeply
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3. Reviewing to Cement Understanding
Use the Q System to verify your understanding of key ideas
Use summaries to help see the big picture
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4. The Q System Arrive at a question for each important idea
Jot the question in the margin of your notes or textbook page
Questions can be abbreviated, but they should be unambiguous
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5. When you don’t have enough space in a textbook margin
Use the sticky-note method: Jot your questions on sticky notes and affix them alongside their paragraphs
Use the bookmark method: Jot a page’s worth of questions on thin slips of paper and insert them in your textbook in the appropriate spot.
Take separate notes: Avoid the thin margin problem altogether by taking your notes separately.
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6. See the Big Picture with Summaries
Summaries provide context.
Summaries encourage you to come to grips with broader ideas and to ask “What’s the page about?”
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7. Types of summaries
The standard summary: A few sentences at the bottom of each page, describing its contents
The wrap-up summary: A few paragraphs summing up an entire lecture or reading assignment.
The split-level summary: Summarize each page and then summarize the entire lecture or assignment as well.
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8. Reciting to Strengthen Memories
Encourages you to think
Helps you to concentrate
Prepares you for the next chapter or lecture
Allows time for consolidation
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9. How to recite
Cover the first page of your notes or markings with a blank sheet of paper, revealing only the Q System questions.
Read the first question and answer it in your own words.
Slide down the cover sheet to check your answer.
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10. How to recite (cont’d)
If your answer is incorrect or incomplete, try again.
Continue with each question until you’ve answered all of them.
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11. Two “flavors” of reciting
Out loud
This is the traditional way
Make sure your answers are clearly articulated complete sentences
On paper
This method is a little slower but it provides proof of your knowledge
Instead of speaking your answers, write or type them out
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12. Reflecting to add wisdom
Reflecting involves pondering and speculating on information
When you reflect, you wonder about the significance of information and about how it fits in
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13. Why reflect? Reflect promotes creativity Reflection leads to wisdom
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14. Techniques to encourage reflection
Use the Silver Dollar System
Rearrange your information
Put it in context
Ask more questions.
Think visually
Combine your lecture and textbook notes.
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