Introduction

How to retain information

Guide to notemaking

 

Why make notes?

  1. To remember and make sense of material
  2. To use in writing assignments/ essays and revising for exams
  3. To provide 'hooks' on which to hang ideas for later development
  4. To plan future activity

When to make notes

This list may help you to focus on how you should take notes:

  1. Before you start any activity
  2. Before, during and after lectures
  3. In seminars
  4. In tutorials
  5. While reading

How to make notes

How well your notes will fulfil the function you need them to achieve depends upon which approach you choose since different approaches will be successful in different situations.

Long-hand, linear notes - These are most useful in helping you to maintain the flow of an argument or idea. However, you may find yourself with too much material to read and they can be difficult to use. Ideally they need to be organised around the task they are to be used for.

Key words - Keywords have the advantage of being extremely focused on the task in hand. However, you may not always remember what they mean and what thought processes they are meant to trigger.

Rough notes - Sometimes a particular situation (such as an interview) will dictate that you have to use this style of note making. Their major drawback is that they are not always easily comprehensible and they therefore need to be synthesised and organised. You should always undertake this neatening as soon after making the notes as possible.

Short, patterned notes - Help to organise and concentrate material but they can be confusing. They must be organised consistently and systematically if they are to make sense. Patterned notes take a diagrammatic form rather than the linear, line by line approach. This technique produces very condensed notes which should capture the essence of the material and ideas that you are studying. Most importantly, they aid you in making connections within and between topics.

We have used the phrase 'note making,' and not 'note taking' to stress that you should not simply take notes in an automatic copying down process. The successful student should engage in an active process of making notes. You should interact with the reading, lecture etc. by deciding what to do with the information. One tried and tested method in approaching material (particularly reading) is known as sq3r.

SQ3R

SQ3R is a systematic approach to note making in 5 stages:

  1. Survey
  2. Question
  3. Read
  4. Re-read
  5. Review

Survey - Survey your reading list matching it to essay questions from past exam papers etc. Do an author and subject search of the library. Do an index search in the books you have decided will be most useful for your topic. Do not forget other sources of information including the Internet, CD ROMS, national newspapers and journals.

Question - Surveying allows you to discover what a text contains. Questioning requires you to focus on why you are reading it by asking such questions as:

  1. Why am I reading this?
  2. What do I need?
  3. How will I know that it has given me what I want?

Read - Do not make notes on first reading. Engage actively in the material first. Read a paragraph at a time (at a speed which allows you time to think).

Re-read - Recall the main points and decide upon the information you need. Remember, when you are taking notes from a book Always note down author, title, publisher & date. You will need this information later to write references for inclusion in your bibliography. See Writing references.

If you are going to use a quote make sure you have taken it down accurately and have a page number).

Review - Go through your notes asking:

  1. Are they usable?
  2. Are they relevant?
  3. Have they answered all of your questions?
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