Unit2 Note Making

• Introduction
• Note Making and Note Taking
• Importance of Note Making
• Importance of Note Taking
• Features of Good Notes
• Making Efficient Class Notes
• Methods of preparing Notes
• The Cornell Method
• The Outlining Method
• The Mapping Method
• The Taxonomizing Method
• The Sentence Method

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 Introduction
• Note-making is a systematic process of writing down important
information, ideas, facts, viewpoints, and arguments contained in a
written text for future reference.
• Note-making is necessary to recall the main ideas in what you have
read as you may not be able to keep in mind all important
information contained in a variety of material you may be reading.
• You would need to develop qualities such as quick comprehension,
identification of main ideas, and recognition of their relevance to your
needs, besides an ability to record them with quickness and precision.

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 Introduction
• Let’s discuss a small situation which will convey the importance of notes.
• Since Poonam was down with viral for five days, she could not attend college. She badly wanted
to know what was taught in all the classes.
• She asked Preeti to give her class notes, which she readily gave. While going through her notes,
Poonam's head started reeling, she could not make much out of it. Having struggled sufficiently
with Preet's notes, she finally gave up.
• She approached Vivek for the same purpose. Vivek gave her his notebooks. This time, Poonam
did not have to rack her brain. She could figure out easily what was discussed in the lectures she
had missed.
• Hope you have understood why Poonam could not understand
anything from Preeti's notes. And it is not just Preeti, there are
scores of students who struggle with efficient note making. It is so
because note making is generally regarded as a simple affair.
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 Introduction
• Notes are generally prepared for summarising the ideas that are
received or communicated.
• When you read and prepare notes, it is called note making .
• When you listen to a speaker or watch documentaries and jot
down notes, it is called note taking.
• However, in both note taking and note making, what is important
is that you want to record significant points so that you can use
them before an exam or understand some complex concept for
further learning.

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 NOTE MAKING AND NOTE TAKING
• Do you know that a speaker speaks about 120-150 words per minute ,
whereas an average person can take down notes at the rate of only 25
words per minute ?
• Therefore, it is not possible for you to write everything that the speaker
speaks.
• Similarly, when you are reading something seriously, you may read at the
rate of 350-400 words per minute but while taking down notes the speed
will be drastically low.
• One common format for such notes is shorthand, which can allow large
amounts of information to be put on paper very quickly.
• Manual note taking requires pen and paper, while electronic note taking
(or computer - assisted note taking) requires a laptop, often with special
note taking software.

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 Importance of Note Taking
1. Taking notes helps you focus and concentrate in class or while
listening to a speaker on television or at a conference hall.
2. Taking notes helps you prepare for tests and examinations.
3. They are valuable clues to what information the teacher or
speaker thinks and are the key points in understanding a
subject.
4. Mostly they help you understand the complex concepts or
elements of the subject which, otherwise, you may not be able to
understand sometimes even by reading books.

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 Importance of Note Making
1. Note making helps you observe and record the crucial and finer
aspects of a text or a phenomenon.
2. Note making helps you appraise the text or a situation from close
quarters.
3. Note making helps you figure out the complexity of a thought,
idea, or a situation.
4. It helps you recall and recapture the intensity of an observed
phenomenon and express the same in your own words.

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 Features of Good Notes
1. It should be brief, concise, and preferably written in third person.
2. It should contain only the relevant details or facts of the subject. Any
illustration, description, explanation, etc, in support of the subject
should be avoided. However, it could be given in case of science and
technology - oriented subjects / topics where the shape / size /
processes become important.
3. Information should be presented in phrases, words, or brief
sentences and no specific grammatical pattern should be followed.
4. All information, relating to the subject, should be presented in a
logical sequence.
5. Notes are usually divided into main points, sub - points, sub - sub
points, and so on.

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 Making Efficient Class Notes
Taking good notes is a three - stage process.
Given below are the three stages of note taking:
1. Before note-making.
2. During note-making .
3. After note-making.

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 Making Efficient Class Notes
1. Before note-making.
Get ready to take notes (before class)
• (a) Review the notes from the previous class or session before you go to
the next class. This will help you remember what was covered and also
help you understand new information imparted by the teacher or
speaker.
• (b) If the teacher has asked you to read something before coming to the
class, complete all the assigned readings before coming to the class.
• (c) Bring all note - taking materials such as pen, pencil, writing board,
and paper with you.

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 Making Efficient Class Notes
2. During note-making .
Take notes (during class)
(a) Keep your attention focused on what the teacher is saying. Listen for ' signal
statements ' that will tell you that what your teacher is about to say and is
important to write in your notes.
• Examples of signal statements are ' The most important point ... “, "
Remember that ... “, and ' One of the most important aspects of .... Be sure to
include in your notes the information that the teacher repeats or writes on
the board.
(b) Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your
notes. Do this by using abbreviated (Shorten) forms of words and expressions.

