Reading & Note Taking Strategies and Skills

Reading Notes: Thoughts and Reactions

Mrs. Oliner

Content: What should be in my notes?

• details.

• events.

• conflicts (internal, external, man versus man, etc.).

• literary features, especially symbols and their

meaning.

• ideas about theme and extended metaphors

• personal connections

• feelings & sensations (e.g. initial reactions, mood,

tone, etc.)

• identify & flag important quotations

Techniques: How do I take these notes?

• bullet thoughts

• write a minimum (fragments only)

• use shorthand or abbreviations (e.g. btw. for

between)

• be neat and write legibly

• underline quotations or document the page number