The first decision you have to make
for note taking is what paper to use. I highly recommend using college
ruled paper with the margin line drawn about 2 ½ inches from the left edge of
the paper. This is called Cornell paper, but you can make your own if you can’t
find it. This will allow you room to jot in key words and make it easy
to find topics later, when you study your notes. If you are more comfortable
with a smaller pad, that’s all right, but I would definitely try to use the
wide margined paper when you re-copy your notes. Re-copy? Yes, we’ll get to
that in a few paragraphs.
Another decision is “to tape or
not to tape” the lecture or seminar, if allowed. I recommend that if you
tape at all, you do so only as a back up. Do not rely on the tape. For one
thing, Murphy loves tape machines; he lives in them. For another, it is not
interactive enough. If you think the tape is taking care of gathering the
information, you may not even pay attention to what’s being said. This first
meeting with the material is important, especially if questions come up and you
can ask them right away and clear up misunderstandings before they take root in
your brain.
This brings me to Listening
skills. Its important to listen actively – if for no other reason than to
insure you stay awake. Also, if you really listen and silently ask questions of
the material you will not only be interacting with the material for the first
time, but you will also find out if you understand it. You will know right away
if you have questions to ask the teacher. Try to repeat in your mind what you
are hearing, but try to immediately change it to your own words. If the
lecturer speaks too fast to do this in class, then save this method for your
study session.
Part of active listening is staying
alert for “key words”. As you jot down notes, put the words that let you
know what the point is in the left hand margin. If the professor is rambling on
about the Declaration of Independence, you may be writing his topic sentences
down in your notes. In the left hand margin you can put “D of Indep”, Thomas
Jefferson, the date, – whatever stands
out in his or her presentation. Later, when studying these notes, the key words
will be an instant guide to the rest of the material. (If you do use
abbreviations – make sure you will understand them later!)
Try to take your notes in outline
form. Usually that is not difficult to do because many professors or teachers
are lecturing from an outline. Some even give you their basic outline on the
board. Use it. Again, if you have a disorganized teacher, you may not be able
to do it now, so save it for the study session.
Remember to date and number
the top of each paper; pages can tear out of notebooks and get mixed up. My
favorite way of dating and numbering is to use the date and number like a code
at the top, such as Jan 01,2005 Page 1 is quickly and easily written as
01010501 in the upper right hand corner. The next page is 01010502, and so on.
This can save you lots of frustrating time later on.