Taking Good Notes

The authority of a source affects it's use in your project.  It means your source is trustworthy.  (Your databases provided by the district are trustworthy academic sites.  You will find them under classlink apps in the library folder). 

Different formats for notes

There is no right format when taking notes. What’s important is that you find a method that works for you. Here are a few types of formats that you may want to experiment with:

1. Cornell Notes: This style includes sections for the date, essential question, topic, notes, questions, and a summary. 

2. Outline: An outline organizes the lecture by main points, allowing room for examples and details.

3. Flowchart/Mind map: A visual representation of notes is good for content that has an order or steps involved. 

4. Charting Method: A way to organize notes from lectures with a substantial amount of facts through dividing key topics into columns and recording facts underneath.

5. Sentence Method: One of the simplest forms of note taking, helpful for disseminating which information from a lecture is important by quickly covering details and information.

Now that you are prepared and organized, what can you do to take good notes while listening to a lecture in class? Here are some practical steps you can try to improve your in-class note-taking:

• If you are seeking conceptual information, focus on the main points the professor makes, rather than copying down the entire presentation or every word the professor says. Remember, if you review your notes after class, you can always fill in any gaps or define words or concepts you didn’t catch in class.

• If you are learning factual information, transcribing most of the lecture verbatim can help with recall for short-answer test questions, but only if you study these notes within 24 hours.

• Record questions and thoughts you have or content that is confusing to you that you want to follow-up on later or ask your professor about.

• Jot down keywords, dates, names, etc. that you can then go back and define or explain later.

• Take visually clear, concise, organized, and structured notes so that they are easy to read and make sense to you later.

• If you want your notes to be concise and brief, use abbreviations and symbols. Write in bullets and phrases instead of complete sentences. This will help your mind and hand to stay fresh during class and will help you access things easier and quicker after class. It will also help you focus on the main concepts.

• Be consistent with your structure. Pick a format that works for you and stick with it so that your notes are structured the same way each day.

• For online lectures, follow the above steps to help you effectively manage your study time. Once you’ve watched the lecture in its entirety, use the rewind feature to plug in any major gaps in your notes. Take notes of the timestamps of any parts of the lecture you want to revisit later.