Study Skills: Taking Notes
Many people are not born great note takers. “Practice make perfect” is the motto associated with taking notes. A great habit to get into is to review your notes nightly or to rewrite/reorganize them. There are many methods for note taking and as a learner one needs to practice and fine tune the method(s) that works best.
http://www.redlands.edu/docs/StudentLife/1Five_Methods_of_Notetaking.docx_UPDATED_7-09.pdf (resource below is taken from the above website)
THE CORNELL METHOD
| Page # Today’s Date Layout of the page and where to write | Draw a line vertically down your paper, leaving 2 - 3 inches on the left and 6 inches on the right. This allows you to take notes on the right-hand side of the page leaving space on the left to summarize the main point with a key word or phrase. |
| Organization of concepts | When the instructor moves to a new topic, skip a line. |
| Filling in blanks. | If you are not able to completely write down an idea before the instructor moves on to a new topic, fill it in after class - find a notebuddy. |
| Reviewing and Studying | After class, test your knowledge of the material by covering up the right side of the page, reading the key words, and trying to remember as much information as possible. Then check to see if you remembered it correctly. Also write page and day summaries. – at the bottom of the page |
| Advantages | This is a simple and efficient way of recording and reviewing notes – it’s easy for pulling out major concepts and ideas. It’s simple and efficient. It saves time and effort because you “do-it-right-in-the-first-place.” |