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 Making Efficient Class Notes
3. After note-making.
Rewrite your notes (after class)
• (a) Rewrite your notes to make them complete by changing
abbreviated (Shorten) words into whole words, symbols into
words, and shortened sentences into longer sentences .
• (b) Make your notes more accurate by answering any question you
had while writing your notes in the class.
• (c) Check with other students to ensure that you have not missed
any important information.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
To develop the art of note making, we need to be aware of the
different methods available and then apply the same according to
the requirement.
Let us therefore understand the five different methods of note
making.
1. The Cornell method
2. The outlining method
3. The mapping method
4. The taxonomizing method
5. The sentence method.
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 Methods of Preparing Notes
1. The Cornell Method
• The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing
(Shortening) notes without laborious re copying. After writing the
notes in the main space of the page, use the left - hand space to
label each idea and detail with a key word. This is how you can use
this method.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Method
• Draw rules on your paper with a two-and-a-half-inch margin on the left
leaving a six-inch area on the right to make notes.
• During class, take down information in the six - inch area. When the
instructor moves to a new point, skip a few lines. After the class,
complete phrases, and sentences as much as possible. For every
significant bit of information, write a cue in the left margin.
• To review, cover your notes with a card, leaving the cues exposed. Say
the cue out loudly; then say as much as you can of the material
underneath the card. When you have done so, move the card and see if
what you said matches with what is written. If you can say it, this
means you know it (Figure 1).
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Methods of Preparing Notes

Figure:1 Cornell method of note taking.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Advantages
• Here are the advantages of the Cornell method:
• 1. It is organized and systematic which helps in recording and
reviewing notes.
• 2. It is an easy format for pulling out major concepts and ideas.
• 3. It is a simple and efficient method.
• 4. This method undoubtedly saves time and effort.
• 5. It is like a ' do - it - right - in - the - first - place ' system.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
2. The Outlining Method
• Indented outlining is usually the best method for the in formative kind of
lectures and text.
• In this method, the information, which is most general begins at the left, with
each more specific group of facts indented with spaces to the right.
Method
• First listen and then write your points in an organized pattern based on space
indention.
• Place major points farthest to the left. Indent each of the more specific points
to the right. Levels of importance will be indicated by the distance away from
the major point.
• A common system consists of headings that use Roman numerals, letters of
the alphabet, and Arabic numerals at different levels.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
A typical structure would be as follows:
I. First main topic
(a) Sub - topic
1. Detail
2. Detail
(b) Sub - topic
II. Second main topic
(a) Sub - topic
However, this sort of structure has limitations in the written form since it
is difficult to go back and insert more information.
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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Advantages
Here are the advantages of the outlining method:
1. It is a well - organized system if used rightly.
2. Outlining helps in recording content as well as observing
relationship among various points.
3. Turning main points into questions helps keep the review process
easy.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Disadvantages
1. This method requires more thought into the subject matter by the
note taker for accurate organization.
2. It has some restrictions as it lends limited review for learning and
question application because it is very brief. For details one has to
look at the original text or source.
3. This system cannot be used if the lecture is rushed through.

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Methods of Preparing Notes

In the example, you can see how the definition has

been jotted down and how the various headings
and subheadings have been given.
This outlining method of preparing notes helps
the reader learn the topic in no time. If you
prepare your notes by following this method well
before the exams, don't you think that you will be
confident to appear in exams?
Moreover, if you prepare notes by using this
method for your speech or presentation, you will
be presenting your ideas in an organized manner
and you will not miss out any of the important
points.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
3. The Mapping Method
• In this method, you need to use your cognitive (comprehension)
and analytical skills to identify which idea or fact relates to which
main idea. It is a graphic representation of the whole talk or
lecture.
• While using this method, you use your critical thinking and try to
create a map of the whole information that you receive in lectures
or talks.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Advantages
1. It helps you track the lecture or talk visually.
2. It employs your critical thinking.
3. It is easy to review the whole information in no time.
4. Different colors can be used for showing.
5. If prepared on the flash - card later, it will give you an
opportunity to go through your notes quickly before the
examination.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
When& how to use
• Use this method when the lecture content is heavy and well - organized.
This method may also be used effectively when you have a guest lecture
and have no idea how the lecture is going to be presented.
• Imagine that you have attended a talk on ' Tsunami and its impact on
environment “. You should prepare your notes by using the mapping
method shown in figure.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
4. The Taxonomizing (Charting) Method
• It is a method which helps you chart or record the information in a
systematic manner. It facilitates you in taking down notes or a gist
as quickly as possible, since the pro forma for the purpose has
been already created by you.
• In this method, you may divide your page by drawing quadrangles
and label them with appropriate headings such as history, causes,
effects, and measures. As you listen to the lecture, start recording
information (words, phrases, main ideas, etc.) into the appropriate
category.
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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Advantages
1. It helps track relevant contents.
2. This method reduces the amount of unnecessary writing.
3. It provides easy review mechanism for both memorization of
facts and study of comparisons and relationships.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Given below is an example that suggests how by using taxonomizing
method, you can prepare your notes.

Preparing notes by using taxonomizing method.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
5. The Sentence Method
• It is a method which is used by the students who do not know the
technical way of taking down notes. They also believe in taking
detailed notes of the lecture or talk.
• However, it is quite a useful method for taking down notes when
the topic of discussion is quite argumentative.
Method
• Write every new thought, fact, or topic on a separate line as you
progress.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
Advantages
1. You get more or all the information.
2. Notes prepared by using this method give enough idea of the
content of the actual text.
Disadvantages
1. Sometimes you cannot determine major / minor points from the
numbered sequence.
2. It is difficult to edit without having to rewrite by clustering
points which are related.

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 Methods of Preparing Notes
USEFUL TIPS
1. Take enough time for taking down notes. It will both save time and
increase retention later on.
2. Select an appropriate method and structure your notes.
3. Note everything that is related to the author's argument. Remember,
important points come in introductory and concluding paragraphs.
4. Discriminate facts from opinions, and quotations from summaries.
Knowing this difference will help you prepare your notes carefully
and you will be able to review your notes later with confidence.
5. Appraise your notes the next day and do it again a few days later. This
is a time - efficient way of retaining the material.

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Some pictorial examples.

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Some pictorial examples.

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