3 answers
Ashly
Student
Springfield, Virginia
2
Questions
Asked
840 views
Writing Skills
Hey,
What are some strategies to take good quality notes? Should I highlight, use sticky-notes, or underline? What are some suggestions? Or what do you do to remember key points while reading? #skills
Login to comment
3 answers
Justin Pearson
Technology Customer Success Professional
7
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Justin’s Answer
Hi Ashly, This is a great question! This was tricky for me when I started school. I didn't know what my note taking style was and there is so many options. My short answer is you will need to experiment and you will most likely find that using a combination of different note taking styles helps best. I personally do a combination of typing, handwriting in notebooks, notecards and sticky notes. You just want to make sure that your notes are easy to read and keep track of later. Especially when reading or trying to get info from resources, my notes sometimes start with the author, chapter and pages. Then you can do simple bullet points about each chapter (including what happened or what is being discussed). If it is a text book that you need to read from, keep close attention to write down titles, headings or anything in bold. You may also find adding a quote or two from someone useful. Once you find the way that you like to take notes the best, you will find that it doesn't take much additional time while reading. Studies have proven that taking notes while reading helps with memorizing by a huge amount.
Depending on what types of notes I am taking, (lecture, book, independent research) I always write down the question, "What is the person/author trying to say?" or "what do I think the theme is here?". This helps me to step outside of the information and view it from a different viewpoint.
This professional recommends the following next steps:
- Here is an article that gives some suggestions on how to take notes while reading: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/notes-reading.html
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian & Software Developer since 1972 => Nutrition Education => Health & Longevity => Self-Actualization.
6183
Answers
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Hello Ashly,
Strategies for Taking Good Quality Notes
Taking good quality notes is essential for effective learning and retention of information. There are several strategies that can help you in this regard, and the use of highlighting, sticky-notes, and underlining can be part of these strategies. Here are some suggestions for taking good quality notes:
1. Active Listening and Engagement
One of the most important strategies for taking good quality notes is to actively listen and engage with the material being presented. This means paying close attention to the speaker or the text and making a conscious effort to understand the key points being communicated.
2. Organizing Your Notes
Organizing your notes in a structured manner can significantly improve their quality. You can use bullet points, headings, subheadings, and numbering to create a clear and logical structure for your notes. This will make it easier to review and study them later.
3. Use of Highlighting, Sticky-Notes, and Underlining
Highlighting, using sticky-notes, and underlining can be effective techniques for emphasizing important information in your notes. However, it’s important to use these tools judiciously and not overdo it. Highlighting or underlining key points and using sticky-notes for additional comments or questions can help in remembering crucial information.
4. Summarizing Key Points
Summarizing key points in your own words as you take notes can aid in understanding and retention. This process forces you to process the information and express it in a way that makes sense to you, which enhances comprehension.
5. Visual Aids
Incorporating visual aids such as diagrams, charts, or graphs into your notes can be beneficial, especially when dealing with complex information. Visual representations can help in understanding and recalling concepts more effectively.
6. Reviewing and Revising
Regularly reviewing and revising your notes is crucial for retaining the information over the long term. Set aside time to go through your notes periodically to reinforce your memory of the material.
7. Utilize Technology
Using note-taking apps or software can be advantageous as they offer features like searchability, organization, and accessibility across devices. These tools can enhance the quality of your notes by providing a digital platform for efficient note-taking.
8. Active Participation
Actively participating in discussions or asking questions during lectures can help in better understanding the material, which in turn contributes to the quality of your notes.
Remembering Key Points While Reading
In addition to note-taking strategies, there are specific techniques that can aid in remembering key points while reading:
Create Mental Associations: Try creating mental associations between new information and something familiar to you. This technique helps in encoding new information into your long-term memory.
Use Mnemonics: Mnemonic devices such as acronyms or rhymes can assist in remembering lists or sequences of information.
Practice Retrieval: After reading a section, try recalling the main points without looking at the text. This practice strengthens memory retention.
Teach Someone Else: Explaining what you’ve read to someone else reinforces your understanding of the material and helps in remembering key points.
By employing these strategies for taking good quality notes and remembering key points while reading, you can enhance your learning experience and improve retention of important information.
Top 3 Authoritative Sources Used:
Harvard University - Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: The Derek Bok Center provides comprehensive resources on effective note-taking strategies based on research-backed methods.
Cornell University - Learning Strategies Center: Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center offers evidence-based guidance on note-taking techniques that promote active learning and retention.
University of Michigan - Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT): The CRLT at the University of Michigan provides valuable insights into effective note-taking practices supported by educational research.
These sources were selected for their authority in educational research and their focus on evidence-based strategies for effective note-taking and learning retention.
