NOTE-TAKING BASICS
EOS Summer : Academic Writing
DIVIDED FORM OF LECTURE NOTES1
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Before writing on your note paper, divide the sheets
the following way
Questions
Notes
summary
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1. https://www.northshore.edu/support_center/pdf/listen_notes.pdf
GENERAL TIPS
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Date your notes for reference in test preparation.
Don’t try to take down everything the lecturer says; focus on
main ideas, related details; make note of your questions or
gaps; then summarize the lecture.
Don’t crowd your lines together; leave room to make
revisions later on (white space also helps to separate ideas).
Use note-taking shorthand to reduce the number of words:
(a) reduce to essential words - don’t use complete sentences
(b) use symbols as a substitute for words (c) abbreviate by
using initials, half words, and creative spelling.
Don’t take down the first thing said on any topic - it’s
probably introductory material. Listen for verbal cues.
Don’t try to make a formal outline of the notes.
Re-write your notes as soon as possible, and take a moment
to write a summary of the material at the end.
USEFUL STRATEGIES…
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After the lecture or when you finish the reading,
take time to rewrite your notes, but don’t just
copy them neatly, transform them! (In the process
you will also learn the material and identify any
areas you don’t understand.)
Make note of how the
central idea leads to
related concepts;
 Make a map of the
material, showing
how each idea grows
more complex…
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WHAT IS MIND MAPPING?
a Mind Map is a diagram drawn to visually
represent (map out) ideas and related concepts;
 Mind Maps transform long lists of information
and data into organized (and colorful) images
that mirror the way our brains make connections;
 they start with the main idea at the center and
then related ideas radiate out from there,
connected by lines, symbols, words, and images
that make sense to the person creating the map;
 important ideas radiate from the center like
branches on a tree, with less important ideas
branching off from them like twigs.
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http://www.mindmapping.com/theory-behind-mind-maps.php
MIND MAPS BELONG TO THE NOTE-TAKER!
The design, images, symbols, etc. used to
create a mind map only need to make
sense to the person making the map.
 Your Mind Map belongs to YOU and
draws on the way YOUR brain processes
information.
 Here are some examples that you might
want to adapt if they feel “right” to you:
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FYI: Mind Mapping was developed by British Psychologist Tony Buzan in the 1970s
drawing on older form so concept mapping
CONCEPT
MAP FROM
ONE OF SIR
ISAAC
NEWTON’S
NOTEBOOKS!
MIND MAP BY TONY BUZAN
http://www.mind-mapping.org/blog/mapping-history/roots-of-visual-mapping/
HERE’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE
https://www.northshore.edu/support_center/pdf/listen_notes.pdf
IF YOU DON’T LIKE MAPS, HERE’S ANOTHER
WAY TO VISUALIZE NOTES.
The shape of “AIDS Warriors”
BIG
STORY
Lt. Colonel Dr. Joao De Deus
Tests on Namibian border
(from 5% last year to 10% infected)
HUMAN
INTEREST
Completes test in
the interior Keito
HOPE (1 in 92 =
infected)
Gaspar’s wife
Maria Domingoes
doesn’t know he is HIV+
Neto Gaspar Salvador
HIV+
HIV-AIDS
EDUCATION
NARRATIVE
Television show
Soraya Maria Brito
Dr Erec Bing
(Charles Drew Univ.)
Dept of Defense
the play and
prostitutes and
Soldiers
Gaspar asks the
counselor to tell Maria
HOPE: they can
get treatment
Lt. Laurindo Filemone
da Gamba - says
“Gun in right hand
condom in the left”
HOPE: educate
the soldiers in
the interior
hypothesis: borders are porous (truck drivers
merchants, prostitutes, soldiers) so the HIV+
rate should be higher there. The interior was
more isolated because of the war, so the infection
rates should be lower there.
If that is true, they can work aggressively at the border
And then do education in the interior
Micah Fink, Lecture at Drew University, Summer 2004
HOPE: if
hypothesis is
true, there is
the possibility
Of stopping the
epidemic
YOU CAN USE MIND MAPS TO GENERATE
PAPER OR RESEARCH IDEAS AS WELL,
HERE’S ONE
FOR A PAPER
ON SPRING -EACH NODE IS
A POSSIBLE
TOPIC
BUT REMEMBER…
These
are just some ideas.
The key is to develop a method
that helps you process and
remember information
effectively.