Need to create good examine notes however don’t know the place to begin? on this article, we’ll break down two detailed strategies for note-taking step-by-step. We additionally canvas different common strategies earlier than explaining the perfect strategies for getting essentially the most out of your exam-conquering notes!
The final word information to writing good notes
Good notes make for good marks, good notes make for good marks (or near!). Making good notes is an funding in time and your future. If you’d like that 99.95 ATAR or the A+ or Band 6 end result, all of it begins with glorious notes. And which means dedication.
If you wish to do effectively and wish the notes that will help you get there, then there aren’t actually any short-cuts! There’s simply constant habits and grind.
It is a good factor as a result of it means anyone can obtain nice marks, they simply have to do the work! On this article, we’re going to interrupt down what goes into this.
Are there extra methods than one to make notes?
Sure!
When you don’t wish to must commit to 1 type. Don’t fear, after we present you the processes, we’re going to take a look at a couple of totally different types. as well as, we’ll take a look at loads of examples on the best way.
Nonetheless, we do insist that whenever you do write notes you write them by hand. Analysis constantly exhibits that handwritten notes encourage and assist recall and visualisation.
Let’s get began!
On this article, we’ll talk about,
- Writing good notes for various functions
- Easy methods to write good textual content, textbook, or supply notes step-by-step
- Easy methods to write good class and lecture notes step-by-step
- Different types
- Cut up Web page
- Cornell Technique
- Q/E/C – Query, Proof, Conclusion
- Stream Technique
- Easy methods to utilise your good notes
- Memorisation
- Follow responses
- Quizzes
- Summarising
Writing good notes for various functions
Relying in your goal, the way you make your notes is clearly going to vary.
You’ll do one factor for texts and textbooks however one thing totally different for in-class or lecture notes.
Textual content summaries and textbook notes are typically extra polished and produced over a few hours and iterations.
Don’t want your notes had been clear, like these?
Class and lecture notes are sometimes messy and thrown collectively shortly, requiring rewriting and organisation.
Let’s check out each strategies.
Easy methods to write good textual content, textbook, or supply notes
Writing notes isn’t one thing that occurs in a single step or one sitting. As an alternative, it’s essential commit time to them. Let’s take a look at what’s concerned in writing notes from texts and textual content books.
Use this technique to make notes about texts or from textbooks!
OK. Now you’ve seen the method let’s take a look at it in additional element!
Step 1: Learn/watch the supply
Earlier than you write notes, it’s essential have data. It’s essential to begin with some supply materials. This may be the novel set for examine, your Maths textbook, or your Science textbook.
Ideally, learn the textual content via as soon as, after which return via and skim once more to begin highlighting/underlining key data.
Step 2: Spotlight necessary data
Spotlight related data and passages.
Understanding the content material broadly will show you how to determine what it’s essential give attention to.
It might be tempting to focus on all the things. But it surely’s not all key data. Deal with the important particulars. This can show you how to study data as you write notes.
Step 3: Summarise the content material
Now you wish to begin creating notes. It helps to begin with headers and increase on headers with dot level summaries of knowledge.
Completely different topics will warrant alternative ways of growing this.
Attempt to utilise note-taking strategies that swimsuit the content material. English notes could profit from tables for connecting data to textual content, methods, and Module issues.
For instance, Maths notes may give attention to strategies and equations.
Step 4: Add extra notes (eg. issues I want to recollect, evaluation, extra analysis)
Don’t depart your notes to sit down, add to them constantly. When including additional data, ensure you learn via your present notes.
Studying your present notes earlier than including extra notes helps entrench information!
Including your most up-to-date concepts, discoveries, or hacks to a set of notes retains it a stay doc.
Step 5: Maintain including onto them all year long
Because the yr progresses, develop your notes additional with extra data and concepts. Notes are necessary for learning and revision.
One technique Matrix college students discover helpful is attempting to condense notes right down to cheatsheets or abstract sheets.
These operate pretty much as good revision notes and are glorious assets for revision.
It’s one factor to take notes a few textual content or novel or movie, however one thing else to make notes a few class or lecture!
