You can develop your own note taking system and
study strategy
with the five "R's" of note-taking:
Record * Reduce * Recite * Reflect * Review
Get a good loose-leaf notebook:
This will enable you to add, delete, and re-sequence pages and materials.
Begin each session's notes with a cover page for
later summaries and test preparation.
A typical notes page:
|
Heading
- Date
- Class/subject or title or number (e.g. 3/34)
|
Heading,
continued
- Guest speakers' names,
including your fellow students' contributions
|
2. Reduce;
after the class summarize:
- key/cue words
- phrases
- questions
Link to information from your textbook,
Websites or other sources that helps you understand or study
the material |
1. Record/take notes in
class here:
identify the main points
capture the main ideas
Use outlines or
concept maps
Use words and pictures and graphs or whatever it
takes to get the information down quickly. Avoid quoting unless
it is very necessary.
|
Place for notes
when reviewing/studying
(see 5 below) |
3. Recite:
Talk aloud!
- Review from memory what you have learned
- Using the left hand margin's key words and questions, talk through, or
illustrate definitions, concepts, etc.
- Create your own examples
4. Reflect: Think over!
- How does this relate to what you knew before?
- Note the
essay terms and find the best ones
that refer to your studies: Apply, Compare, Diagram, Evaluate, etc...
5. Review the notes you took
- At your next study session
- Before reading new material
- When studying for tests
Make notes on your "notes page"
Multiple pages of notes for one lecture:
- summarize each page at its bottom,
- summarize the lecture on a cover or end page
Adapted from Walter Pauk (1989) and the Cornell Notetaking
System (Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH)
