Notetaking Steps

Prepare for Note Taking 

Lecture:

  • Assess what materials you are given and how detailed they are.  
  • Assess instructor pace and organizational style.  
  • Pre-read and take notes on the upcoming chapter.  The level of detail you need will be determined by the amount of information shared by the instructor and the type of content you are covering.
  • Consider a Code - A notetaking code is the use of symbols, shapes, and/or words to help organize information for when upon reviewing the information or trying to find information it is easier to find and review.

Textbook:

  • Preview the chapter to see how it is set up.  Look for organizational features that will help you take notes.  Are there learning objectives at the beginning?  Is there a consistent structure of headings and sub-headings?  Is there a good summary at the end or an outline of content?

Materials: Find what materials you like to use: pens, markers, highlighters, colored pencils, etc.

Formats: Create a couple of templates, experiment with them, and then narrow it down to a single style you like and that fits with the task or content.

The next few steps will be following the 5 R’s – Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect, and Review:

Step 1: Record all the meaningful information from a text, presentation, lecture, etc.

Step 2: Reduce (weed out) all the information that is not needed. One way to do this is to create a summary of what you learned using your own words.

Step 3: Recite the information to see what you have retained. 

Step 4: Reflect on what you know and what you do not know.

Step 5: Review your notes and actively encode the information.  Go through #3-#6 again. 

Other General Tips:

  • Figure out what makes YOU recall information better
  • Figure out your own system and key to take notes
  • Put everything down in YOUR OWN WORDS, unless you can’t
  • Use colors to separate different ideas, questions, etc.
  • Consider one color for main ideas, another for details, and yet another for key vocabulary
  • Don’t worry about spelling, until you revise.
  • Any charts or tables are generally good to take note of: examples, boxes, highlights, definitions, etc.
  • Write down page numbers on examples or questions so that you can go back and reread information
  • Look at the beginning, as well as the end of the chapter summary if there is one
  • Include dates, or some method of organizing time, instructor, and class
  • Add a summary if you can.  Condensing helps you consolidate important information