Easy methods to write good class and lecture notes
Making notes at school or lectures requires focus and the power to condense a number of data into manageable chunks. We have a tendency to write down far slower than different folks converse. This implies we must be considered when taking notes in order to not miss key factors or get slowed down and miss nice swathes of a category.
Folks converse at a mean of 130-150 phrases a minute in comparison with handwriting notes at a mean of 120-155.
So what does this technique appear to be?
Use this step-by-step course of for taking in-class notes.
What we’ll do now’s describe this environment friendly and efficient course of for taking class notes.
Step 1: Write down key issues your trainer says in my first set of tough notes
When the trainer, or lecturer, is talking and describing issues or processes, give attention to writing key phrases and key statements, first.
Making an attempt to write down all the things will imply you miss most of it.
You wish to make preliminary notes round key concepts. use the moments the place your speaker pauses to begin including additional data. It’s possible you’ll discover that Cornell or movement methods are the best methods to develop class notes.
Bear in mind, the important thing focus is masking the necessary particulars, not all the knowledge. This is step one, so don’t get anxious or burdened if you happen to miss issues, there will probably be time to try to fill within the blanks.
Step 2: Spotlight a very powerful issues (eg. formulation). Attempt to do that at school, when you’ve got time.
You wish to spotlight a very powerful info, concepts, or items of information whereas they’re contemporary in your thoughts.
Attempt to undergo your notes in-class and spotlight the salient factors.
When you run out of time at school, try to discover a possibility to focus on issues at college whereas issues are contemporary. This can act as a set off whenever you transcribe and increase issues later!
Step 3: At dwelling, switch these notes into revision notes
Now you’ve bought base notes, you’re ready to develop this data additional.
First, transcribe the foremost in-class data. Start with the key phrases you highlighted, copy that throughout after which add the encircling element out of your class notes.
Step 4: Solely extrapolate a very powerful data
When you’ve bought the essential data down, fill within the blanks.
Use the lacking data as a launchpad to researching additional particulars. This will imply studying a textbook or novel and growing notes from that supply (see above). Keep centered on the key phrases and concepts you highlighted when growing notes. When you encounter an attention-grabbing concept, make an observation and return to it later!
Don’t get distracted by attention-grabbing rabbit holes whenever you’re attempting to provide notes and assets for later examine.
When you discover you’ve got questions that aren’t resolved as you transcribe your notes, write these down. You wish to take these alongside to your subsequent class or contact your trainer or tutor about them for help.
It’s okay when you’ve got questions after making notes thus far, it’s a key a part of the method. Not following up on these questions, although, is a vital mistake!
Don’t try to cram all the things into one web page!
Go away area in your notes to incorporate the knowledge you’re lacking.
Step 5: Add any further notes (eg. issues it’s essential bear in mind, evaluation, or extra analysis)
Ensure you comply with up on the questions that you’ve! You wish to add that data later.
You wish to maintain including to your notes:
- Questions you’ve got
- Solutions to these questions
- Further factors it’s essential bear in mind
- Attention-grabbing items of analysis
Bear in mind, each time you add to your notes, take the time to learn your present notes.
Different types of note-taking
The strategies above aren’t the one strategies for making notes. There are another common and efficient strategies for taking and organising notes. Let’s have a gander at them.
Cut up web page notes
Because the identify suggests, these are notes the place the web page is cut up in half.
- On the left aspect, embrace the key phrases or headers you should use as triggers
- On the appropriate aspect, embrace dot-point summaries and quotations
When you’ve accomplished your notes, you’ll be able to simply cowl the abstract aspect and tried to recall the knowledge prompted by the key phrase or header.
One of the best structure for Cut up Web page notes
Cut up web page notes are nice for growing revision notes or summarising STEM textbooks.
Cornell Technique – Notes, Key phrases, Abstract
The Cornell Technique is legendary and it’s named after the college the place it was developed. It’s comparable in idea to the cut up web page technique, above.
To make use of this technique, comply with the next steps:
- Divide the web page into three. Have a 1/4 width margin dividing left and proper sides of the web page and a separating the underside 1/6 of the web page
- Use the left of the web page for questions and headers
- Use the appropriate of the web page to summarise data
- Make use of the world on the backside of the web page to summarise the knowledge above.
