Reading
Note taking is an integral part of successful study and learning, helping you to organise and transform the content you hear or read into your own structure and words.
You might take notes in a lecture or tutorial, capturing key ideas or messages. It helps you to listen actively and to retain the information.
Note taking can also be an active process for assimilation of information. It integrates notes taken in lectures with the information you gain from your readings. This is the stage where you make meaning, seeing the connections between different sources and establishing a fuller picture of the topic. It’s a necessary step to increasing knowledge and understanding.
Be sure to keep accurate records of the things you read for referencing, including the details of the author, date, title and source (where you can find the work). You can use EndNote, a reference management tool to assist with this task. Check out our EndNote Essentials guide for more information.
Strategies
Good notes are useful notes. They should be a stepping stone between the information you receive – from your lectures and readings – to enabling you to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic in an assignment.
So, how do you take good, useful notes? That all depends on you and your learning style. There are many ways of taking notes – we’re going to expand on a couple; however, if you don’t see anything that works for you, check out #studyspo for some inspiration (but remember, beautiful notes are only useful if they help you bridge the gap between information and knowledge).
All note-making styles do have a few things in common. When recording your notes:
- Keep your assignment question and thesis statement in mind as you read and take notes. It will help guide you to the most useful information in the source.
- Record useful information in your own words, rather than copying from the source word for word. This is important in ensuring that you understand the content, as well as helping you paraphrase and avoid accidental plagiarism.
- Always record the details of the source for your reference list (and so that you can find it again!).
Watch this short video for 10 tips!
Let’s look at a couple of note taking strategies - Cornell note taking, mind mapping, and the outlining method - in more depth:
Cornell note taking
The Cornell note taking system requires you to divide your notes into three sections:
- A Cue column where you write down any questions you may have for yourself after recording your notes
- A Notes column where you write down facts, important details and generally capture the gist of the reading or lecture
- A Summary section where you summarise what you’ve learned
So, what does this look like in practice? See an example below or watch this 60 second video, produced by Cornell University to learn more.
I have an assignment where I need to establish the most effective way to take notes to improve academic performance. I’ve read Note-taking strategies with computers: Exploring alternative strategies for improved recall. by Bui, et al. and captured my notes using the Cornell strategy.
- Complete the notes section first, capturing important information, definitions and conclusions.
- Summarise the key findings in the Summary section. What have you learned? How does it relate to your assignment question?
- Pose questions for yourself in the Cue section. Is there anything that you didn’t understand? Obvious connections or contrasts to other readings? Any gaps you need to fill?
Mind mapping
Mind mapping is a visual note taking style that emphasises the connections between ideas. The main idea is usually presented in the centre of the map with related concepts linking out from it.
It’s a style that can be used in order to capture notes from a single lecture or reading, or to link ideas from a number of different sources together. Mind mapping is an effective strategy for essay planning, allowing you to establish the links between your readings.
What does a mind map look like in practice? See an example below.
I have an assignment where I need to establish the most effective way to take notes to improve academic performance. I’ve read Note-taking strategies with computers: Exploring alternative strategies for improved recall. by Bui, et al. and captured my notes using a mind map.
Outlining method
The outlining method uses dashes and indentation to organise information in your notes. The information which is most general is aligned to the left with more specific information moving to the right.
When using the outlining method, it’s a good idea to read the source in full once before you commence your note taking as it will give you an opportunity to identify the main points ahead of time. This will help with your organisation.
So what does this look like in practice? See an example below.
I have an assignment where I need to establish the most effective way to take notes to improve academic performance. I’ve read Note-taking strategies with computers: Exploring alternative strategies for improved recall. by Bui, et al. and captured my notes using the Outlining method
Synthesising
Note taking strategies can be used as you read a specific source and also when you are looking at the bigger picture, combining the things you’ve read, with the information presented in your lectures, along with any pre-existing ideas and opinions you have. This process of putting things together is when you begin to create connections and form a more complete picture of a topic, a process called synthesising.
When you synthesise you recognise areas of consensus in your research, points where there are common findings or ideas. You will also be able to see where there are different or contrasting ideas. Establishing these connections is a key step as you move towards writing your assignment.
Use one of the note taking strategies listed above to begin synthesising. Your main concepts will become paragraphs or sections in your assignment. Synthesising is a key element of integrating your sources. See more in the Citing in your Writing module, including a synthesising example using the outlining method of note taking.