1. Louise Livesey Academic Skills Adviser
Note-taking Skills
Provide some guidelines for taking effective notes in lectures and from reading
Explore strategies for taking traditional notes
Introduce less-traditional methods of note-taking
Complete register and LHS grid on feedback sheet
Is aimed at Level 1 undergraduates
Louise Livesey
Academic Skills Adviser
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

2. Academic Skills Advice
The Plan…
Why take notes?
Note-taking dos and don’ts
Strategies for traditional note-taking
Strategies for less traditional note-taking
All appear on click
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

3. Activity 1: In at the deep end.
Listen to the brief practice lecture
Take notes exactly as you would normally do in a lecture
Debrief your strategies with the person next to you.
All appear on click
Explain exercise, students to take notes for Darwin ppt on 2nd page. Deliver mini-lecture
After completed mini-lecture, have students compare different ways they made notes
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

4. Academic Skills Advice
1.Why Take Notes?
Summary
An overview of a topic.
Memory
Aids retention by double processing
Revision
The basis of revision or a guide for further reading
Concentration
Is active, rather than passive. If you are not actively engaged you can be easily distracted
Active Listening OR Reading = Active Learning
Each heading and explanation flies in on click
Ask how notes help with each heading
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

5. WHAT the notes will be used for:
1.Why Take Notes?
WHAT the notes will be used for:
A supplement to detailed lecture materials
The basis of a revision ‘pack’ that must be learnt for an exam
To fuel critical thinking when researching assignments or essay questions
As evidence to back up arguments in assignments or essays?
An aide-mémoire when on a work placement
Purely a process to maintain concentration during learning activities
Each answer on a click so ask students what the notes will be used for then reveal answers pg 3
Help with more in-depth lecture information
Foundation for exam learning
Ideas to start critical thinking
Evidence for assessments
Reminder when you are in workplace
Just assist with concentration
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

6. Academic Skills Advice
2.Note-taking dos & don’ts
Do…
prepare
be brief and selective
listen/look for keywords & ‘signposts’
follow up
keep glossaries
Each bullet point has a click
Be prepared: what questions are you trying to answer; what do you already know; check out the topic etc.
Main ideas/concepts
Line of argument
Some illustrative detail
Information about other sources of information/ideas
Make decisions – based on active listening:
Keep it brief and to the point – focus on what’s important
Use symbols & abbreviations (see workbook page 5 for examples) – some are conventional but it’s fine to use your own – as long as you remember what they are!
Keywords can come from your preparation and questions you have set for yourself
Signposts/ signal words (workbook page 4)
Think about lecture plan, handout headings, contents page etc.
Summaries; conclusions; abstracts
Definitions: “I’ll first define the term…”
Examples: “Let’s look at an example…”
Descriptions of sequences/processes: “The first step…”
Connections: “Therefore”, “It can be seen that…”
“Critical” “Essential” “Crucial”
Stress and emphasis/ repetition
Conclusions: “take-home message” “bumper sticker” “key aspects”
References: to text books or other sources – these will often provide a useful starting point when you come to research for essays etc.
Things to follow up:
Ideas, facts or concepts which you don’t understand/ with which you agree or disagree.
The difference between facts and opinions.
Note any questions or comments that occur to you whilst listening/reading.
Note if there is a gap in your knowledge.
Before click – what is a glossary?
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

7. Academic Skills Advice
2.Note-taking dos & don’ts
Don’t…
Try to take a note of everything
Take notes of material already available e.g. handout, textbook
Rely on the hand-out/BlackBoard materials.
Each line appears on click and ask students what shouldn’t do?
Making a note of everything is impossible for most of us and not helpful, even if you are able (short-hand example) – similarly, don’t copy large chunks of text from books etc. – you are not just recording information, you are processing it
Hand-outs rarely contain everything you need – same goes for BlackBoard so don’t rely on these in lieu of either lecture notes or proper reading for assignments etc.
It’s good to have a friend’s notes if you have to miss a lecture, but make sure you go through them for yourself and review them. In relation to reading, it can sometimes be useful to share out a reading list for a first trawl but you will need to make notes on the most important sources for yourself
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

8. Academic Skills Advice
3.Strategies for traditional note-taking
Most common style
Don’t just make a list
Organise:
Use indentations/ subsections
Use bullet points or numbering
Underline, circle etc.
Leave good margins
“Wordy”
All appear on click
These are the notes most people are used to taking even if it does not appeal to their learning style (although possibly it is the best for most people)
Linear notes tend to look like this (written or typed). They may be less neat and have bullets and relevant symbols but they use lots of words and are often done in phrases or sometimes in sentences.
See example in workbook page 6
Ask students what are the pros and then cons to this style?
Pros:
Conventional – a format we are all used to
Relatively easy
Maintains chronology/ order (reflects the order of the argument)
Cons:
Doesn’t suit all learning styles
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