In observe, this may appear to be this:
An instance of laying out Cornell notes
When summarising the knowledge, attempt to embrace key quotations and formulae whereas together with the key phrases. The Cornell technique is admittedly efficient for taking in-class or lecture notes.
QEC – Query, Proof, Conclusion
QEC notes develop data with a watch to assembling arguments or writing essays. The acronym, QEC stands for Query, Proof, Conclusion.
QEC notes start every part with a query. The data that follows is there to assist a response to that query. The ultimate half is a concluding assertion. The conclusion ought to operate like both a abstract or thesis assertion in response to the query.
So, what’s the method for producing these?
- Divide the web page into two or three sections
- In every part, start with a query
- Beneath the query, write concise dot-point notes
- Embody key quotations, info, and formulae (the place required)
- For the conclusion, write both,
- A press release summarising the knowledge above in response to the query
- A thesis assertion or subject sentence that may be a direct response to the preliminary query that encapsulates the knowledge above.
This technique will depart you with notes wanting like this:
An instance of Query/Proof/Conclusion (QEC) notes.
QEC notes are nice for arts topics – English, Historical past, Economics – and in addition STEM topics.
Stream technique
The Stream technique isn’t as neat and structured because the strategies above. As an alternative, it’s a approach to create free-flowing notes on the go!
To supply movement notes, you wish to take into consideration the method behind producing a mind-map. However moderately than making a mind-map, you wish to create some flowing concepts.
How do you go about this?
The method for producing movement notes.
Okay, let’s increase on this course of:
- Start with a key phrase
- Develop on these concepts in a bubble across the key phrase
- Close by on the web page, in an space with some clean area, write down the following key phrase
- Join it to the primary with an arrow
- Develop your notes across the second key phrase as you probably did the primary
- Rinse and repeat as you join and increase on subsequent notes.
This technique is nice for producing lecture notes, however as it’s not as structured, the notes will be troublesome to comply with and develop later.
A big flaw with movement notes, nevertheless, is that they will get messy and disorganised.
Making essentially the most out of your good examine notes
Having nice or fairly notes is one factor, studying take advantage of them to ace your exams is one thing else totally. What we’ll take a look at now are the examine strategies it is best to comply with to take advantage of your good examine notes to ace your assessments!
Memorisation
The important thing goal of notes is to memorise data. You must put aside time every week to learn via your notes and try to commit issues to reminiscence.
Don’t do that in a single sitting, try to do it in smaller chunks!
The intention is to not memorise lots of knowledge in a single sitting, it’s to memorise all the important thing data precisely!
Memorisation is important for recalling data in examination situations, so you need to discover the time for this.
Follow responses
Writing observe responses helps you develop your concepts and memorise data.
Due to how the mind is ‘plastic’, that’s, it’s malleable and may change to accommodate extra data, writing data down is an effective approach of cementing studying.
The act of writing responses and essays, particularly handwriting moderately than typing, capabilities as higher-order thought.
Writing essays is pondering in addition to entrenching data – the extra responses you write, the extra you memorise and devlop your concepts.
As well as, due to the character of most HSC examination questions being developed to stop college students from memorising essays, writing a wide range of observe essays will show you how to put together extra successfully!
Quizzes
Cornell notes and cut up web page notes are nice for quizzing your self. However even if you happen to use different strategies, it is best to use your notes to quiz your self.
When you use Cornell or cut up web page notes, you’ll be able to merely cowl the detailed aspect of the notes after which use the key phrases or questions on the left to check your self.
If you’re utilizing different types of notes, it’s possible you’ll wish to write some inquiries to quiz your self with. In any other case, you’ll be able to all the time ask a member of the family or pal that will help you by quizzing your self.
Summarising
That is a necessary course of for all notes. You don’t wish to have produced some good notes after which suppose – “I’m executed now!” That’s not how learning works!
As an alternative, it is best to try to summarise your notes to make them extra concise and condensed.
Summarising notes will show you how to memorise the knowledge.