Four words came to me
thought
train
trigger
remember
Don't forget to read my autobiography, "About James Constantine" paying close attention to the foods that provide all the essential nutrients for effective performance studying. These are brain nutrients, like the amino acids, tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, the B complex vitamins, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Adenine, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine, Cyanocobalamin, Folate, Inositol, Choline, and the minerals magnesium and zinc. You might discover that you can accomplish twice as much academic work in half the time. Your energy is massive and your performance in exams and assignments will also improve significantly, especially if your diet is replete. Replenishing missing nutrients can do wonders. So can high distinctions! It is medical biochemistry!
GOD BLESS YOU RICHLY, AMEN,
James Constantine Frangos.
Strategies for Taking Good Quality Notes
Taking good quality notes is essential for effective learning and retention of information. There are several strategies that can help you in this regard, and the use of highlighting, sticky-notes, and underlining can be part of these strategies. Here are some suggestions for taking good quality notes:
1. Active Listening and Engagement
One of the most important strategies for taking good quality notes is to actively listen and engage with the material being presented. This means paying close attention to the speaker or the text and making a conscious effort to understand the key points being communicated.
2. Organizing Your Notes
Organizing your notes in a structured manner can significantly improve their quality. You can use bullet points, headings, subheadings, and numbering to create a clear and logical structure for your notes. This will make it easier to review and study them later.
3. Use of Highlighting, Sticky-Notes, and Underlining
Highlighting, using sticky-notes, and underlining can be effective techniques for emphasizing important information in your notes. However, it’s important to use these tools judiciously and not overdo it. Highlighting or underlining key points and using sticky-notes for additional comments or questions can help in remembering crucial information.
4. Summarizing Key Points
Summarizing key points in your own words as you take notes can aid in understanding and retention. This process forces you to process the information and express it in a way that makes sense to you, which enhances comprehension.
5. Visual Aids
Incorporating visual aids such as diagrams, charts, or graphs into your notes can be beneficial, especially when dealing with complex information. Visual representations can help in understanding and recalling concepts more effectively.
6. Reviewing and Revising
Regularly reviewing and revising your notes is crucial for retaining the information over the long term. Set aside time to go through your notes periodically to reinforce your memory of the material.
7. Utilize Technology
Using note-taking apps or software can be advantageous as they offer features like searchability, organization, and accessibility across devices. These tools can enhance the quality of your notes by providing a digital platform for efficient note-taking.
8. Active Participation
Actively participating in discussions or asking questions during lectures can help in better understanding the material, which in turn contributes to the quality of your notes.
Remembering Key Points While Reading
In addition to note-taking strategies, there are specific techniques that can aid in remembering key points while reading:
Create Mental Associations: Try creating mental associations between new information and something familiar to you. This technique helps in encoding new information into your long-term memory.
Use Mnemonics: Mnemonic devices such as acronyms or rhymes can assist in remembering lists or sequences of information.
Practice Retrieval: After reading a section, try recalling the main points without looking at the text. This practice strengthens memory retention.
Teach Someone Else: Explaining what you’ve read to someone else reinforces your understanding of the material and helps in remembering key points.
By employing these strategies for taking good quality notes and remembering key points while reading, you can enhance your learning experience and improve retention of important information.
Top 3 Authoritative Sources Used:
Harvard University - Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: The Derek Bok Center provides comprehensive resources on effective note-taking strategies based on research-backed methods.
Cornell University - Learning Strategies Center: Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center offers evidence-based guidance on note-taking techniques that promote active learning and retention.
University of Michigan - Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT): The CRLT at the University of Michigan provides valuable insights into effective note-taking practices supported by educational research.
These sources were selected for their authority in educational research and their focus on evidence-based strategies for effective note-taking and learning retention.
Four words came to me
thought
train
trigger
remember
Don't forget to read my autobiography, "About James Constantine" paying close attention to the foods that provide all the essential nutrients for effective performance studying. These are brain nutrients, like the amino acids, tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, the B complex vitamins, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Adenine, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine, Cyanocobalamin, Folate, Inositol, Choline, and the minerals magnesium and zinc. You might discover that you can accomplish twice as much academic work in half the time. Your energy is massive and your performance in exams and assignments will also improve significantly, especially if your diet is replete. Replenishing missing nutrients can do wonders. So can high distinctions! It is medical biochemistry!
GOD BLESS YOU RICHLY, AMEN,
James Constantine Frangos.
Cari Gordon
Internal Audit
2
Answers
Springfield, Virginia
Updated
Cari’s Answer
I would recommend highlighting, but be cautious to only focus on the words/ideas that are key. If you highlight entire passages, it loses the impact of going back to review. Use sticky notes on pages with concepts that you are struggling with a bit more, so you can easily focus on those first. If you are a tactile learner, you will learn better by writing than reading, so you may want to write key elements into a separate notebook. In terms of taking notes, make a note at the top of each page with 1-3 words that capture the topic that's on that page, the date, and the reference to the course materials (book, chapter), if applicable. As you flip back through looking for a specific note, you can more easily locate it without reading through multiple pages. When writing, it's difficult to capture every word, so capture only the key words that are needed for you to remember the message. For example, for the prior sentence, the note would be simply, "capture key words to remember". Good luck!