Note Taking

Embedded in Summarizing is the idea that we read someone else's work that is published, and have to gain knowledge (and ideas) to use and share with others.

NOTES are our very short summary of what we find...in our own short hand...NOT COPIED SENTENCES! 

Our notes pick out the main points, and leaves out the "too much info." the original source used.

Notes often are tailored to our OWN AREA OF RESEARCH, so we need to SEARCH for it, and LEAVE OUT material NOT related to our project.

Example: 

Here is a portion of an article from Britannica For Kids about Islam

"There are two major branches of Islam. Most Muslims belong to the Sunni branch. They are called Sunnis. Sunnis are known as traditional Muslims. They follow the sayings of Muhammad and emphasize community.

Members of the smaller Shiʿite branch are called Shiʿites. They believe that the truths of the Koran are revealed only through a community leader called the imam. Interpretations by other people are not accepted. For this reason Shiʿites are not as open to other views as Sunnis are."

MY NOTES:

• 2 branches of Islam (Sunni and Shi'ite)

• most followers are Sunni.

  • called Sunnis or "traditional Muslims"

  • follow Muhammad's words (Qur'an) and value community

• Shi'ites say truth of Qur'an come from the imam (community leader).

  • other peoples words don't matter

  • not as open to other views (as Sunnis are)

The idea is that if your notes are not full sentences and are changed from the original source, then when you DO write it out in your own project, it'll not look anything like the original source. It is NOT just copied/pated and some words changed...it's a rethinking of what you found

Re-written Paragraph (from my own notes)

In Islam, there are 2 different groups known as the Traditional Muslims, or Sunnis and the Shi'ites. They both follow the Qur'an, but they do it differently. Sunnis believe in the word of the Prophet Muhammad as written in the Qur'an, while Shi'ites follow the teachings of the imam, or community leader's teachings based in the book. Because of this difference, the smaller group of Shi'ites are not as open to the views or interpretations of others besides the imam.

The problem is that we research on-line and copy/paste is easier than reading and re-writing.

For your project, you will read on-line, but make notes on paper! YOUR NOTES must be a simple, shorthanded take, without copying full sentences, and you will use these to actually REWRITE it as your own!

Practice Note Taking Assignment!