Guidelines for Note Taking

 

Develop a Personal Note-Taking System

Taking notes is an important aspect of your academics. Notes are basically written record of your lecture. These help you a lot in performing well. You have to develop your own note-taking system. You have to make notes of your own instead of copying it from someone else

·        You can use short forms of certain words i.e. bez, b/w

·        You can also use your own abbreviated forms of words for understanding like M.C for main character.

·        You can use sticky notes for additional information

·        You can also use different colors for different ideas.

·        You can write important points by writing jest of lecture

Through these things you can easily develop your own note-taking system. These things will surely help you a lot.

Guidelines for Note Taking

There are certain guidelines that can help you in your note taking procedure.

Use the two page system

You have to place two pages of your notebook in front of you, on one page you have to note down the key points and on another one you have to write details of that point. Try to write as many information as you can.

Don't use a tape recorder

Don't try to use tape recorder to record your lecture. You are unable to learn through that because you have to replay it time and again to get ideas. You can't revise your lecture through that. You are unable to get the visual learning advantage.

Avoid short hand

You can use abbreviated forms of the words but don't completely reply on short hand because sometime you are unable to get the idea from that technique.

Don’t key board your notes

After noting down the lecture, don’t waste your time in keyboarding it. You can note down the points during the class and then instead of keyboarding you can utilize that time for memorizing.

Use Signal Words and Phrases

According to a research, a college lecturer speaks 120 words per minute. In a lecture of fifty minutes a student hears up to six thousand words expressing ideas, facts and details. So, to arrange them in proper order you can use signal words and phrases.

 Get ready for the final point

Mostly it happens that a lecturer ends up the lecture with the main points. So, to get the overall idea of the topic you have to stay focused. Even after the class you should stay on your seat and write as much as you remember.

Rely on your own instant Replay

After leaving the room, you have to recall the lecture in your mind. You should visualize the points written on the board. You can ask different questions from yourself. What was the topic? How much you learned? What is the relation between old learning and new learning?  In case of any confusion you should note it down and ask from your instructor.

Stick to the Basics

Technology is useful to us but we should not leave our basics which include paper-pencil technique. As in case of using laptop, you may find difficulties like making graphs, key boarding points and taking it along with you daily.

Arrive Early

You should reach class early so that you may get good seat, away from distractions for yourself. You can revise previous lecture. This will help you a lot in academics.