9. Academic Skills Advice
Use abbreviations
New terms written in full
Notes for follow-up
Questions arising
Diagrams: do they need to be accurate or representative?
Decent margins for annotation later
Notes appear on right but each new point needs click
Not perfect but could work for you as linear notes, more or less
Notes use of abbreviations, but new words written out in full
(?) to indicate things I’m note sure about or might have misheard
Questions that occur – why did D not publish for 20 years?
Diagrams need not necessarily be accurate – the tree of life is a rough representation, which is fine in this context – others might need to be very precise
Decent margins for additional notes
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

10. Academic Skills Advice
3.Strategies for traditional note-taking
Cornell Note-taking Template
Appears on click
Try having a specific template (pages 7 & 8 in workbook Cornell template) which you follow for all of your notes. It should include:
Each section is used for something different:
This records the module lecturer, lecture or text and the date.
This is where you make the bulk of your notes.
This is for going through, after reading or the lecture and making key points or questions that have arisen. They are referred to as ‘cues’.
This is for summarising the page of notes. This helps you flick through and find relevant pages at a later date.
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

11. Academic Skills Advice
3.Strategies for traditional note-taking
Use the top section for lecture or source details
Use the right hand side for notes
Use the left hand column to add ‘cues’
Use the lower part to summarise
All appears on click
Example of Cornell template filled in
Ask students what are the pros and cons?
Pros:
Separates notes from your own comments.
Separates key points from detail.
Shows the organisation of material more clearly and visually.
Distinguishes key points for revision.
Gives some discipline
Cons:
Too restricting for some people
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

12. Academic Skills Advice
3.Strategies for traditional note-taking
Activity 2: Shallow end
Listen to the brief practice lecture again
Take notes using the Cornell template
Group discussion about how useful it was to you
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

13. Alternatives to Linear Notes
4.Strategies for less traditional note-taking
Alternatives to Linear Notes
Appeals to more visual learners
Colours and size
Plain paper
Doodles and sketches
Text turns into diagrams and charts
E.g. Mind-mapping
All appears on click
This includes anything which appeals to more visual learners.
Use colours and size to make things stand out.
Rather than working in linear format you record the information on plain paper in any way that appeals to you – in bubbles, for instance.
Use doodles and sketches to help you remember what you have heard or read.
Turn lengthy text explanations or arguments into diagrams and charts.
Example in booklet page 10 for an example…
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

14. Academic Skills Advice
All appears on one click
MindMapping can be an extremely powerful visual tool.
aim to colour code and link information.
You can include small graphics/doodles to stimulate memory.
They can be sometimes called memory pegs.
Ask students what are the pros and cons?
Pros:
Appeals to people who are visual thinkers/ active learners
Creative – releases ideas
Good in exams – as a way to plan your answers
Good for exam revision - Helps you to see what you know and also what the gaps are
Cons:
Does not suit everyone – the process can be difficult if you are not a visual thinker
“Also, the University has a site licence for the software ‘MindGenius’ to create mind maps, with a facility to transfer document to Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, and this is available on all student machines.”
© 2007 Expanding Paradigms
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

15. Academic Skills Advice
4.Strategies for less traditional note-taking
Annotation is a form of note-taking.
Uses pre-existing material and working on or around it.
Colours important:
Black = original jottings during the session
Red = questions arising or understanding to be checked.
Green = answers to the questions or additional detail after…
Talking to a lecturer
Reading a key text/researching to increase depth.
All appears on one click
Complete feedback form, workshop materials online over night and full workshop schedule on website
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

16. Academic Skills Advice Service
Where are we? Chesham Building B0.23. Give us a call or come speak to us Monday- Friday 9am-5pm (closing at 4pm Fridays).
Who am I? Louise, the dedicated workshop adviser.
Who can help me with study and writing skills? Lucy and Russell run Instant Study Skills Advice sessions every weekday and Writing Skills Clinics three times a week. You can also access self-help resources on our webpage.
Who can give me maths advice? Helen and Michael specialise in Maths support for students though clinics and pre-booked appointment.
How do I get in touch? Telephone:
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice

17. Academic Skills Advice
Any questions?
09/11/2018
Academic Skills Advice